Help me plan my Santa Barbara Weekend

WINE TALK
21

Wife and I have mused over trying to bring out Industrial Eats to Denver. We have all the meat you could imagine and game they’ll never see as fresh as we do. It would be a perfect fit. We do lack in great fresh fruits and veggies that are not found on the western slope. Still Industrial Eats out here would make a killing
[snort.gif]

22

Carr in Santa Ynez or Santa Barbara - very underrated winery.

Piedrasassi, Palmina and Zotovich in Lompoc

Harrison Clarke in Ballard Canyon, you need to make an appt, a very worthwhile experience.

For restaurants, Grappollo in Santa Ynez, Panino for lunch, Opal in SB for dinner.

23

Where were you able to taste Liquid Farm?

24

Super ica

25

Super-Rica, sorry

26

Overrated, IMO. Crazy long lines for good Mexican food. I’ll take Los Agaves any day.

27

Have not seen.lines y.
A chacun son egout.

28

Have not seen lines lately.

Also suggest Au Bon Climat tasting room in SB.my godson needs college money.

29

Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and remind everyone as a relative newbie to wine that’s what they are worth!

My wife and I have taken 1-2 trips a year to the Santa Ynez valley for the last 5 years. I really enjoy the laid back “country” atmosphere compared to Napa or Sonoma Valley, which we visited for the first time last year. We typically plan on visiting a mix of wineries we haven’t been to before with some we really like. I tend to organize our itinerary by the “wine trails” just because that’s how my brain works I suppose. Here’s a helpful website that gives you a breakdown of the trails: http://www.sbcountywines.com/wine-tasting-routes.html. I think of the trails as three “main” routes - between Lompoc and Buellton, Foxen Canyon, and the tasting rooms and wineries clustered around and in the triangular area outlined by the small towns of Solvang, Santa Ynez and Los Olivos. You can certainly make a day or two days out of any single trail, and if you don’t want to go on too many winding roads you can spend a lot of time close to the major towns (but then you’d miss out on the beauty of wine country!).

One simple truth I learned on our last tasting was never judge a book by its cover! Two of my favorite wineries happen to offer tastings in small venues in Buellton, with those being Ken Brown and Loring who both make killer pinot noir for great prices. For our upcoming trip in late May, we’re going to be hitting up the following wineries:

Day 1: Foxen, Rancho Sisquoc, Cambria, Paul Lato, and Presq’uille (Foxen Canyon / Santa Maria Valley)
Day 2: Hilliard Bruce, Arcadian, Loring, Ken Brown, Rusack, and Carr (the aforementioned “triangle”)

Our favorite thing to do is pick up sandwiches for lunch to either eat on the go or at the winery. I highly recommend Paninos or The Los Olivos Grocery (psssst this is a great kept secret!) for a great sandwich.

Enjoy your trip! [cheers.gif]

30

I try to not be a shill on the board, but if anyone ever wants to visit Zaca Mesa please PM me and I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.

31

Larry - Barry alluded to it, but the SB Vintner’s association Spring Festival is in Buellton that Saturday (22nd). Quite a few of the wineries will be pouring. http://www.sbvintnersweekend.com/

There are also a number of wine dinners in the area Friday and Saturday night, and a Wine Seminar on Saturday morning also included in the link above.

My wife and I will be up for the events.

I’d also recommend the Au Bon Climat/Qupe Open House at Bien Nacido Vineyard east of Santa Maria on Sunday. They are only open twice a year, and it is usually a great event with quite a few Library wines (some from large format) poured and for sale. http://www.aubonclimat.com/About-Us/Events/Open-House

I’ll be wearing my Berserker Pin. [cheers.gif]

Cheers,

Steve

32

For the complete Sideways experience don t forget to stay at the Cinderella…or the EconoLodge in Buellton.

33

Horrible tasting room, but superb wines: Jaffurs. Not far from the beach in Santa Barbara. Try the '14 Grenache and whatever Petite Sirah they have open, followed by any of their Syrahs. Almost all are great QPR’s.

34

Just back from Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. Will confine myself to SB other than props to Herman Story, no one, absolutely no one throws wine dinners like Russell From and Daou a most beautiful spot on earth to drink wine.

SB, trip was abbreviated, hijacked for an event in Pismo Beach and lost a full day.

2 good meals, 1 memorable. Enjoyed Industrial Eats after Jonata tasting. Truly great dinner at Opal. Wine list at Opal features a good number of local trophy wines very fairly priced.

2 great tasting, very different but similar. Sanguis in their architecturally striking urban winery. Knowledgeable host and very generous pours. Plus they were very flexible and accommodating our ever-changing schedule. Kudos to Emma. JONATA - real treat, zen-like perfection. With wines to match a view and settings. Keep in mind you may have to work hard to get a tasting here, took a few calls and emails, WELL worth the persistence. Try for Hana-Lee. She makes for a very special experience.

Jaffurs, eh at the very best. Uninspired host, not much of a tasting in a spartan setting. Note - longtime winemaker was recently let go and winery had no interest in honoring his commitment. They appear to be in a state of flux. Made it easier for us to buy more elsewhere.

35

Are you referring to Craig Jaffurs? He sold the winery recently. What do you mean about honoring his commitment? Dave Yates is no longer there, but he was GM. Matt Brady perhaps, but that would be news since he recently was promoted to head winemaker. The wines you tasted almost certainly were Craig’s. What did you hear during your visit that turned you off?

36

Who was your host at Jaffurs? Carey is their tasting room manager and is a very good guy.

And surprised to hear about their wines - to me, some of the best is SBC year in and year out. Certainly different in style than Jonata and Sanguis . . .

37

Jaffurs update: Nancy was our host. Matt Brady is no longer there. And the wines that day were nothing special, the youngest they could find. When I reminded them of my chats with Matt, that fell on deaf ears. They knew they were off as they comped our tasting. Meanwhile we wasted a full morning when there were so many better options. And the wine they wouldn’t touch is available elsewhere online. Enough said, Matt is a great guy and talented winemaker, he’ll come out ahead. And Jaffurs new ownership has their vision, time will tell.

38

We went last year, to me the best wineries and the best restaurants from my trip were:

Loring
Tercero
Beckmen
Stolpman
Flying Goat

Hitching Post
Industrial Eats
Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe
Sides Hardware

Global Gardens Olive oil tasting was also mentioned above, I recommend that as well, great olive oils.

39

That’s too bad. I bought some of Matt’s Granddaddy label wines and enjoyed them as well. Our last visit to Jaffurs just about a year ago was a real treat. They opened a number of “off the menu” wines for us and we had an hour or so conversation with Craig. Very memorable. Sometimes timing is everything.

40

Thanks for the update - not sure I know Nancy but then again I don’t work there :slight_smile:

As far as their younger wines go, I’ve always found them approachable upon release with plenty of upside potential. When you had gone in the past, had they always had older wines open? And was this on the weekend or during the week? I know as a small producer, all of these things matter and come into play.

I still find it strange that they would pour wines that were ‘off’ - simply strange FWIW.

Matt’s departure is still quite ‘fresh’ and maybe everyone is still getting accustomed to it - and therefore does not know what to say. Just a thought.

I wouldn’t write them off by any stretch - and I’d certainly invite you to try my wines the next time you are up in the area - it’s always an honor pouring for Berserkers . . .

Cheers.