Cleverly disguised within a neoclassic modern industrial warehouse at the western tip of the Santa Ynez Valley, Avant Tapas & Wine entices guests with an amazing variety of wines, local artisan cuisine, and lots of ways to have a good time.
First, there’s the massive Wine Wall, a unique wine dispensing system that allows guests to help themselves to a sip, a full glass, or anywhere in between. All of the wines are local—coming from vintners along California’s Central Coast—but a large majority of wines come from right next door. Avant’s sister and neighbor, Terravant Wine Company, is a custom crush wine production facility for dozens of local wineries, and Avant is the tasting room for them all.
But Avant is much more than a tasting room. Under the culinary direction of Chef de Cuisine Brooke Stockwell, Avant is a full-service restaurant, offering tantalizing dishes with a local-centric focus. Chef Brooke artistically prepares wood-fired pizzas, hand-cut steaks and pork chops, ocean-fresh seafood, house-made soups, crunchy salads, sandwiches, vegetarian entrées, and more, from ingredients that were raised and grown nearby. In fact, all of the beef, lamb, and pork, plus 90 percent of the produce Chef Brooke uses, come from the Santa Ynez Valley. And, as seasons change, so does the menu. Chef Brooke is constantly creating new recipes. But one menu item is definitely a mainstay: Yuppie Crack, a heady concoction of Applewood-smoked bacon, dates, and goat cheese bathed in a balsamic reduction and drizzled with basil oil.
People also come to Avant to have fun. Thursday through Sunday evenings, there’s live music, and often there are special events including local Santa Ynez Valley winemaker receptions and tastings. Avant offers two Wine Clubs and a retail shop with more than 100 local Santa Barbara wines and great wine gifts.
In a given day, there’s enough going on here to be considered a wine festival. But at Avant, it’s just another day.
For more information, please visit: avantwines.com