Laurie Jervis

Amber Hogan easily recounts her “a-ha” moment, or epiphany, that led her to making wine. Hogan was a server at Brigitte’s on State Street in Santa Barbara, owned and managed for decades by chef Norbert Schulz and Brigitte Guehr, when she happened to sample a 2007 Ken Brown pinot noir from Clos Pepe Vineyard. “That’s when I fell in love with wine,” said Hogan, a native of Santa Barbara County.

Corkscrew Comedy, the brainchild of six local creative and comedic minds, will return June 18-20 for the second annual festival with a flock of new comedians. The three-day festival will kick off Thursday, June 18, at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, continue Friday, June 19, at the Buellhouse at Zaca Creek Tavern in Buellton, and wrap up Saturday, June 20, at Brander Winery in Los Olivos. The doors will open at 6 p.m., and all three shows will start at 7 p.m. Click here for more information.

I met Adam Edelman of Nisi Wines at the Garagiste Festival’s “Southern Exposure” Grand Tasting in Solvang in February. It was his debut at Garagiste — a California wine festival that introduces the smallest producers, many of them without tasting rooms — to new consumers. During our subsequent interview in early March, Edelman recounted that he had received “great feedback from both attendees and other winemakers” at the tasting. As one of those Garagiste attendees, I would agree.