Behold my nominee for the coolest bottle shop in the Santa Cruz area: Deer Park Wine & Spirits (783 Rio Del Mar Blvd., Aptos).
Which serves as a reminder: Best of Santa Cruz nominations are open and ongoing through Sunday, Nov. 16, at goodtimes.sc/best-of-ballot.
The vast and uncommon inventory speaks for itself, and the service is old-school earnest and approachable, but the real differentiators are the free or affordable ($20 max) educational tastings happening several times a month, and a whiskey club for whiskey obsessors and blossoming beginners alike.
The first Friday of every month features “wines curated and loved in the shop” and is hosted by industry experts.
The third Friday features an assortment of spirits shared and still more experts, riffing and sipping everything from gins to amaros.
DPWS owner-operator-whiskey whisperer Cheyne Howell stays vigilant on seeking out rare finds, and stoking locals on maximum education. One of his recent discoveries represents another potential Best Of nominee and my new preferred clear spirit: Corralitos Vodka is a bit of a unicorn, as it’s one of the few truly local and family-owned liquors in the area, and unlocks a strikingly soft, floral and apple-based experience on the palate.
“Like the farmers market or Costco, when you taste a consumable product you can better decide for yourself,” Howell says. “You can only learn so much about a product without trying it. It opens the door for a lot more conversation too!”
All of the edu-tastings happen 4–7pm and are best tracked by DPWS’s newsletter, subscribable via deerparkwines.com.
SWEET SUCCESS
You had me at “moukie.” That fiendishly delicious creation—part mousse, part mini madeleine cake—ranks among the draws at Spontaneous Confections (1855 41st Ave., Capitola), which celebrated its grand opening Nov. 1 at the Capitola Mall. Pastry Chef Justin Lenorovitz learned his way around brownies, tarts and other treats at Institut Culinaire de France in Bordeaux, France, and now slings pastries and desserts like his four takes on a from-scratch Dubai bar—dark chocolate, milk chocolate, hazelnut crunch and Persian love—for limited hours 10am–2pm Monday–Tuesday and noon–5pm Friday, spontaneousconfections.com.
HELP FOR THE HUNGRY
Second Harvest Food Bank is reminding locals that 1) CalFresh/SNAP benefits are delayed in November due to the federal government shutdown; 2) If you receive benefits, the State of California will notify you directly about the delay; 3) This is not a termination of your benefits or a change in your eligibility; and 4) Second Harvest team members stand by ready to help at 831-662-0991, and by way of the “Find Food” tab at thefoodbank.org, which will help you home in on a distribution site near you.
HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
Homeless Garden Project’s new store in downtown Santa Cruz (1339 Pacific Ave. Santa Cruz) is now open 11am–6pm daily across the street from its old space, which flooded earlier this year—and ready to fill your Santa sack with natural bath and body products, hand-dipped beeswax candles, organic baking mixes, soy candles, strawberry jam, local artisans’ jewelry, books, cards and more, homelessgardenproject.org…Eat for the Earth’s free holiday celebration happens 7–9pm Dec. 6, with nourishing plant-based foods, the jazz stylings of Eliot Kalman and Eat Music, a silent auction, drawings and spotlights on the nonprofit’s allies, at Santa Cruz Seventh-day Adventist Church (1024 Cayuga St., Santa Cruz), eatfortheearth.org…The latest Get Hooked! dinner to benefit Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust happens at Solstice (46840 Highway 1, Big Sur) with seafood towers, sparkling wines, multiple chefs and multiple courses, and supports the trust’s awesome community seafood outreach program connecting those in need with fresh catch, while supporting area fishermen, $145, montereybayfisheriestrust.org…Teddy Roosevelt, lead us out: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
