SOLVANG WINERY CRUMBLES: OWNERS FLEE TO OREGON, LEAVING BEHIND…MORE BEER?

It appears the golden age of Santa Barbara wine country is, like a fine vintage left uncorked, rapidly turning to vinegar. Noozhawk, ever the diligent scribes of civic migration, reports that Mark and Wendy Horvath, the masterminds behind Crawford Family Wines, are packing up their barrels and heading for the hills — specifically, the hip, outdoorsy hills of Bend, Oregon. One must wonder if the constant struggle against crushing regulations, escalating property taxes, and the ever-present threat of a new bike lane through the vineyards finally proved too much for these vinicultural veterans.

Twenty-eight years in the wine business, they say, is enough. Enough for what? Enough artisanal rosé? Enough bespoke charcuterie boards? Or perhaps enough of the relentless parade of weekend warriors demanding gluten-free organic crackers with their single-vineyard Grenache? Whatever the reason, the Horvaths have chosen the siren song of craft breweries and trails over the sun-drenched, over-regulated valleys of our fair county.

And who can fault them? While Santa Barbara County boasts unparalleled scenic beauty, our local government often seems determined to make it as difficult as possible to actually produce anything, aside from perhaps highly refined bureaucratic paperwork. One imagines the lure of a place where one can still, whisper it, *start a small business* without first sacrificing a goat to the planning commission and hiring a full-time compliance officer, was simply too strong.

So, farewell, Crawford Family Wines. May your new Oregonian neighbors appreciate your fermented wisdom, and may you find solace in a state where the biggest regulatory hurdle might just be deciding which microbrew to sample next. Meanwhile, we'll be here, watching another piece of our local economy dry up faster than a forgotten Chardonnay in the summer sun.