Iceland’s Norður & Co Salt

Made purely with geothermal energy in the northern reaches of the country and pulled from the history books

This past spring at Iceland’s annual DesignMarch festival, we stumbled across a box of salt that left a lasting impression. The striking packaging design drew us in to Reykjavik-based start-up Norður Salt, but there’s more to the Atlantis-esque artwork. We met with CEO and co-founder Gardar Stefansson on a rainy morning at the company’s office in the Ocean Cluster House, a marine-conscious business incubator in …

Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant, Santa Barbara

Tips from two of California’s most knowledgeable sommeliers on summertime pairings

At Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, local winemakers regularly interact with sommeliers and enthusiasts. The locale’s friendly atmosphere is the upshot of the owners’ considerable knowledge—Brian McClintic tackled the Master Sommelier exam while being filmed for the documentary SOMM and Eric Railsback is the former wine director at LA’s Osteria Mozza. Together they created the wine bar of their …

Flavorful Small Batch Vermont Gins

Three distinct versions of the juniper spirit, from the farm-filled New England state

Britain might be the first location that comes to mind when thinking about quality gin. Historically, the most predominant brands have hailed from there—as well as many of our favorites today. New England is better known for rolling green hills and early colonial America but it’s there, in Vermont, that a craft gin movement is underway and the quality options are plentiful. In an area …