Eat, Drink, Savor: The best of 2023

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While a part of my job is reporting local news, stories that hopefully keep readers informed on important issues, another part is closer to fun and games as I visit the best of the county’s local wineries, breweries, food trucks, restaurants and small businesses to find articles for this “Eat, Drink, Savor” series.

For my 52nd series entry this year, I offer a wrap-up of the stories that got the most reads, along with a few of my favorites. Some of these articles came from suggestions sent in by BenitoLink readers, and I am always open to trying new places within the county. 

My favorite story of the year – I had a chance to spend a morning with a local winemaker I have great respect for, Alessio Carli, as he blended one of the wines for The Biltmore Winery. Carli got his start at the historic Lorenzo de’ Medici Winery in Chianti, Italy and has since made wine for Viansa Winery in Sonoma, Pietra Santa in the Cienega Valley and the Dorcich Family Vineyards in Gilroy. In “Complexities of Wine Blending,” I follow him as he transforms an average Mourvèdre into a great one through a series of incremental changes, adding and subtracting the amount of merlot and Sangiovese that will be blended in to make the final wine. I saw just one day in what would end up being two months of work for Carli as he went through an entire wine rack filled with varietals, working to create the final blend. It was a great experience and an insight into how a master winemaker works.

The top five stories of the year by readership: It is difficult to predict what articles readers will best respond to, but this year, there was a pretty obvious trend.  Whether birria, hamburger, brisket, pulled pork, chicken or tri-tip, San Benito County seems to love grilled, BBQed and stewed meats. 

1. Las Micheladas serves up Baja cuisine to Hollister –  I met La Micheladas co-owner David Ramirez when I was researching an article on the parklets. We quickly went from talking about the pluses and minuses of outdoor dining to discussing his unique menu, which has been drawn from his grandmother’s recipes and traditions. I was impressed, and it seems clear that readers are as well. The beef birria is incredible, and, for me, the Ponchito Sushi Roll, with teriyaki chicken, bell pepper, pineapple and avocado, is a must-try.
    
2. Canty’s Kitchen brings Alabama flavor to Hollister – Subtitled “a bull-riding, saxophone-playing, ex-police officer and his killer chili dogs,” Toney Canty is a master of ballpark comfort food. A terrific guy with a smile that lights up his truck, it is worth standing in line for his killer chili.
3. The meats and sauces of Smoke Point BBQ – Chef Jarad Gallagher opened his Smoke Point BBQ just as the pandemic started shutting restaurants down. As it seems to be with every restaurant, it has been a tough couple of years, but Gallagher has come out swinging, expanding his operation from San Juan Bautista to his popular Outpost in Hollister this year. His food is always consistently great, and I give him extra points for his amazing sauces, his apple-ginger coleslaw and his homemade honey-topped cornbread.
   
4. Danny DeLuna makes his entrance into the BBQ world – DeLuna opened up a little over a year ago, using a grill and smoker that his father, Hollister American Legion Commander Robert DeLuna, built for him. Since then, he has become a fixture at locations like the Farmer’s Market and local wineries.
   
5. Sean and Sophia Shelton carry on Dunneville Market tradition – It has been two years since the Sheltons bought the Dunneville Market and they have been careful to maintain all of the features and menu items that customers have come to love over the previous decades while putting their own stamp on the place. Their tri-tip remains unbeatable. 

Coolest collaboration – As chronicled in the article “East and West come together to make Cozy Brew,” Brewery Twenty-Five continued their tradition of promoting the county’s charms in any way they can by producing a beer made with Ozeki Sake’s hand-toasted koji rice, a key ingredient used in their fermentation process. The rice itself has a nutty, crunchy flavor and when added to the beer it provides a dry and earthy herbal quality that adds a bit of mystery and elegance. It was the first of what, hopefully, will become a series of regular collaborations and shows the finest qualities of both breweries. 

The trend of the year –  This was definitely the year that local food trucks came into their own, with a diversity and quality that is hard to beat. The big break came with the improved staging of the weekly Hollister Farmers’ Market (“The Hollister Farmers’ Market is a foodie’s delight” and “Hollister chef makes a splash with shrimp”) which gave half a dozen trucks at a time a chance to shine. The appeal was cemented after the Market closed by a city-sanctioned weekly gathering of trucks (“Food Truck Tuesdays a success”) that promises to be a regular thing in the near future. If there was a Food Truck of the Year honor, it would probably go to the Hapa Bros (“The Hapa Bros. bring an Asian twist to food truck favorites” and “Hapa Bros continues to grow”). Owners Aaron and Jason Ricketts added a few new twists to an already crowd-pleasing menu and brought on a third Hapa Bro, Scott Ricketts, as they continued to dominate the local field.

A tale of two Ryans – It is always a pleasure to meet up with Ryan Stirm (”Ryan Stirm keeps an eye on the past as he looks to the future”) and Ryan Kobza of (”Kobza Wines are a nod to San Benito County’s great wine traditions”). Both are dedicated to the heritage grapes of San Benito County and have produced some of my favorite wines over the last couple of years. 

From Stirm, I recommend the Benitoite blend, which he describes as a “varietal ode to the ‘holy trinity,’ Cabernet Pfeffer, Negrette and Zinfandel,” and Los Chuchaquis “Bandido,” a blend of negrette, cabernet pfeffer, zinfandel and Albariño. I keep recommending Kobza’s Red Field Blend, made with 50% Mourvedre, 40% Zinfandel and a little bit of anything else that happens to grow on a particular hill at Wirz Vineyard. He also makes two Mourtaous (cabernet pfeffers) that are very much worth checking out – a red and a rosé.

My favorite source of new stuff  – Mike Kohne and Maura Cooper opened Crave Wine Co. a year ago this week, and ever since, they have been tireless promoters of the wineries and vineyards of San Benito County. Whether the wine comes from local winemakers or those who travel here for the grapes, they seem to know it, have tried it, and have stocked it before anyone else in the area. I covered their opening,  “Crave Wine Company opens its doors,”  their quarterly “20 Club” which is made up of all locally produced or sourced wines, “Crave Wine Club highlights local vintages,” and some of the winery-specific tastings they have held, “Crave ends first year with a flurry of events.” It is no particular surprise that you can often find luminaries from the wine industry sitting at the bar—and occasionally behind it. They will be having their anniversary party on Jan. 6, from 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., complete with live music and a DJ, and it promises to be an evening of great wine and good company.  

The most surprising wine of the year –  Mission wine has a 500-year history in North America, starting with vines planted by the Conquistadors and brought to this region by missionaries starting with Junipero Serra. While plantings of European grapes slowly pushed Mission grapes into obscurity, Jeffrey Fadness, owner of La Vie Dansante, is still producing the wine from a planting of 120 Mission grape vines outside of Santa Cruz. “Spanish Conquistadors, Mission grapes and ‘The Dancing Life’” details Fadness’s rediscovery of those old vines and the remarkable red and rosé he makes from them. The small number of grapes those vines produce limits his production, but the more conventional wines he makes, like his carignan and Grenaches, are well worth exploring. 

Favorite beer of the year – Mad Pursuit can already be counted on to produce memorable beers (“New beers from Mad Pursuit”) and I think their GRZILA beer was the best beer they have ever made (“Mad Pursuit pays tribute to Cal Fire veteran”) A collaboration with one of their yearly sponsors, Mike Kirschmann, formerly with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department, it was brewed in memory of Jesse Garza, Jr., a 35-year Cal Fire veteran. I got up bright and early one morning to watch Kirschmann and Mad Pursuit co-owner Alex DeLeon creating the beer: grinding four types of grains, measuring out gypsum, calcium chloride, and salt, and adding in the yeast along with the Lupomax Centennial, Chinook, Columbus Tomahawk, Zeus, and Simcoe hops. The eventual result was a delightful Double IPA that sold out in a matter of days.

The most fun stories of the year – Since childhood, I have seen the winning food entries at amateur competitions and always wondered how they stood up to the commercially made versions. This year, I found out when I took part in two different judging competitions at the San Benito County Fair. First, I tasted many of the winning entries for my ”Homemade preserves bring great flavors” article, including a fantastic strawberry margarita jam. And I got to consult with Grillin & Chillin owner Chuck Frowein as he judged the “Homemade wine and beer competition.” The process of deciding a winner is fairly complex and demanding but the entries themselves were uniformly excellent. 

Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com. Very grateful thanks go to Chang So, with Hollister Supers and Windmill Market for underwriting this series!

BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.