Harvest season is here! Read along for a few updates and behind-the-scenes happenings from around the ranch and beyond.  

 

THE HOPS ARE HUGE

This is our third year growing hops at the ranch, all in pursuit of our mission: beer of this place.

This year’s hops have grown bigger than ever—so big that the weight actually brought down a couple of the trellises supporting them. Luckily, our jack-of-all-trades Josh was on the job and has them repaired.

We’re checking on the lupulin development each week, but there are still a few more weeks to go before harvest. And with more hops than ever, we’re going to need some help getting them off the vines. We’re currently looking into a harvester!

 

Vista and Saaz hop bines climb toward the sun at FP Farm in Los Olivos.Vista and Saaz hop bines climb toward the sun at FP Farm in Los Olivos.

 

500 POUNDS OF TOMATOES…AND COUNTING

The FP Farm is bountiful! We harvested 250 pounds of tomatoes last week, with another 250 pounds being harvested as we speak. We’re really excited about the flavor and texture of the tomatoes right now. 

Taste them in our Smash LT cheeseburger, or try our Seasonal Tomato Salad, a new seasonal special at Santa Barbara starting today. 

SEASONAL TOMATO SALAD:

FP Ranch tomatoes, house-made ricotta, Castelvetrano olives, red onion, FP Ranch basil, hazelnut, and Calabrian chili vinaigrette 

 

Tomatoes of assorted varieties in full effect! Heirloom, Roma, Beefsteak, San Marzano... Try our seasonal tomato salad while the tomatoes are ripe and juicy.

 

FORAGED OAK FOR THE FIRES

On the weekends, we have four fires going at once: three in Santa Barbara—the pizza oven, Santa Maria grill, and offset smoker—and one smoker in Carpinteria. All of them are fueled by oak from the ranch.

When an oak tree falls, we collect what we can and put it to use. We have Deandre to thank for making that happen. Chopping oak is hard on a saw, so Deandre recently got a new one to help us keep the fires going. 

 

Fallen oak, future firewood.

 

THIRD WINDOW KITCHEN AT FESS PARKER WINERY

Make that five fires going on the weekend.

We’re bringing Third Window Kitchen to Fess Parker Winery on weekends, with a menu built around the ranch itself. We’ll be cooking FP ranch-raised Wagyu over FP Ranch oak together with farm-fresh ingredients—a true expression of this place, served alongside Fess Parker wines born from the same land.

We’ll be at the winery Saturdays and Sundays, with a menu that changes from weekend to weekend. We’ll share the menu here each week.

 

Pit-smoked chicken and Wagyu Tri-Tip make their way onto plates and into sandwiches at Fess Parker Winery each weekend.