A Sampler of San Luis Comestibles : Spiced oils, jellies, beer and a popular sourdough bread round out a regional wine tour.

No wine tour is complete without a sampling of the food of the region, and San Luis Obispo County offers a wide variety of exotic tastes that include locally-produced herbs, vinegars and oils, spicy sauces, beer and some of the best sourdough bread made anywhere.

The bread has become a real calling card for the city in which it’s baked. Dave and Charlie West opened San Luis Sourdough in San Luis Obispo in June 1983 using an ancient sourdough starter they had bought. The company grew slowly until 1987, when the federal Small Business Administration named San Luis Sourdough the Small Business of the Year.

“That was the shot in the arm,” said Craig McLaughlin, marketing director. Today San Luis Sourdough bakes 15,000 pounds of bread a day for distribution in the San Joaquin Valley, and plans are underway for sales in Southern California grocery stores. It is sold retail at the bakery’s downtown outlet, 1141 Chorro St. (805-544-SOUR), as well as at the factory, 3580 Sueldo St. Mail orders may be placed by calling (800) 266-7687 or by sending a fax to (805) 543-1279.

The freshest beer in the county is the work of Michael Hoffman, a former winemaker who opened SLO Brewing Co. in 1988 after his Hoffman Mountain Ranch winery went bankrupt.

The micro brewery operates out of a loft in downtown San Luis Obispo, and serves terrific cafe food and four beers daily: a porter, a pale ale, an amber ale and a seasonal beer. Brewmaster Hoffman also makes a year-end blend called Holidaze that is flavored with Hawaiian ginger root.

Hoffman says making beer is saner than making wine: “We look at it from the standpoint of freshness. It takes me seven days to make (the beer) and it’s drunk in another seven days. Our Doctor’s Reserve Cabernet (which he made at the now defunct HMR Winery) was aged six years before release. Beer is much more economical.”

The SLO Brewing Co. brew pub has 42-ounce “yard of ale” glasses and TV sets for sports events. And Hoffman is getting ready to open a classic billiard hall downstairs from the brew pub, probably within the next few weeks. SLO Brew, as it is known locally, is at 1119 Garden St.; (805) 543-1843. But the beer is also available by the glass at Ian’s in Cambria and at the Olde Port Inn in Avila Beach (just north of Pismo Beach), two of the county’s best restaurants.

Other purveyors of local delicacies that are sold in markets and specialty stores in the area:

The Spice Hunter. Lucia Cleveland’s Spice Hunter recently was named California Small Business of the Year by the state Department of Commerce and Small Business Development Board. The company packages dressing and dip mixes, which may also be used as flavorings for a wide variety of dishes. To order from out of the area, call (800) 444-3061 for mixes and an herb-oriented cookbook ($6.95).

Cafe Roma Olive Oils. Dennis Risso’s four flavored oils--garlic, basil, rosemary and sun-dried tomato--are popular for dipping bread at local wine tasting rooms. Distribution is thus far only local, but the oils, at $6.95 per bottle, are excellent holiday gifts; (805) 473-3559 or (800) 488-OLIV; fax (805) 473-8671.

Mo Hotta-Mo Betta. Tim and Wendy Eidson’s sauces are the rage of hot food connoisseurs. All of the Eidsons’ business is by mail order, though some of the hot sauces are used at a few local restaurants, including at SLO Brewing Co.; (800) 462-3220.

Little Sisters. Melinda Forbes’s herb-based mustards and jellies made in Atascadero are popular in specialty shops and at wineries. Among the flavors are sweet-spicy cranberry-mint, jalapeno and red pepper jellies; mustards flavored with rosemary; a Mexican mustard blend with garlic and cilantro; basil-garlic mustard and a grainy lemon thyme mustard. Prices are about $4 for four ounces; (805) 438-5077.

Gardens by the Bay. This line of vinegars (including raspberry and hot pepper) and spiced olive oils is made in Morro Bay; (805) 772-5071.

The Pepper Plant. An Atascadero operation makes a locally popular liquid pepper sauce made with California chilies--it’s spicy but not excessively hot; (805) 466-7387 or (800) 541-4355.