Fall is the the season of entertaining! From dinner parties to Friendsgivings and impromptu cocktail parties, I’m all about gathering friends to toast the season. And nothing seems to celebrate my home state of California like a road trip and harvest dinner!
Recently, I joined up with my friends Nastassia, Kate, and Kristen for a California Central Coast road trip to Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara and harvest dinner. We tasted local wines, shopped local, and threw a harvest dinner. Check out the full experience here below.
After returning from a California road trip, I’m always inspired to cook and want to bring memories of those adventures home. Around here, hosting friends and throwing dinner parties is how we preserve those memories, and of course, that goes hand in hand with wine.
Speaking of, we partnered with Zephyr to feature their new wine fridge known as the ZEPHYR PRESRV™. The newly launched Zephyr Presrv Wine Cooler is a premium wine fridge with LED lighting, full-extension racks, Dual Zone temperature control, and Active Cooling Technology. That means the wine fridge does all the work while you prep your meal so that when your meal is ready, your wine will be at the perfect temperature! Read on for all the recipes from our dinner party as well as the must-stop spots when you’re next visiting California’s Central Coast!
Fall Harvest Dinner Party Menu
All those delicious seasonal recipes you see in the video? Kate and I made created them for the occasion and they’re all make ahead yet stunning so they’re perfect for a dinner party! Here are the recipes so you can make them yourself for anything from Thanksgiving to the holidays:
- Mulled Wine Spiced Cranberry Toasts | Salt & Wind
- Arugula Salad With Persimmons and Pomegranates | Salt & Wind
- Mashed Potatoes With Charred Poblanos and Chorizo | ¡Hola! JALAPEÑO
- Mexican Street Food Carrots | ¡Hola! JALAPEÑO
- Pumpkin Chipotle Cheesecake | ¡Hola! JALAPEÑO
Central Coast Road Trip Itinerary
We hit the road in a GMC Yukon and played carpool karaoke and drove our way up the coast. We stopped at wineries and local shops to stock up for our Harvest Dinner.
Here are a few of our favorite places in Ojai, Santa Barbara, and Santa Ynez:
Ojai Valley Area
- SHOP for local wines and home decor at Tipple and Ramble
- SHOP tabletop and home decor at Demor & Co.
- TASTE local olive oil at Ojai Olive Oil Company
- VISIT a local grower at Friend’s Ranches
- BUY local produce and food at the Ojai Valley Farmers Market
- STAY at the Ojai Valley Inn
Santa Barbara Area
- SIP quality coffee at Handlebar Coffee Roasters
- EAT healthy at Mesa Verde
- SIP, SHOP, and EAT in the Funk Zone
- SHOP for gourmet provisions at Helena Avenue Bakery
Santa Ynez Area
- EAT legit Italian food at S.Y. Kitchen
- EAT local California-style tri tip sandwiches at Cold Spring Tavern
- SHOP local gourmet food at Lucky Hen Larder
- SHOP local gourmet food at Los Olivos General Store
- SHOP local at Wildflower boutique
- STROLL the wine tasting rooms in Los Olivos
- SIP biodynamic wine at Beckman Winery
- SIP local Pinot at Babcock Winery
Have Us Plan Your California Trip
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Sponsored Post: This post was brought to you by Zephyr, but all content, ideas, and words are our own. Thanks for supporting these sponsors who allow us to keep Salt & Wind up and running. Thanks to GMC who provided us a Yukon car for driving around during our trip!
