A weekend away in Santa Barbara & the Santa Ynez Valley
This weekend, my most favorite companion, pewtey, and I went to have a mini-vacay in the Santa Barbara & Santa Ynez Valley area. We’ve been so bored with things lately, and felt it was time to shake it up by leaving town for a bit. As far as we’re concerned, Santa Barbara may be as close to heaven as you can get. The sea, the mountains, the city, the college, the laid-back lifestyle-it’s got just about everything except low prices, good jobs for us, and an easy-to-fly-anywhere airport. Ah well, we can dream, right?
For our break, then, SB was a natural choice. We found a cute little B&B in SB through the web, and headed up there. We stayed at the Orchid Inn; not in the heart of the action of State Street, but definitely within walking distance. The Inn was completely charming, the food excellent, the service good. We stayed in Room #2-my only advice would be to stay in any other room… we were on the ground floor next to the lobby and dining room. Not good for sleeping in. Otherwise, though, I’d definitely go back!
http://www.orchidinnatsb.com/
Saturday day, we went to the Santa Ynez valley for some wine tasting. I have only gone wine tasting once before with some people with connections in the Dry Creek/Alexander Valley area-we never paid for a tasting! So I was a little unsure of how things would fly. Happily, my husband had gone a couple times before and was more than willing to show me the ropes. We had done some research for various wineries to narrow them down-here is a run down of the 7 we visited!
1) Zaca Mesa: http://www.zacamesa.com/
We went here because I read that the wines were pretty good and the place had a sense of humor. This fun little place also has a “we allow dogs” policy and we loved meeting Roy, the manager’s dog. We started there because we thought we could go north and work our way South.
Tasting: We were happy to learn that the when we got there, that the tasting was free! Well, that was for 5 wines anyway. We weren’t so fond of the rose (2005 Z Gris), but I liked the light Estate Viognier (2005), the 2004 Estate Chardonnay was great (we bought it), the 2003 Z Cuvee pretty decent, but the 2002 Estate Syrah left something to be desired. Our taste-master decided to let us taste on of the 3 wines we would have had to pay to taste free of charge and it was a good thing-we ended up getting that 2002 Eight Barrel Syrah!
All in all, a pretty good winery, and I’d be happy to go back there.
Purchased: Chardonnay and 8 Barrel Syrah.
We then headed to the tiny town of Los Olivos, where there are at least 10-15 winery tasting rooms, all within walking distance. We hit up 4 before lunch-a wise move on our part because it got super crowded afterward. Plus we could get buzzed, then put some absorbent food in our stomachs so that we could continue! 2) through 5) were all within walking distance.
2) Daniel Gehrs winery: http://www.dgwines.com/
This place appealed to me because apparently Daniel has done some wine consulting work for other wineries-and anyone that does that and makes their own it worth checking out in my book! Atmosphere on the inside was warm, but very countrified. We enjoyed the Kenny Rogers, though!
Tasting was $7 per glass for 6 wines. The 2005 Chenin Blanc was fruity but dry (good), the 2005 Gewurtraminer a bit too light for our tastes. The 2001 Grenache was light but flavorful, the 2001 Shriaz ok. The 1999 Methuselah was one of the strongest wines I’ve ever had, but the 2003 Fireside Port to die for!
Ok wines overall, but I think the winery’s style is less “us.”
Purchased: Port.
3) Consilience winery: http://www.consiliencewines.com/
Recommended to us by a friend who said it was great-we agree! Very classy looking tasting room, fun quotes around the place, and good wines.
Tasting was $7 for 5 on the County Wine list, $7 for 4 on the Designated Vineyard list, or $12 for both lists. The 2004 Grenache Blanc was a good white, as was the 2004 Roussanne, which we bought. The 2003 SB County Syrah was perhaps a bit light, the 2003 Hampton Vineyard Syrah was good, and the 2003 Great Oaks Vineyard Syrah was like a melody in your mouth… changing tastes as it moved through. I was not leaving town without a bottle of that! Their 2004 Pinot Noir is an award winner, and as good as we had expected. We bought that, too. The 2003 Star Lane Vineyard Syrah was pretty good, but the 2003 Rodney Shull Syrah had opposite tastes to us-for me it started spicy and finished smooth, Josh had the reverse. Odd, eh? The 2003 Petite La Presa Sirah was definitely ok, but the 2003 Zinfandel was SO SWEET. It was almost like a dessert wine!
We liked this winery so much we decided to join the wine club! 2 bottles three times a year at $70 a shipment.
Purchased: 3 bottles! 2004 Roussane, 2003 Great Oaks Vineyard Syrah, and 2004 Pinot Noir.
4) Arthur Earl winery: http://www.arthurearl.com/
The write-up on this one seemed pretty good, so we checked it out. Nice clean tasting room, but when we arrived we were the only ones there… a big group of 10 left when we came in!
Tasting was $5 for 5 off the types 9 listed. We tried the 2003 Mourvedre nice and light, the 2002 A Genoux which was nice and flavorful, 2001 El Pmaoar Syrah, which was very easy to drink, 2003 Barbera, which was spicy and flavorful with a smooth finish. We ended on the 2003 Il Re, which means “king”, which was
Overall very decent wines, and I wouldn’t mind going back.
Purchased: 2003 Barbera
5) Alexander & Wayne-Los Olivos Vinters
This place is a sister unit to Arthur Earl, but they focus more on the Burgundies and Bordeaux, while the Earl room focused more on the Syrahs & Shirazes.
Tasting was free with the glass & coupon from Arthur Earl! We tried 2003 Tempranillo, a nice spicy smooth finish wine, the 2001 Old Adobe Pinot an almost citrusy pinot, the 2001 Merlot Westerly Vineyard (smooth start but acidic finish), the 2002 Cabernet Franc, a good basic wine, and the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, an almost velvety smooth wine.
Overall, another set of decent wines, and I wouldn’t mind going back.
Purchased: None.
After all of these places, we decided it was time for some lunch. Los Olivos has about 5 restaurants total, or so it seemed. We were really deciding between 3; the Los Olivos Café, the panini place, and the Country Market deli & store. Ultimately, we chose the Country Market. Josh got the Roast Beef sandwich, and I got pastrami… I should have gotten it with just plain mustard and pickles, but oh well. The roast beef was apparently excellent. We ate outside on the patio, it was pretty nice out there. Before we left the store we bought the Blackjack Allusion 2001 wine, because Josh thought he had tried and liked it before (turns out it was the 2003, oh well). Before we left town we went back into Consillience to buy the wines and join as members-it was SO CROWDED compared to the morning! It seems like before lunch may be the best time to go tasting in terms of crowds.
After Los Olivios we went headed back south.
6) Beckmen http://www.beckmenvineyards.com/
This place was tricky to find! Josh had been here in Sept and it was the only place he wanted to return to. We had heard it got crowded in the afternoon but decided to take a chance. Boy, was it packed!! We had to fight our way to the counter, fight our way to get glasses poured, and the classic heavy rock they had pumping seriously added to the frenzy!
Tasting was $7 for 6. We split it. We tried the 2004 Purisima Sauvignon Blanc, fruity but almost bitterly dry, 2005 Purisima Grenache Rose was fruity but not overly sweet, the the 2005 Estate Grenache was the worst wine I had all day. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was not *quite* smooth enough, the 2003 Estate Syrah was decent, but had the same effect of the Rodney Shull Syrah from Consilience: opposite starts and finishes of spicy and smooth for Josh and me. The last wine was the 2003 Purisima Syrah, which was a pretty good wine and would go well with meat dishes, but at $40 a bottle, we didn’t want to give it a go.
Overall, my least favorite tasting experience was here. I liked the wines the least, or so I think, but the tasting experience may have greatly contributed to that. I’d give it another shot because of Josh’s pleasant experience there the first time, but if the second time’s a bust, that’s the end of the line.
Purchased: none.
7) Gainey http://www.gaineyvineyard.com/
This was probably the largest winery we went to. The wines here were very reasonably priced, the tasting room crowded but well managed. We came here last, and I was glad that this, not Beckmen, was our last stop.
Tasting was $7 for 8 wines. The 2005 Riesling was exactly what I expect in a Riesling, sweet and slightly effervescent. The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc was surprisingly smooth, the 2003 Limited Slection Sauvignon Blanc was fruity & almost sweet but crisp-we bought this one! The 2003 Chardonnay, however, was almost syrupy sweet. The 2002 Limited Selection Chardonnay was very even keel between fruity, sweet and crisy and dry, and the 2003 Triada was a red that was full bodied and *almost* sweet but not quite. The 2002 Merlot was a good basic merlot, but the 2000 Limited Selection Merlot was quite good.
Overall impression: the larger size of this vineyard made it lose some of the intimacy I felt at some of the other places, but I think it helped drop the price of wine, which is a good thing. I’d go back.
Purchased: Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc for us, Limited Merlot for Josh’s mom (Mother’s Day gift). More wine may be purchased from here as gifts…
Back in Santa Barbara
After all of these tastings we went back to our quite little B&B in SB where after the complimentary glass of wine and yummy cheese in our room we took a nap.
For dinner we walked to State Street, the quintessential strip of SB. We had a fabulous dinner & cocktails (I was wine-ed out!) at Opal’s Restaurant & Bar http://opalrestaurantandbar.com/
Two thumbs way up for that place! We wanted an after-dinner cocktail so seeing the “Since 1963” sign, we headed into Mel’s Place on De Le Guerra St. It was a fun atmosphere, but the cocktails could have been mixed a bit better in my book.
Sunday morning we walked around the artists fair on the waterfront in SB, had a filling Mexican lunch on State Street during a festival of cars, and headed back to Long Beach through Camarillo where we got some tasty strawberries.
We don’t know when, but we’ll be back up that way again soon!
For our break, then, SB was a natural choice. We found a cute little B&B in SB through the web, and headed up there. We stayed at the Orchid Inn; not in the heart of the action of State Street, but definitely within walking distance. The Inn was completely charming, the food excellent, the service good. We stayed in Room #2-my only advice would be to stay in any other room… we were on the ground floor next to the lobby and dining room. Not good for sleeping in. Otherwise, though, I’d definitely go back!
http://www.orchidinnatsb.com/
Saturday day, we went to the Santa Ynez valley for some wine tasting. I have only gone wine tasting once before with some people with connections in the Dry Creek/Alexander Valley area-we never paid for a tasting! So I was a little unsure of how things would fly. Happily, my husband had gone a couple times before and was more than willing to show me the ropes. We had done some research for various wineries to narrow them down-here is a run down of the 7 we visited!
1) Zaca Mesa: http://www.zacamesa.com/
We went here because I read that the wines were pretty good and the place had a sense of humor. This fun little place also has a “we allow dogs” policy and we loved meeting Roy, the manager’s dog. We started there because we thought we could go north and work our way South.
Tasting: We were happy to learn that the when we got there, that the tasting was free! Well, that was for 5 wines anyway. We weren’t so fond of the rose (2005 Z Gris), but I liked the light Estate Viognier (2005), the 2004 Estate Chardonnay was great (we bought it), the 2003 Z Cuvee pretty decent, but the 2002 Estate Syrah left something to be desired. Our taste-master decided to let us taste on of the 3 wines we would have had to pay to taste free of charge and it was a good thing-we ended up getting that 2002 Eight Barrel Syrah!
All in all, a pretty good winery, and I’d be happy to go back there.
Purchased: Chardonnay and 8 Barrel Syrah.
We then headed to the tiny town of Los Olivos, where there are at least 10-15 winery tasting rooms, all within walking distance. We hit up 4 before lunch-a wise move on our part because it got super crowded afterward. Plus we could get buzzed, then put some absorbent food in our stomachs so that we could continue! 2) through 5) were all within walking distance.
2) Daniel Gehrs winery: http://www.dgwines.com/
This place appealed to me because apparently Daniel has done some wine consulting work for other wineries-and anyone that does that and makes their own it worth checking out in my book! Atmosphere on the inside was warm, but very countrified. We enjoyed the Kenny Rogers, though!
Tasting was $7 per glass for 6 wines. The 2005 Chenin Blanc was fruity but dry (good), the 2005 Gewurtraminer a bit too light for our tastes. The 2001 Grenache was light but flavorful, the 2001 Shriaz ok. The 1999 Methuselah was one of the strongest wines I’ve ever had, but the 2003 Fireside Port to die for!
Ok wines overall, but I think the winery’s style is less “us.”
Purchased: Port.
3) Consilience winery: http://www.consiliencewines.com/
Recommended to us by a friend who said it was great-we agree! Very classy looking tasting room, fun quotes around the place, and good wines.
Tasting was $7 for 5 on the County Wine list, $7 for 4 on the Designated Vineyard list, or $12 for both lists. The 2004 Grenache Blanc was a good white, as was the 2004 Roussanne, which we bought. The 2003 SB County Syrah was perhaps a bit light, the 2003 Hampton Vineyard Syrah was good, and the 2003 Great Oaks Vineyard Syrah was like a melody in your mouth… changing tastes as it moved through. I was not leaving town without a bottle of that! Their 2004 Pinot Noir is an award winner, and as good as we had expected. We bought that, too. The 2003 Star Lane Vineyard Syrah was pretty good, but the 2003 Rodney Shull Syrah had opposite tastes to us-for me it started spicy and finished smooth, Josh had the reverse. Odd, eh? The 2003 Petite La Presa Sirah was definitely ok, but the 2003 Zinfandel was SO SWEET. It was almost like a dessert wine!
We liked this winery so much we decided to join the wine club! 2 bottles three times a year at $70 a shipment.
Purchased: 3 bottles! 2004 Roussane, 2003 Great Oaks Vineyard Syrah, and 2004 Pinot Noir.
4) Arthur Earl winery: http://www.arthurearl.com/
The write-up on this one seemed pretty good, so we checked it out. Nice clean tasting room, but when we arrived we were the only ones there… a big group of 10 left when we came in!
Tasting was $5 for 5 off the types 9 listed. We tried the 2003 Mourvedre nice and light, the 2002 A Genoux which was nice and flavorful, 2001 El Pmaoar Syrah, which was very easy to drink, 2003 Barbera, which was spicy and flavorful with a smooth finish. We ended on the 2003 Il Re, which means “king”, which was
Overall very decent wines, and I wouldn’t mind going back.
Purchased: 2003 Barbera
5) Alexander & Wayne-Los Olivos Vinters
This place is a sister unit to Arthur Earl, but they focus more on the Burgundies and Bordeaux, while the Earl room focused more on the Syrahs & Shirazes.
Tasting was free with the glass & coupon from Arthur Earl! We tried 2003 Tempranillo, a nice spicy smooth finish wine, the 2001 Old Adobe Pinot an almost citrusy pinot, the 2001 Merlot Westerly Vineyard (smooth start but acidic finish), the 2002 Cabernet Franc, a good basic wine, and the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, an almost velvety smooth wine.
Overall, another set of decent wines, and I wouldn’t mind going back.
Purchased: None.
After all of these places, we decided it was time for some lunch. Los Olivos has about 5 restaurants total, or so it seemed. We were really deciding between 3; the Los Olivos Café, the panini place, and the Country Market deli & store. Ultimately, we chose the Country Market. Josh got the Roast Beef sandwich, and I got pastrami… I should have gotten it with just plain mustard and pickles, but oh well. The roast beef was apparently excellent. We ate outside on the patio, it was pretty nice out there. Before we left the store we bought the Blackjack Allusion 2001 wine, because Josh thought he had tried and liked it before (turns out it was the 2003, oh well). Before we left town we went back into Consillience to buy the wines and join as members-it was SO CROWDED compared to the morning! It seems like before lunch may be the best time to go tasting in terms of crowds.
After Los Olivios we went headed back south.
6) Beckmen http://www.beckmenvineyards.com/
This place was tricky to find! Josh had been here in Sept and it was the only place he wanted to return to. We had heard it got crowded in the afternoon but decided to take a chance. Boy, was it packed!! We had to fight our way to the counter, fight our way to get glasses poured, and the classic heavy rock they had pumping seriously added to the frenzy!
Tasting was $7 for 6. We split it. We tried the 2004 Purisima Sauvignon Blanc, fruity but almost bitterly dry, 2005 Purisima Grenache Rose was fruity but not overly sweet, the the 2005 Estate Grenache was the worst wine I had all day. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was not *quite* smooth enough, the 2003 Estate Syrah was decent, but had the same effect of the Rodney Shull Syrah from Consilience: opposite starts and finishes of spicy and smooth for Josh and me. The last wine was the 2003 Purisima Syrah, which was a pretty good wine and would go well with meat dishes, but at $40 a bottle, we didn’t want to give it a go.
Overall, my least favorite tasting experience was here. I liked the wines the least, or so I think, but the tasting experience may have greatly contributed to that. I’d give it another shot because of Josh’s pleasant experience there the first time, but if the second time’s a bust, that’s the end of the line.
Purchased: none.
7) Gainey http://www.gaineyvineyard.com/
This was probably the largest winery we went to. The wines here were very reasonably priced, the tasting room crowded but well managed. We came here last, and I was glad that this, not Beckmen, was our last stop.
Tasting was $7 for 8 wines. The 2005 Riesling was exactly what I expect in a Riesling, sweet and slightly effervescent. The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc was surprisingly smooth, the 2003 Limited Slection Sauvignon Blanc was fruity & almost sweet but crisp-we bought this one! The 2003 Chardonnay, however, was almost syrupy sweet. The 2002 Limited Selection Chardonnay was very even keel between fruity, sweet and crisy and dry, and the 2003 Triada was a red that was full bodied and *almost* sweet but not quite. The 2002 Merlot was a good basic merlot, but the 2000 Limited Selection Merlot was quite good.
Overall impression: the larger size of this vineyard made it lose some of the intimacy I felt at some of the other places, but I think it helped drop the price of wine, which is a good thing. I’d go back.
Purchased: Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc for us, Limited Merlot for Josh’s mom (Mother’s Day gift). More wine may be purchased from here as gifts…
Back in Santa Barbara
After all of these tastings we went back to our quite little B&B in SB where after the complimentary glass of wine and yummy cheese in our room we took a nap.
For dinner we walked to State Street, the quintessential strip of SB. We had a fabulous dinner & cocktails (I was wine-ed out!) at Opal’s Restaurant & Bar http://opalrestaurantandbar.com/
Two thumbs way up for that place! We wanted an after-dinner cocktail so seeing the “Since 1963” sign, we headed into Mel’s Place on De Le Guerra St. It was a fun atmosphere, but the cocktails could have been mixed a bit better in my book.
Sunday morning we walked around the artists fair on the waterfront in SB, had a filling Mexican lunch on State Street during a festival of cars, and headed back to Long Beach through Camarillo where we got some tasty strawberries.
We don’t know when, but we’ll be back up that way again soon!