This past weekend was the time for our Annual trip to Santa Barbara for the Vintners Spring Weekend. The weekend was filled with great food, great wine and great people. We will start out with the overview here and then...
We had an opportunity to speak with Michael Larner about his 2014 Malvasia Bianca (among other things) last April during the Vintner’s Spring Weekend. Larner Vineyard & Winery have 35 acres of vineyard planted on their 134 acre property located...
Santa Barbara County is filled with an amazing array of vintners and winemakers. The styles of wine and the varieties that they work with are as varied as the winemakers themselves. The great thing about this area is that they...
2014 was a big year for Crushed Grape Chronicles. We honed our blogging and filming skills and got an in depth look at one of the most exciting wine regions in California, Santa Barbara County. Our late 2013 trip to...
Michael Larner has been thrown some curve balls as he has worked to build the future of Larner Vineyard and Winery. The vision for this family legacy was to be an estate winery with a tasting room and some events. When they...
Santa Barbara seems to be an undiscovered gem of wine country. There were those that took notice when “Sideways” the movie came out back in 2004. Santa Barbara recently celebrated 10 years of “Sideways” in early September. While it is...
There are many ways of telling what a vine needs in the vineyard. On our visit, Michael took us into the Syrah at his Vineyard in Ballard Canyon and spoke to us about how the vines communicate with them. “We think...
Michael Larner’s parents found Ballard Canyon to be a magical place. From the curvy roads at the top of the canyon, the expansive views from Purisima Mountain Vineyard and they delicious way that Rhone Variety grapes grow here, I have...
We spoke with Michael Larner out at his Ballard Canyon Vineyard in June and asked about how heat spikes affect him around Harvest. “The nature of Syrah is that it is always harvested in October.” “We never see heat spikes...
The drive to Purisima Mountain was like taking a step back into my childhood, the curving roads at the top of this canyon reminded me of southern West Virginia, with one dramatic difference…there were vineyards on these hills. WE made...
Syrah. You know it. You have heard it called Shiraz and made into lush giant styles from Australia. Maybe you have had it in a GSM, that Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Chances are you have even tried...
During the Spring Vintners Weekend we were lucky enough to do a Vineyard hike with Steve Beckmen at the Purisima Mountain Vineyard. Located in the new Ballard Canyon AVA this property sits at the north end of the Canyon. This...
