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At this lush ranch in the rolling hills of California’s central coast, host vintner Jeff LeBard and his team tend to a variety of warmer-climate grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc and transform that fruit into some very lovely wines. After a reception at the historic barn, we’ll take a stroll around the property and settle into the table set in their sun-soaked vineyard or under the shade of the live oaks, depending on the weather. Then we’ll sip on a sampling of Gainey Family wines while guest chefs Jeff and Janet Olsson of Industrial Eats work their magic in the field kitchen. This husband-and-wife chef team has cooked for us several times over the years at many equally extraordinary sites. They’re also masters of the wood-burning oven and good friends with a slew of sustainable farms, foragers and fisherpeople across the Central Coast which they’ll source from for the menu.

One long table set between the vines surrounded by rolling golden hills and the pink light of early summer sun. A place like this deserves two nights. This plot of land in the eastern end of Santa Ynez Valley is ideal for growing warmer-climate grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc and host vintner Jeff LeBard and his team transform all that high-quality fruit into some very scrumptious wines in their on-site cellar. We’ll sample many varieties of their delicious wines alongside our meal from guest chefs Lauren and Christina Olufson. Lauren and Christina have quite the culinary chops between the two of them, including long tenures at Suzanne Goin’s a.o.c. and Luques in L.A. In 2019, the couple opened Bossie’s Kitchen in Santa Barbara in The Live Oak Dairy building, a Milpas Street landmark built in the last phase of Art Deco in the late 1930’s. At Bossies, they’re committed to sourcing local and organic ingredients from the abundance of area farms. This dynamic duo cooked for us earlier this year at Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm and we are thrilled to have them back in the field kitchen.

This vineyard and winery is the brainchild of host vintner Matthew Rorick and the result of his very hardworking team of vignerons, farmworkers and cellar hands. We feel quite lucky to dine among their 75 acres of organically grown grapes in the Sierra Foothills — where steep rows of vines are surrounded by thick woods and cascading hills gleaming under the California sun. The property’s limestone soils and 2,000 ft. elevation make for elegant, distinctive wines with deep aromatics, texture, and acidity. And low intervention winemaking without additives or commercial yeasts means the wines maintain their natural terroir. We’ll taste all those delicious wines alongside a Mediterranean meal from guest chef Kevin O’Connor. He’s a Sierra Foothills native passionate about hunting, foraging, and cooking outdoors. He’s also a self proclaimed olive oil geek and a certified olive oil sommelier. This is bound to be a fun one.