PRESS
Here you will find a number of external links with reviews, interviews and more. Some are YOUTUBE videos, some are .PDF's and some are galleries where you may need to click through panels
For media inquiries, contact jannis.swerman@gmail.com
Eater! (November, 2024) The Best Places to Eat Around the Santa Ynez Valley.Where else but the HP?
Los Angeles Times/Spectrum News One: Great video on Sideways and the Santz Ynez Valley
The Hollywood Reporter: The ‘Sideways’ Revolution: How a Single Joke Upended the Wine World.
Conde Nast Traveler: A Trip to Santa Barbara Wine Country, 20 Years After ‘Sideways’. With quotes from our own co-winemaker, Gray Hartley.
Los Angeles Magazine: How 20-Year-Old Film 'Sideways' Impacted the Santa Ynez Valley. More tidbits on the film and quotes from our Frank Ostini
Los Angeles Magazine: The secret to the HP's grilled artichokes!
Observer: How to Spend a Dreamy Weekend in the Santa Ynez Valley. The title says it all, and, of course a shoutout to the Hitching Post.
Los Angeles Times: ‘Sideways’ turns 20. A generation later, are the kids drinking Merlot? More about the effects of the film and quotes from Frank Ostini.
Los Angeles Times: Horses, vineyards and a charming petrol museum: 13 reasons why Buellton is worth a stop. Of course, The Hitching Post is one of them. A wonderful quote from Frank Ostini included.
Los Angeles Magazine: A rundown of L.A. events celebrating SIDEWAYS.
SFgate: How a single movie turned a sleepy Calif. region into a major travel destination. Wonderful story about SIDEWAYS, its affect on the the Central Coast. Nice comments by our own Frank Ostini.
Fodors Travel: A Wino's Guide to the 20 Best Wineries in California. Includes Hitching Post Wines, of course.
Food and Wine Magazine: 20 Years Ago, This Movie Changed a Tiny California Wine Region Forever. Great article looking at the Santa Ynez Valley today, with quotes from Frank Ostini and many others.
Fodor's Travel: 20 Years After the Oscar-Winning Film, Does the ‘Sideways’ Wine Trail Still Stand? A wonderful article about the Sideways films sites today.
SoCal Restaurant Show Podcast: “Sideways” – The Motion Picture, 20th Anniversary Festivities with Hitching Post Wines’ Chef Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley. Fun article including quotes from Sideway's Actress Virginia Madsen.
The Montecito Journal: 20 Years Later, We’re Still Talking ‘Sideways’: Santa Ynez Valley to Spotlight Cult Film During Annual Feast
Sunset Magazine Travel Award 2024: This iconic restaurant in Buellton, owned by Grill Master and Winemaker Frank Ostini, is famous for its signature wood-fired steaks and even produces their own award-winning wine to complement the menu....
Men's Journal: Celebrate 'Sideways' 20th Anniversary at the Restaurant Where Miles Changed Wine For Decades
Golden State: The Hitching Post Toasts 20 Years of the Surprise Hit SIDEWAYS
Santa Barbara Independent: Hitching Post Releases ‘Sideways’ Anniversary Pinot Noir. A fun, must read article.
KTLA Channel 5 Los Angeles streaming video segment on the Taste of Santa Ynez Valley, the Hitching Post 2, with Virginia Madsen from SIDEWAYS
EatDrinkLA.com: 39 Things to Do in September in Los Angeles after Labor Day. Including, of course, our HP Sideways celebration.
KNBC Channel 4, Los Angeles: Happy 20th, ‘Sideways': Toast the beloved film at a sparkling fest. The Hitching Post 2 in Buellton, a restaurant seen in the 2004 movie, will also host a festive supper for fans.
Santa Barbara Life and Style Magazine article announces: "Sip Sideway". You can find it on page 25 of the October 2024 digital edition.
Santa Barbara Independent celebrates Frank Ostini and Gray Harley, Winemakers of the Year.
LA Weekly: Announcing the HP+SIDEWAYS Events.
HP + SIDEWAYS 20th Anniversary Press Release
The Restaurant Guy (santabarbara.com): Announcing the HP+SIDEWAYS Events
Santa Barbara Count Noozhawk: In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning film “Sideways,” Hitching Post Wines has partnered with Searchlight Pictures to showcase the wine label’s Highliner Pinot Noir, which also had a starring role in the movie. Read the great article.
AFAR ("Inspiring, Empowering, and Enriching Travelers Who Care"), gives a shout out to Los Alamos (California) as one of "America’s Best Small Towns for Wine Lovers." where close by "you’ll find yourself in the filming location of the comedic 2004 wine flick Sideways, on the doorstep of even more top-shelf producers" which, as they point out, includes Hitching Post Wines.
Santa Barbara Independent:
Sta. Rita Hills to Toast Hitching Post WinesFrank Ostini and Gray
Hartley Honored as Vintners of the Year by Fellow Winemakers and Growers
The 4th Annual Palm Springs Pinot Noir Festival, “A Passion 4 Pinot” is the premier event on the international wine calendar. Hosted in one of the world’s most dramatic and awe-inspiring Hotels, this is a unique opportunity to engage with 70 of the top winery owners and winemakers (including Hitching Post Wines of course) and other leading wine personalities and enthusiasts from all over California.
Santa Ynez Valley News "Best of the Valley" 2023: BEST BBQ, BEST STEAK, BEST STEAKHOUSE, BEST BURGER
Glen Annie Golf Club Hitching Post Wine Pairing Dinner. A great meal paired with Hitching Post wines. October 19, 2023
LA.Eater: Fabulous Places to Eat Around the Santa Ynez Valley. Of course, the Hitching Post!
Lompoc Record: Man of the Year. Frank Ostini, hard hat in hand, has lived a lifetime of service....
The Santa Ynez Valley Foundation and the Santa Ynez Valley News honor those in Santa Ynez Valley who go above and beyond in their service to the community. In 2023 Judy Canby has been selected as the Santa Ynez Valley Woman of the Year, and Frank Ostini has been selected as Man of the Year in recognition of their leadership and extensive efforts to give back. They were chosen by a panel of board members of the foundation, editors of the Valley News and former honorees, based on nominations made by Valley residents. They will be honored at a gala event on October 15.
Sunset Travel Awards, honoring the West’s top destinations for lodging, food and drink, and attractions and activities. 2023 includes the Hitching Post 2.
805 Living (go to page 89), September 2023 gives a shoutout to wineries adding food to the tasting experience and to the Hitching Post 2 restaurant doing it in reverse by adding a tasting room for HP Wines adjacent to the restaurant.
Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley September 28 - October 1, 2023 includes a special October 1st Sunday Supper at Hitching Post 2’s with a specially curated multi-course dinner paired with a selection of Hitching Post Wines presented by Chef/Winemaker Frank Ostini.
EATER
(Los Angeles): See the HP listed as one of the best
restaurants on the Centeral Coast
The Jeremiah Show: Hear a great interview with Frank Ostini talking about his wine, the restaurant business and more. From KZSB radio, Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara Independent: A Classic Sunday: Wine and Live Music through the summer.
Ojai Food + Wine Festival presented by Food & Wine Magazine, October 26-29, 2023. More than 50 top chefs and 100 acclaimed wineries in over 40 unique experiences. An exclusive, four-day gathering showcasing some of the world's best culinary personalities, including our very own Chef/Winemaker, Frank Ostini.
EATER (Los Angeles): One of the Central Coast’s most well-known restaurants, Hitching Post II sits just off the 101 and offers a meaty reprieve from the road. The focus of much of the wine country gossip over beers from the bar (as immortalized in the film Sideways), the main dining room is a rustic throwback to a burlier time. In fact, you can still watch your meat being cooked off from a viewing window looking over the Santa Maria-style grill in the kitchen.
SFGATE: Buellton's Hitching Post II, a classic Central California steakhouse, is iconic and movie-famous
Aromas del Terruño: A YOUTUBE Video Visit with Frank and Gray
The Coast News: Hitching Post Still a Destination for Wine Lovers
Conde Nast Traveler. Review of the HP2. Will make your mouth water!
Daydream Destinations for Your Next Getaway. Check out the portion about Central Coast California.
Taking the Sideways Tour 16 Years Later
winewednesday.com podcast: The Past and Present of Hitching Post Wines. A conversation with Frank Ostini.
CONSUMED with Jamie Lewis: A podcast conversion with Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley
TRIP REPORTER UK review of the HP.
USATODAY says the HP is the No. 1 spot in the country for Santa Maria-style barbecue!
The
June
2019 Food and Wine Magazine
has a great .PDF article about Santa Maria style BBQ and of course the
recipe they are using for the main course is our own Traditional Oak
Wood Grilled Tri-Tip (.pdf)
Visit Santa Ynez Valley has a great YOUTUBE showing off the best of the area. And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without Hitching Post Food. Spot Frank Ostini on his bike as he delivers lunch to the Hitching Post Winery Tasting Room next door. (Hint: he shows up at about 2:00).
The Hitching Post has once again won an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. These wine lists, which typically offer at least 90 selections, feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. Whether compact or extensive, focused or diverse, these lists deliver sufficient choice to satisfy discerning wine lovers.
CALIFORNIA WINERY ADVISOR: Best Central Coast Restaurants - March 2019
805 LIVING RESTAURANT SPECIAL - March 2019
FOOD NETWORK: Best BBQ in the Country. As of this writing, you'll find that panel 32 is about the HP2. If that's too much work, here's what it says: "Cuts are traditionally served with salsa, grilled garlic bread, local pinquito beans, green salad and macaroni salad. One of the best places to try this style of barbecue is at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge during special occasions or at a Central Coast steak specialist like The Hitching Post II, a Buellton spot hailed for its local wine selections and famed for its appearance in the movie Sideways."