Tangent's Grenache Blanc and The Spoon Trade's Smoke and Fire Cocktail 

So there’s already obnoxious Thanksgiving stuff in all the stores, and I’m still wearing my hot pants and sun visor. Sigh! Sometimes, you just have to say to heck with it and unscrew a bottle of crisp white I Don’t Give a Hoot. Come at me, holidays. I’ve got Tangent’s grenache blanc, with crisp acidity and a juicy grapefruit finish. Summer is but a state of mind, and I’m sustaining it as long as humanly possible. Now, get that scarecrow off my damn lawn!

• Tangent’s Grenache Blanc—$17; 5929 Orcutt Road, SLO.

Brunch at the Spoon Trade in Arroyo Grande means house-made sourdough with jam, fresh biscuits and sausage gravy, and waffles topped with seasonal fruit (carb-gasm), but don’t forget the real star of the show: their creative a.m. cocktails and mimosas. This quirky mix of dry vermouth, tart lime, and from-scratch tomato mix is way less filling than a bloody Mary, and—best of all—will distract you from checking your work email. Brunch is sacred, people.

• The Spoon Trade’s Smoke and Fire Cocktail—$8; 295 West Grand Ave. Grover Beach.

Hayley Thomas hasn’t checked her work email for more than two years. She can be reached at [email protected].