Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort Welcomes New Food & Beverage Director Kyle Erickson

USA, Solvang, California. May 24, 2018

Santa Barbara native and certified sommelier Kyle Erickson joins the team at Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort
as the new food & beverage director. Bringing his noteworthy
experience in the wine and spirits industry, he works in tandem with
Executive Chef Anthony Endy to elevate Alisal's already reputable food
and beverage program. He strives to incorporate his passion and
knowledge of the region in his approach to his new role at the Ranch.

“We really want to show off the Central Coast,” Erickson says. “I
want to be on the forefront of championing the trailblazers who are
putting Santa Barbara on the map.”

In his first month at Alisal, Erickson has already taken steps to
integrate local wine into the food and beverage program, working closely
with Chef Endy to ensure the wine program and menus cohesively feature
the best purveyors in the region. Erickson has also added a sommelier
spotlight on Alisal's wine list with notes of horizontals and verticals
provided by featured wineries. On top of this, he has introduced a
quarterly winemaker dinner series open to the public and has expanded
the cocktail offerings at Alisal's iconic Oak Room bar.

“My aim is to make sure that we are doing everything we can to be
stewards of the region by highlighting local wines and prominently
featuring them at the Ranch.”

Erickson's restaurant roots begin in the Santa Ynez Valley, with his first role as a restaurant manager and wine buyer for The Red Barn Steakhouse, later moving to The Wine Cask where he met Alisal's Executive Chef, Anthony Endy. During his time at The Wine Cask, he developed skills in the global fine wine scene and was inspired to be certified as a sommelier. Once obtaining certification, Erickson moved to Arizona to work for Fox Restaurant Concepts to develop and open their new restaurant space, Olive & Ivy.

Over a year later, Erickson moved back to his hometown of Santa Barbara to transition as General Manager and Wine Buyer for The Hungry Cat. While in this role, Erickson began selling wine part time under Martine's Wines portfolio and others. Through this experience, Erickson met his former partner Ted Vance, forming Vance Erickson Fine Wine Brokers out of Santa Barbara. His robust experience and connections in the industry has led to his early success at Alisal.

“I am grateful for the relationships that I've fostered over the years. They inspire me to support the founders of the Santa Barbara wine industry.”

Erickson is a passionate advocate for local legends in the industry who are continuously gaining notoriety for Santa Barbara County wines both regionally and globally. The original Santa Barbara winemakers are still active in the winemaking process today and Erickson aims to highlight their accomplishments when possible, sharing stoires of their craft and expertise.

As locals, both Erickson and Endy are proud to show up to the 10,500-acre Santa Ynez Valley ranch for work every day. Erickson says, “we both grew up in the region and being a part of the Alisal team is a dream come true.” Erickson currently resides in Solvang, CA, with his wife and two young children and aspires to continue training and acquire Master Sommelier certification.

Business Contact:

Subscribe to our newsletter
for more Hotel Newswire articles

Related News

Choose a Social Network!

The social network you are looking for is not available.

Close
Coming up in March 1970...