Santa Barbara County's Vintners Festival 2011

Date: October 8th, 2011
Wine Tourism

 

My beautiful sisters and parents
Pictures taken by: Lindsey Serna's camera

  And the Serna Family tradition continues... It stated last year when yours truly decided to purchase tickets for my family to attend this amazing event. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Limo was driven by my dad, wine was drank by myself, mom and sisters and foggy memories were pieced together by pictures we had no idea we had taken. This year we had a better plan of attack, though we thought! To really savor the central coast, is to taste and or drink the fruits of its labor. In this case we did a lot of both.The hype, the anticipation, the outfit selection, the pre-party in the big white limo, rocking out to a bit of old school Snoop Dog, we could not wait to smell the mix of cow pies, BBQ and wine being opened for the first time.  

My sister Brooke, Aunt Denise and Mom
Picture taken by: Lindsey Serna

With over one hundred wineries and twenty restaurants we strolled the grove of Ranch Sisqouc's beautiful vineyard. One glass, two glass, three glass, four the sunshine shined and being quite went out the door! Let's just say we were the group that people wished they would have rolled in with! All of our expectations that we had of this day were meet: pictures that were not allowed to be featured on FaceBook, insiders (mostly quotes), great wine, and memories that will last a lifetime. The tradition will continue next year and more of my friends will get to experience just how crazy my family can be.


Me and my sister Candace
Picture taken by: Lindsey Serna's camera

    
 Fellow visitors included wine enthusiasts of ages ranging from twenty-one and up, couples, friends and families. Social impacts can include the sense of belonging, self-satisfaction of learning and experiencing something new and enjoying the company of people who are there for a good time. The vibe of the whole festivals proved that everyone came here to experience wine and food with the people they cared about most. The festival is marketed as an event for the twenty-one and older who have an appreciation for Santa Barbara Wine Country. Prior knowledge of this event was due to that fact that my work, Full of Life Flatbread has been a vendor for the past six years. Advertising that I had seen elsewhere included the email reminder from the Vintner's Association, print adds in local magazines, the local radio stations and word of mouth. This events impact on the destination were definitely the use of  taxis services, local restaurants and wineries and hotels for out-of-town visitors. For the $60.00 charge you get to taste and experience local wines and cuisines that not only promoted the restaurants and wineries, but educated visitors about wine tasting and making. Cheers!