Uncorked and On The Rocks: An Evening at Blackbird

Kick off your Solstice celebrations with local favorite Margerum Wine Company at this month's Uncorked and On The Rocks. Doug Margerum joins Executive Chef Travis Watson to showcase these beautiful Santa Barbara handcrafted wines, alongside a delectable dinner. The evening will begin with a reception on the patio, followed by a four-course meal in Blackbird, carefully curated to perfectly pair with these wines. 

6:00PM Reception
Blackbird Patio

6:30PM Paired Dinner
Blackbird

*Dinner Menu Coming Soon*

Doug Margerum

Doug started his food and wine explorations while traveling with his parents at age 14 in France. His passion for food and wine was enhanced as he worked in restaurants as a cook and server throughout his high school and college years.

Coinciding with his graduation from UCSB in 1981, his family purchased Wine Cask in Santa Barbara, which quickly expanded to include a simple bistro adjacent to the existing wine store. Doug sold Wine Cask in 2007 after deciding to devote all of his energies to wine making. MARGERUM WINE COMPANY was established in 2001. Doug’s philosophy is to return to wine making in its previous form of production – handcrafted and personal.

Margerum Wine Company produces limited quantities of wines made from grapes grown at the Margerum Estate Vineyard, and at top vineyards from around Santa Barbara County. Doug carefully selects the vineyards with meticulous attention to detail in all factors influencing the ultimate quality of the wines, including pruning, soil, climate, and farming methods. The wines are made at their state-of-the-art winery located on Industrial Way in Buellton.

Doug is also the winemaker/consultant for Happy Canyon Vineyards, La Encantada Vineyards and Paradise Springs of Santa Barbara.

Chef Travis Watson

As a former University of Arizona football player, "chef" seems like an unlikely career choice for a guy who also loves competition shooting and Brazilian jiujitsu. But then he was inspired at 14 by his first football coach who was also an Executive Chef at a restaurant where Watson was employed as a dishwasher. Cooking seemed much cooler and definitely more fun, and once he was promoted to prep cook a few months later, the die was cast. 

After high school, Watson attended Scottsdale Culinary Institute. Upon graduation, he did an impressive externship under Chef Jacques Paccard in Paris. Upon his return to the States, enrolled in the University of Arizona in Tucson. Bit by the travel bug, he spent summers and the years after graduation traveling, working and learning in cities like Seattle, Los Angeles and Denver and countries such as Japan, France, Italy and Mozambique. He was fortunate enough to work at some of the finest hotels and restaurants across the world.

In 1999, Watson settled back in Arizona, working for Fox Restaurant Concepts as Corporate Pastry Chef where he was responsible for opening 27 restaurants across the country over the next eight years. He left Fox to take over the helm as Executive Chef of Avalon, where he and his team were named "Best New Restaurant" and "Best New Chef." From there Chef Travis worked at the Royal Palms Resort and Spa, the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, the Stanley Hotel, Rancho Bernardo Inn and now Chef Travis leads the team at the acclaimed Hotel Californian in the American Riviera, Santa Barbara.