Wine History Project Events

Join us at the SLO Film Festival on April 26th for a screening of our award-winning film, The Amphora Project – Past Forward!

Karen MacNeil and our local winemakers will share their wines at a reception following on March 9th. Tickets will go on sale shortly to benefit local charities!

Join us in wine country in Paso Robles on May 6th for a screening of our award-winning film, The Amphora Project – Past Forward!

Join us for the premier of our new film documenting the Amphora Project this December! You’re invited to an evening of film and wine featuring “The Amphora Project – Past Forward” on December 1, 2022 from 5:30-7:30 PM. The film shows how ancient winemaking techniques are being explored today by winemakers in San Luis Obispo County.

Café Roma opened its doors in San Luis Obispo in May of 1980 with Maria Rosa and Joseph Rizzo. They married in Italy in 1961 and owned restaurants in both Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada before calling SLO their home. Here is their story of how family and food came together to create a restaurant that has been a part of the San Luis Obispo community for nearly 40 years.

Locally produced foods are very important to not only one’s health but also to the local economy...

SLO Provisions offers house-roasted rotisserie meats, family-style dinners, specialty sandwiches,...

As we learned in the Wine History Project’s Food History event in February, bread in a variety of forms has been a main food staple since the beginning of civilization. “Breaking bread” is a phrase we all can relate to. Whether it is a religious ritual, a family meal, or symbolic gesture, bread has been a part of civilized life for at least 8000 years.

George Trevelyan has been working with shellfish for more than 20 years. He founded his company, Grassy Bar Oyster Company, in 2009 and soon will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary. The company name describes the intertidal-mudflat sites of oyster beds in the back bay just off Morro Bay. Historically the oyster beds were fringed with eelgrass, but that is now disappearing. George shared with us the long history of growing oysters in Morro Bay and his personal experiences.

On October 8th, members of the Food History Project gathered at the SLO Provisions for a presentation on the history of olives and olive oil by grower and artist Will Carlton.

The Food History Project had the pleasure of touring one of the most famous and oldest family run...

The history of food and mourning begins with the actual consumption of the deceased – cannibalism. Over time, it changes to the concept of providing food for the departed. Then, by the Middle Ages, funeral food focuses on feeding the living mourners.

The New York Times applied the label to California Cuisine, giving it “Official Status” in 1982...

By Sarah Lohman I started baking as soon as I could stand. I’d pull up my helper stool next to my...

The crank ice cream maker was invented in Philadelphia in 1843, which was easier and more...

Several miles east of the Finney dairy is the beautiful Ranchito, famous for its picturesque...

The Swiss Italians settled on the Central Coast between Cambria and Cayucos with their dairy cows...

Professor Tom Neuhaus, founder of Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates, will give a special presentation on chocolate and chocolate tasting.

April 2018: Jerry Rutiz shared the history of Rutiz Family Farms and agriculture in Arroyo Grande.

February 2018: Phil Tillman gave two talks – one on the Chinese families who settled along the Estero Bluffs on up into Cambria where they harvested and dried a specific light green seaweed and another on the environmental destruction caused by Navy Bean in Arroyo Grande.

January 2018: Libbie Agran explores the hidden history of women and food. Read a summary of the lecture.