Municipal Winemakers

10 Dog Friendly tasting rooms in Santa Barbara

March 10, 2018

My friends know me as the go to person for recommendation in Santa Barbara when it comes to wine and I have a friend who asked about dog friendly tasting rooms as they were heading out to Santa Barbara with their dog. So, I did a little investigating, checking in with some wineries to see what their policy was. This list is in no way all-inclusive, I am sure there are many more dog friendly tasting rooms in Santa Barbara, and if you know of them, please leave the info in the comments! But here is a list of some of my favorite places, that happen to also be dog friendly.

Municipal Winemakers

Municipal Winemkers

Municipal Winemakers is in an old Surf Shop near the beach in Santa Barbara

I instinctively knew that Municipal Winemakers was a dog friendly kind of place. They are close to the beach in Santa Barbara and have outside picnic tables and are very laid back. But to be sure I emailed Dave Potter (the winemaker) to check. His response “Absolutely! have a look at #dogsofmuni on instagram.” So I did and you should too (it’s pretty adorable).

Municipal is in the words of Antonio Galloni “Joyous” (click the about button).  He’s so right. The location near the beach is in an old Surf shop and has a wall of filing cabinets where they store the glasses. You can bring lunch and sit at a picnic table outside or watch for great events like the pom pom & tassel workshop or plant-based cheese making workshop! The wines are approachable, affordable and they go fast, so stock up while you are there. You will find they have extremely unpretentious names like Bright Red, Pale Pink, Bright White, Fizz (which is a sparkling Syrah), and Heavy Pets, (keep your mind out of the gutter and think big dogs) which is billed as a weekday sipper.

2 locations!

The tasting room in Santa Barbara is located at 22 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 931-6864

They are open every day here Sunday through Wednesday from 11 am to 8 pm and Thursday through Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm.

They also have a tasting room in Los Alamos

423 Bell St. Los Alamos, CA 93440 (805) 245-5524

It’s open Thursdays from 2 to 7 pm; Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 8 pm and Sundays from 12 to 7 pm.

For some more info on Municipal check out our post Municipal Winemakers and the Funk Zone Wineries.

Deep Sea Tasting Room

If you need to get a little closer to the water, the Conway Family has their Deep Sea Tasting room on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. Upstairs with a patio and views of Santa Barbara, the Coast and the Ocean, they are definitely dog friendly.

Deep Sea Conway Winery Santa Barbara Central Coast Wine Country

Deep Sea Tasting Room on Sterns Wharf in Santa Barbara

Gillian Conway, the Owner, responded to my inquiry with “Dogs are very welcome! We have two Winery Dogs who are usually hanging with us, their names are Ringo and Rolo. Both of our dogs have their own wine- Ringo’s Rescue Red supports our local Dog Shelter, the Dog Adoption Welfare Group (DAWG) and Rolo’s Red is in honor of our Rolo, the chocolate lab.”

Rolo at the Deep Sea Tasting room on Stearns Wharf (Photo courtesy of Conway Family Wines)

Ringo, looking very handsome in the vineyard. (Photo courtesy of Conway Family Wines)

The tasting room is located at 217 G Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.  (805)709-0151.

During the winter their hours at Sunday through Thursday 12-7 and Friday’s and Saturday’s 12-8.

Alma Rosa

Alma Rosa Tasting Room

Outside seating at Alma Rosa in Buellton

Alma Rosa Tasting Room

The beautiful Alma Rosa Tasting Room

You’ll find Alma Rosa in Buellton in an Industry Park, next to the deliciousness that is Industrial Eats.  They are dog friendly “Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards is proud to state that we are dog friendly both within and outside our Tasting Room, as long as the dogs are on a leash.”

The wines here are by Richard Sanford, who is legendary in this area.  He was the first to plant grapes in the Sta. Rita Hills.  The wines are spectacular.  Inside the tasting room the centerpiece is Olivia, their stunning Olive tree planted in the center, so even inside, you feel the great outdoors.  The experience is at table, so you take a seat and they bring the wines to you.  They have tables out front, so you can pick up a bite from Industrial Eats and enjoy a bottle outside.

181-C Industrial Way, Buellton CA, 93427  (805)691-9395

Their Spring and Summer Hours are Monday through Thursday 12:00 to 6:30 and Friday through Sunday 11:00 to 6:30.

You can find more on Richard Sanford as well as some of the other incredible winemakers in Santa Barbara in A Sampling of the Incredible Winemakers of Santa Barbara

Kaena

Los Olivos is a great place to taste and walk your dog.  Many of the tasting rooms here are dog friendly and lots have patios so you can sit outside with your pooch.  Kaena is one of these great places.  Mikael Sigouin the winemaker is known as the “Grenache King” and makes a great rose!  You’ll find lots of Aloha here, Mikael is from Hawaii and Kaena is his Hawaiian name given to him by his Tutu (that’s Grandmother in Hawaiian).

The beautiful tasting room is located at 2890 Grand Ave. Los Olivos, CA 93441  (805) 688-4069.

They are open Daily 11-5 (Island time)

For a little background on the Grenache King check out our post How the Grenache King got his block.

Buttonwood Farm

To get to Buttonwood Farm you will have to head into the Santa Ynez Valley.   This winery is also an organic farm. During the season, you can find their farm stand open with fresh fruits and vegetables.  And you can wander the gardens, where they also raise goats. Dogs are welcome on leash in the tasting room and the gardens, but not at events (due to health department regulations).

 

Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard

Buttonwood Farm inthe Santa Ynez Valley

They are located at 1500 Alamo Pintado Road in Solvang, CA 93463.

Their tasting room is open Daily from 11-5.

For more on Buttonwood Farm read our post Buttonwood Farm, a Hidden Gem in Santa Barbara County

Or check out the video Buttonwood Farm, a video Tour

Zaca Mesa

Zaca Mesa loves their dogs.  You can see great photos of winery dog Ichi on their Instagram feed.

 

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When you get on Zaca Mesa Station Road you head through the woods in the Valley and then you come around a bend and Foxen Canyon opens up ahead of you.  If it’s in the morning, you will be watching the Fog and mist swirl around the windmill as you turn into Zaca Mesa.  I always love walking up to the winery beneath the huge tree that shades the courtyard and winery.

6905 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos CA 93441  (805)688-9339 ext 308

They are Open Daily from 10-4 but if you are headed there on a holiday, double check the site.

For more information on the amazing winemakers who have come through Zaca Mesa Checkout the video of the Santa Barbara Spring 2015 Wine Seminar “Zaca Mesa University”

Foxen

If you continue past Zaca Mesa on Foxen Canyon Road, you will find Foxen just when you think you have gone too far. The “Shack” is my favorite spot with all their non-Burgundian varieties. But the beautiful Pinot House on the hill is really stunning. Both locations are Dog Friendly.

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Elizabeth sent me a wonderful response “Yes, we are dog friendly are both of our tasting rooms. We just request that the dogs be on a leash and have decent social skills. We’ve got dog biscuits behind our counters and water bowls outside for our furry friends. Sometimes we’ll even have cats visit us! FOXEN collectively has 5 dogs and 2 cats, so we definitely love animals here. Just for fun, I’ve attached a picture of Rosie, Zeke and Tucker’s birthday party last month. They celebrated with pup cakes. The cats were not invited. “

Rosie, Zeke and Tucker’s birthday party at Foxen. (Photo courtesy Foxen Winery)

Foxen (The Pinot House) is the first tasting room you come upon at 7600 Foxen Canyon Road, Santa Maria CA, 93454.  (805) 937-4251.

Continue just a little further to The Shack (or 7200 Foxen) at 7200 Foxen Canyon Road, Santa Maria CA, 93454. (805) 937-4251 ext 201.

They are open Daily from 11-4, but check their site for their holiday hours.

Riverbench

If you get back on Foxen Canyon and keep driving you will come into the area of the Santa Maria Bench on your right and soon the Riverbench vineyards will be in view.  Riverbench is primarily Chardonnay and Pinot and they do have a wonderful Sparkling wine program.  The tasting room is a restored 1920’s craftsman style house and the grounds around the tasting room are perfect for a picnic.  You will find a Bocce ball court and a horseshoe pit, so it’s a great place to spend an afternoon.

Sadie and a friend in the vineyard at Riverbench. (Photo courtesy of Riverbench Vineyard & Winery)

Sadie and a friend in the vineyard at Riverbench. (Photo courtesy of Riverbench Vineyard & Winery)

We did a vineyard tour with Rawley and were joined by his black Labrador Sadie.  This is a great location to bring the dog along.

Riverbench historic overview

Riverbench Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley shares a little of their history as you enter their tasting room

The Vines we watched being planted at Riverbench are getting bigger!
The 1920’s Craftsman house that is the Riverbench Tasting Room
Riverbench Winery Patio

They are located at 6020 Foxen Canyon Road, Santa Maria, CA 93454 (805) 937-8340

They are open Daily from 10 to 4.

Downtown Santa Barbara location

Riverbench Santa Barbara Tasting Room

The Riverbench Santa Barbara Tasting Room on Anacapa St.

They also have a new Downtown location, (also Dog Friendly) at 137 Anacapa St. Suite C, Santa Barbara CA 93101 (805) 324-4100

Which is open daily from 11-6.

For more on Riverbench check out the post Riverbench Vineyards and Winery, a Vineyard tour

and you can see a video here.  Riverbench Winery, a Video Tour

Presqu’ile

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Presqu’ile Winery is located up in the Santa Maria Valley. The winery sits up on a hill (it’s a gravity flow winery) and has amazing views on clear days of the ocean. Dogs here are allowed both indoors and outdoors as long as they are friendly and on-leash. The only area they don’t allow them in is on their tours.

This winery is stunning and has amazing hospitality as well as brilliant wines by winemaker Dieter Cronje.  If you happen to be driving an electric vehicle, they do have charging stations and they offer really beautiful, Cheese Plates, Charcuterie, and a Parisian sandwich 7 days a week from 11am-4pm.

The beautiful property is at 5391 Presqu’ile Drive  Santa Maria, CA 93455 (805) 937-8110

Their tasting room is open 7 days a week year round. On Friday’s from 11am to 6pm and Saturday through Thursday from 11am to 5pm

We have visited Presqu’ile multiple times, so there is plenty of information on the site about them.  Start with the Big Bottle Bash at Presqu’ile  and then check out the series from The Taste through the Vineyard Event

Longoria

Another legendary Winemaker in this region is Richard Longoria.  He and his wife Diana have been making wine in Santa Barbara since 1982.  For many years they had a tasting room in Los Olivos.  Two years ago they built a winery and tasting room in Lompoc and closed the Los Olivos tasting room to focus their energies there.  Lompoc is the perfect place for them.  Richard was the first winery in what is now affectionately known at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto.  The new winery is just outside the “Ghetto” in the historic Lompoc JM Club building.

Rick Longoria of Longoria Wines

Rick Longoria, Longoria Winery

In response to my question of if they were dog friendly, Diana Longoria replied “Our tasting room is Dog Friendly!  We only ask that owners keep their dogs on their leash and next to them during their visit.

When I’m working in the tasting room, my Beagle, Buddy is usually with me.  He’ll be 12 years old next month and has been “helping” in the tasting room since he was a puppy.” And she kindly included a photo of Buddy.

Winery Dogs

Buddy, the tasting room assistant at Longoria in Lompoc (photo courtesy of Longoria Winery)

You will find the tasting room at 415 W. Chestnut Ave.  Lompoc, CA 93436 (866) 759-4637.

They are open daily 11 to 4:30, but do check for holiday closings and special hours.

As I said, this list in by no mean all of the Dog Friendly wineries or tasting rooms in Santa Barbara County, it’s just a few that I know of.  If you know of other dog friendly tasting rooms in the area, please leave us a note in the comments!

You can find more information on Santa Barbara County and on wine country and wines on Crushed Grape Chronicles  .  You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

 

Santa Barbara Vintners Celebration of Harvest Weekend

August 29, 2017
Firestone Vineyard Koehler Vineyard Curtis Vineyard

Santa Barbara is one of our favorite wine regions. Typically we find our way that direction in April for the Vintners Spring Weekend, with it’s Seminars, special events and of course the Grand Tasting.  This year, we thought we would mix it up a bit and we will be attending the Celebration of Harvest.  Fall rather than spring, post harvest rather than bud break…it gives a different visual of the area.

We just did a Flash tour through a large portion of California Wine country and our starting and ending point was Santa Barbara County.  You simply can’t beat the diversity.  With the East/West Valley and the temperature increasing a degree per mile as you drive from the cooler Sta. Rita Hills (think Burgundy) through the Santa Ynez Valley past Ballard Canyon (think the Rhone) and on into Happy Canyon (yep think Bordeaux), (not to mention the micro climates you find in Los Alamos Valley or the amazing Vandenburg fog that influences the grapes in Santa Maria and Foxen Canyon), you get a wide range of varieties that grow well here, so when it comes to the Santa Barbara Vintners events, there is something for everyone.  We have done a highlight reel of our favorite stops in this amazing area.  Of course that list is growing, but check out So you are heading to Santa Barbara and want to know where to taste wine.

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This years Celebration of Harvest, kicks off with their signature event “Taste of Santa Barbara Wine Country“.  This event will be held at the Fess Parker Resort, right across from the beach in Santa Barbara.  50 wineries will be on hand to pour their fall releases and word has it that many will have library wines available for tasting also.  And of course their will be great food from some of the best restaurants and vendors in wine country.

Many of the greats will be there, Alma Rosa, Au Bon Climat, Qupe and some of our favorites, Beckmen, Casa Dumetz, Clos Pepe, Jamie Slone, Presqu’ile, Riverbench, Zaca Mesa. And don’t miss stopping by The Central Coast Group Project if you want to try something new.  Scott Sampler of CCGP has been working with extended mascerations and is producing some very interesting wines.

Richard Sanford of Alma Rosa at a Grand Tasting on Vintners Spring Weekend
Au Bon Climat Tasting Room in the El Paseo of Santa Barbara
Qupe Verdad Ethan Menu
Beckmen Hike at Purismo Mountain
Casa Dumetz Sonja Magdevski
Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe with a wine thief for a barrel tasting
Jamie Slone at the Tasting Bar
The view of the Ocean from Presqu’ile Vineyard
Riverbench Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley shares a little of their history as you enter their tasting room
The huge coastal oak the greets you as you enter Zaca Mesa’s patio and tasting room
Scott Sampler speaking on his cool climate Syrah at the Syrah Seminar

In addition they will have Harvest Experience Passports available.  The passport allows you to visit up to 12 of the participating tasting rooms over the weekend, many of which will have special experiences and tastings just for passport members.

They also have a series of Collaborative Dinners in various locations, where a restaurant or chef are paired up with several wineries for a unique dining experience.  There are 4 of these set up in various locations around the area from a Surf and Turf dinner Angel Oak at Bacara out on the shore with Fiddlehead, Zotovich, Martian, Longoria and Jaffurs wines, to a Cowboy BBQ in Los Alamos with Municipal Winemakers, Casa Dumetz, Lumen, Frequency and Bedford.  Further in there is a Farm to Fork, Vine to Glass dinner at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe with Bernat, J. Wilkes, and Refugio Ranch and then and East Meets West at the magical Ballard Inn Gathering Table with Chef Budi Kazali creating amazing dishes to pair with wines from Melville, Andrew Murray, Beckmen and Star Lane Vineyards.

Celebration of Harvest Weekend is a great opportunity to taste a variety of the amazing wines from this area and get to meet some of the winemakers.  There is so much to this amazing area you could spend weeks here and not see it all (trust me, we’ve tried).  So take the weekend and learn about this amazing wine region that is practically in LA’s backyard.  There are beautiful wines being made here and there is something for everyone.

You can find out more on the Santa Barbara Vintners Celebration of Harvest site, where you can see the entire schedule for the weekend, buy tickets for the events and purchase your passport for the weekend.

And be sure to stop back here!  We look forward to sharing with you all of our adventures during the Celebration of Harvest.

Keep up to date on all of our posts by following us on Crushed Grape Chronicles  .  You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The varied and amazing wines and wineries of Santa Barbara County

March 22, 2014

It’s no secret, I’m in love with the Santa Barbara County Wine Region.  It is laid back with an incredible range of variety.  “Sideways” got it right.  This is the best up and coming wine area in our country.  Up and coming actually seems a little silly, the wineries and winemakers here have quite a history.  There are giants of winemaking here including: Richard Sanford, Jim Clenedenen, Bob Linquist, Richard Longoria & Bill Wathen. And the list of amazing winemakers continues to grow and the wines they are producing are varied and amazing.

Clos Pepe in the Santa Rita Hills

Clos Pepe in the Santa Rita Hills

Santa Barbara lies in a unique area that separated from the plates along the coast.  Over the past twelve million years this little section shifted and created a Transverse valley.  This means that the valley here runs east west as opposed to north south like all the other valleys on our coast.  The transverse valley and the microclimates within it lead to a place where you can grow an amazing variety of grapes in a relatively small area.  On the western edge the valley is cool and is perfect for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  As you move east the valley warms by a degree a mile!  This makes the middle section perfect for Rhone varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Roussanne and as you continue to the east side where Happy Canyon lies you have enough heat to support those Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc.

So if you are a wine geek like me…this is a great place.  But if you are not a wine geek and want to avoid the intimidation of wine talk and just enjoy a glass…well this is the right place too.

So…make your first stop in the Funk Zone near the beach in Santa Barbara on the Urban Wine trail.  Stop into one of the many great tasting rooms there.  Maybe hit Municipal Winemakers first and soak up some of the funky atmosphere.  Sit down at the picnic table and enjoy a glass of rose.

AVA Santa Barbara Elkpen Mural

AVA Santa Barbara Elkpen Mural

Then if you are feeling like learning a little about where these wines come from head up the street to AVA Santa Barbara. Here you can taste wines from all the different regions in Santa Barbara County.  The entire wall over the tasting bar is a huge chalk mural by Elkpen that  shows the regions soils, microclimates and topography. The wines, by Seth Kunin of Kunin Wines are lovely and deliberately varied to feature the microclimates in this incredible area.

Au Bon Climate, Grassini, Margerum

If you head further North into downtown, you will find Grassini, Au Bon Climat & Margerum to choose between for a tasting.

Bistro Dining and Sunset Tasting at Deep Sea

Bistro Dining and Sunset Tasting at Deep Sea

Head back through the downtown shopping district and stop at  Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro for lunch.  Then take a stroll on the beach and finally enjoy a nice glass of wine at Conway Family Wines – Deep Sea Tasting room on the Santa Barbara Pier while you enjoy the sunset.

 

Saarloos & Sons & Cupcakes

Saarloos & Sons & Cupcakes

Oh, but my friend, you are just getting started in Santa Barbara County.  Tomorrow drive into Solvang, the adorable little Danish town and get some aebleskivers for breakfast at the Solvang Restaurant.  You can then stroll this town and taste at several tasting rooms that you can walk to, or drive a little further into Los Olivos where you will find over 35 tasting rooms to choose from!  And…I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a great place to dine at Side’s Hardware & Shoes.  Don’t miss Saarloos and Sons for a pairing with cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes.

Carhartt Patio Tasting Area

Carhartt Patio Tasting Area

They are there Thursday thru Sunday from 11-5 (or until they run out of cupcakes, so go early!) and one of my favorite tasting rooms, the tiniest one on the planet is across the street from Saarloos and Sons at Carhartt.  Carhartt stays open an hour later than the others and this often becomes quite the gathering spot on the beautiful but tiny back patio.

Are you overwhelmed yet?  There is more…I highly recommend Terrravant Winery Restaurant in Buellton for dinner and pairings.  They have an Enomatic wine dispensing system set up so you can try small tastes of many of the amazing local wines.  And the now World Famous Hitching Post II is also here in Buellton, made famous by the movie “Sideways”.

Avante Front Entrance

Avante Tapas & Wine Bar Front Entrance

Tomorrow morning you have more wine country to explore!  There are amazing wineries outside of Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley like Buttonwood Farms & Beckman.  Or travel up to Santa Maria through Foxen Canyon and enjoy the morning Vandenberg Fog.  Stop at Zaca Mesa and try their Rhones.  This place has been around a while and popped out some pretty amazing winemakers!  Further up the road, you can’t miss stopping at “The Shack” at Foxen.

Zaca Mesa chess set

Zaca Mesa Patio with the oversized chess set

And…then there is the Sta. Rita Hills. If you love Pinot or good Chard you want to drive through here.  Make an appointment and stop by Clos Pepe.  Wes Hagen has more vineyard and wine knowledge than you can imagine and a tasting with him is amazing!  Just past Clos Pepe is Hilliard Bruce.  John and Christine have an incredibly beautiful landscaped property and their vineyard management is state of the art.

Clos Pepe and Hilliard Bruce

Clos Pepe and Hilliard Bruce

Keep driving down 246 to Lompoc and top into the Wine Ghetto.  Filled with small wineries working out of an industrial park you will find Flying Goat Cellars, Fiddlehead & Palmina as well as a host of others.  Check the hours though, because they are often just open on weekends for tastings.  Further into Lompoc you will find Brewer-Clifton, which again brought out my geeky side as we talked about stem inclusion and how they thin the vines to ripen the stems!

Lompac Wine Ghetto

Lompac Wine Ghetto

Have I covered it all?  Not even close.  There is so much exploring I look forward to going back to do.  But…if you are short on time…The Grand Tasting at the Santa Barbara Vintners Spring Weekend will have all of these great wineries and winemakers in one place on April 12th.

Or at anytime for information visit Santa Barbara Vintners

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Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail – Virtual Tour

September 13, 2013

Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail is unique.  Follow it and you get to explore Santa Barbara from elegant State Street and the historic El Paseo shopping center where you will find Grassini, Au Bon Climat and Margerum, to the outskirts of the Funk Zone where Carr resides in it’s Quonsit hut making you feel like you’ve walked right into a barrel.  Cross the train tracks and stop by AVA Santa Barbara where you can taste wines from all the AVA’s in the area and see the huge Elkpen mural mapping out the unique climate, soils and history of the AVA’s.  Stroll down the block and stop at Santa Barbara Winery one of the very first in this area.  Anacapa Street is teaming with tasting rooms like Oreana, Kunin and of course Municipal Winemakers which looks like a dive shop and has a wall of filing cabinets.   As you stroll between the tasting rooms take in the Funk zone with it’s murals and small artist shops and galleries.  The Santa Barbara Surf Museum is there as well as plenty of surfboard and dive shops.  Keep walking and you will hit the beach.  Grab a segway or a bike or just walk the beach.  Head out on to the wharf and visit the Aquarium or just enjoy watching the fishermen.  Stop by Conway Family Wines Deep Sea tasting room with a 2nd story patio to enjoy the view with a glass of wine.  Don’t miss sunset at the end of the wharf and the parade of boats returning to the marina.  It makes for a perfect day…although 2 would be even better.

Santa Barbara…yes Again!

August 25, 2013
Life is better with WIne

I know…we were just there in April, but ya know, the wines in this area are really amazing!  We are headed back first to the Funk Zone to visit some more tasting rooms. We have waxed poetic on ABC (Au Bon Climat) and Municipal Winemakers, now it’s time to explore some of the other Funky Wine Tasting rooms.

Au Bon Climate & Municipal

Au Bon Climate & Municipal

The plan is lunch at Pierre Lafond’s Wine Bistro on State Street for lunch and a flight.  In 1962 Pierre Lafond opened the first winery in Santa Barbara County since prohibition.  Mr. Lafond originally had a wine and cheese shop that became the place to be for Santa Barbara wine lovers.

Pierre LaFond's Wine-Bistro

Pierre LaFond’s Wine-Bistro

He started Santa Barbara Winery and later Lafond Winery.  So…we will taste some wine, have some lunch and maybe try a little of the new Kambucha made locally that is now on the menu.  And hopefully we will find a seat out on the patio where we can absorb some of the State Street atmosphere.

After lunch we will head to Grassini Family Vineyards to do a chocolate pairing. They have a tasting room near ABC and Margerum.  Their vineyards are located on the east edge of the Santa Ynez Valley in Happy Canyon.  Oddly enough for this primarily Burgundian style region, they are growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, all Bordeaux varieties.  I look forward to finding out why they decided to grow Cab and what makes their vineyard Cab friendly.  They also have solar panels and are a gravity flow winery so I look forward to finding out more about that!

AVA Santa Barbara

AVA Santa Barbara

Then we head to the funkier part of Santa Barbara and stop by AVA Santa Barbara where I need to check out the amazing Elkpen murals of the region.

This winery is a wine geeks dream, the murals are all educational with details on the climate in each of the regions AVA’s.  They have wines from each of the 5 AVA’s in the regions.  They are owned by Seth Kunin of Kunin wines.  This should be a great opportunity to get a little more of the details of the area under my belt, with a big map to guide me.

Conway's Deep Sea Winery

Conway’s Deep Sea Winery

After that we will hit as many other tasting rooms as is feasible and plan to get a nice sunset time-lapse out at the Deep Sea Tasting room on Stearns Wharf that night.  Kalyra, Santa Barbara Winery, Carr, Oreana, Kunin, Riverbench, and Pali…you could all see us knocking at your door!  We will try!

Next stop Los Olivos!

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Municipal Winemakers and the “Funk Zone” wineries

April 26, 2013
Life is Better with Wine

I have wanted to visit Municipal Winemakers for a while.  We stopped in on our last trip through Santa Barbara a year and a half ago only to find that they were sold out and had no wines to taste!  Well, if you are going to have a problem in the wine industry, I think that is the one to have.  As we planned another trip through the area I did more research on the winery.

Municipal Winemakers, Santa Barbara

Municipal Winemakers, Santa Barbara

They are kitschy, located in The Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail’s “Funk Zone”.  Their winemaker Dave Potter wants to get the wine to the people.  He loves making wine and meeting people who want to drink his wine.  Distributors and sales…that creates the distance between the grape and the glass and takes some of the heart out of the process.  So…Dave makes his wines and sells them in his tasting room.  Small lots, high quality and it’s working if he is selling out before he can release another vintage!

This is not your average wine tasting room.  Outside you have to see the sign on the sidewalk to realize that it is a tasting room, otherwise it looks like an old dive shop near the beach in Santa Barbara.  There are picnic tables set up in an area out front.  When you walk in you first notice the wall of stacked filing cabinets.

Municipal WineMakers, File Cabinet Wall

Municipal WineMakers, File Cabinet Wall

As we walked up for our tasting the person pouring pulled one drawer open and pulled out two glasses and oversized index card with a typed list of the tastings!

We tasted through the list, which included a dry, Riesling (Bright White), a Rose (Pale Pink), a Red Blend (Bright Red), a Pinot (Rita’s Crown Pinot Noir), a Cab and a sweeter Riesling (Sweetness).  The bottles have great labels and each bottle has a bottle number listed.  The rose was Grenache, Cinsault and Counoise and the “Bright Red” which I really enjoyed was the same blend with Syrah.  The Bright Red was light on the palate but with big flavor.  They do also have a “Wine Fountain” where they serve wine by the glass or in 1 liter refillable bottles.

We walked the neighborhood enjoying some more of the “Funk Zone” before heading up State Street.  Next door there is an old red phone box labeled “Book Exchange” and filled with books.  I had seen these on Facebook, but this was the first I had seen close up!  Need a book, take a book, done with a book, leave it!  It is a great concept!  Lots of other wineries have tasting rooms in the area.  Anacapa Vineyards is not even listed yet, they are so new!  They have a beautiful tasting room with big windows and chalkboards on the walls filled with all kinds of interesting information on their grapes and wines.  It is a regular wine education classroom!

Oreana Winery

Oreana Winery

Oreana Winery up the street has old trucks painted with their logo out front and a juke box in the garage that is part of their barrel room.  Pali, which is next to Anacapa, has lots of windows and a patio on the side.  Santa Barbara Winery sits in a white washed building covered in vines.  In addition to the wineries listed on the Urban Wine Trail site, there are more popping up all the time.  We saw a side door on a building that said “Drake”.  This new little tasting room evidently recently opened.  When we were later at Sculpterra in Paso, the person pouring for us said his friend had just opened that tasting room (the wine world is a small world).

While we only had time to taste at Municipal, we will happily return to spend a day or two tasting in the area and enjoying the beach.  There are around 11 tasting rooms in “The Funk Zone” and another 9 or 10 within the downtown area, including Conway’s Deep Sea Tasting room out on Stearns Wharf.

For now…we were off to take a stroll up State Street and find Au Bon Climat (or ABC as it seems to be known here).

Springtime in Wine Country – Santa Barbara to Paso Robles

April 24, 2013
Santa Barbara
Stearn Wharf Sign

Stearn Wharf Sign

Drawn to the coast we began on the beach in Santa Barbara wandering Stearns wharf and then tasting at Municipal Winemakers on Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail in “The Funk Zone”.  Au Bon Climat called and we strolled up the beautiful State Street with bougainvillea petals blowing on the breeze to taste there. Jim Clendenen’s wines lived up to the hype in my book. Then it was just a beautiful drive up 154 to Los Olivos past Lake Cachuma to taste at Qupe/Verdad/Ethan in Los Olivos see some of the amazing wines Bob Lindquist creates.  A relaxing tasting on the back patio at Carhartt slowed our pace and had us waxing poetic on the glorious fragrances of Brooke Carhartt’s wines.  Dinner of small plates and a wine wall where I could enjoy tastings or a glass at Avant Tapas and Wine ended a perfect day one.

In the morning we caught the marine layer drifting through as we headed north into Foxen Canyon stopping for a great tasting at Zaca Mesa.  The property here is beautiful.  This is the winery that turned out both Jim Clendenen and Bob Lindquist as well as numerous other amazing winemakers.  After our tasting here, we headed North to Arroyo Grande and enjoyed a tour at Talley.  As we toured the winemaker Eric Johnson stopped by on a couple of occasions to say hello and answer questions.  Now it was on to our final destination of Paso Robles.  We tasted at Booker which is off of 46 West and were greeted by the winery dog who is the spittin’ image of our dear Mojo from Miramonte!

Day 3 began at Bella Luna, a tiny winery south-east of Paso, where Sherman, the winemaker was pouring their Italian style wines. Staying on the East Side we drove on to Sculpterra with their amazing sculpture garden live accordion music and lovely wines.  We made our way back to the West side of the 101 to Vines on the Marycrest where they were hosting a “Songwriters at Play” event.  The sun filtered through the tasting room windows and the music filtered in from the patio while we enjoyed a great tasting and conversation with Jennifer while Vic the winemaker and a sound engineer busily took care of cables, mic stands and making sure the sound system in the tasting room gave us the best mix.  Our day ended strolling downtown where they were having a wine and art event.  We were drawn into the Parrish Family Vineyards elegant tasting room where enjoyed tasting the Parrish Family wines with a cheese pairing from Vivant cheeses and I was treated to a wonderful conversation with winemaker David Parrish regarding yeast!

Another beautiful morning saw us enjoying a drive in on Vineyard Drive from the south. Shale Oak is a newer winery in Paso and I had been lucky enough to stumble across them on Cellar Pass.  The peacefulness of this spot in the morning with its stunning architecture topped by it’s eco friendly stance made for a beautiful start to the day.  We added a little adrenaline to the morning with a drive out Peachy Canyon Road.  The twists and turns put this West Virginia girl right at home.  We stopped at a small winery called Stacked Stone.  Winery owner and winemaker Donald Thiessen saw us pull in and came out to open the tasting room to pour for us.  The property is in a lovely wooded area landscaped with “stacked stones”.  Back up Peachy Canyon we headed toward one of the highest limestone plateaus on the West side of Paso Robles 1200 feet above the Salina Valley.  Here at Lloyd’s Lookout sits the Calcareous Winery and tasting room.  The views are amazing.  We enjoyed a tasting followed by a lunch pairing with food by Thomas Hill Organics.

Mid day saw us heading North and East to San Miguel and tasting at family owned and run Locatelli.  Raynette Gregory the co-proprietor poured for us.

From this small family owned winery, we headed further east to the big new tasting room on this block, Nigel Lithgoe’s Villa San Juliette.  The drive out is lovely with expansive views of the East side hills and the property itself is impressive.  Photo’s to come!  From here we were a little wined out…so time for a little pacific coast palate cleanser.  We headed to the coast and dinner at Moonstone beach.  We finished dinner and drove partway back to Paso to pull off and wait to watch sunset.

Our final day started with tour at Tablas Creek.  We are loyal members here and took a tour before our tasting.  The place has grown so much since our last trip here.  We saw Bob Haas arriving for the day, and while we did not see winemaker Neil Collins, we did get to hang with his dog Millie!  From here we had a little time before our tour at neighboring Halter Ranch and made a stop at Adelaida to taste the wines, the almonds, see the sheep and alpacas and meet Addy the vineyard cat.  We headed back to Halter Ranch to do our tour and tasting, and fell in love with the place.  The new winery here is state of the art and stunning.  We ended our trip here on a high note.

So that is the quick view, watch for detailed posts and pictures from these amazing wineries over the next few weeks.

Santa Barbara and it’s Urban Wine Trail

April 3, 2013
CGC logo

Tasting rooms, they come in all shapes sizes and locales.  If you are headed North from LA into wine country you might consider a stop for a day (or maybe two) in beautiful Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara County has become well-known for some amazing wines and winemakers, beautiful wine country and vineyards as well as beautiful shoreline and beaches and some terrific shopping in Santa Barbara itself.  So take some time and mix it up, a little beach time, some lunch, some shopping and some tasting, the wine here is just fine.

I have 3 tasting rooms on my list for my trip through Santa Barbara this time.

Au Bon Climat has opened a tasting room on Anacapa Street and I am very excited to be able to do a tasting of Jim Clendenen’s wines.  With 30 years in the industry his wines are noted for balance and restraint.  And…as the Bien Nacido Vineyard is primarily the source for their grapes…I mean, it’s really hard to go wrong.  So this is first on my Urban Wine Trail Tasting list.

They share a space with Margerum Wine Company and are next to The Wine Cask if you are looking for a delicious lunch or dinner, and the Grassini Family Vineyards tasting room is right there also.

Next on my personal list is Municipal Winemakers.  We tried to stop by here on our way home through Santa Barbara awhile back.  Unfortunately, they were sold out and bottling, so they had nothing to taste!  So…we will return again.  They had (I hope they still have) an iPad program for tastings which I was fascinated by and looking to check out.  Besides that, they are close to the beach and fun and funky!  They offer free wine delivery if you show up on a bike.  They are all about making interesting wines and I am all for that!  I fell in love with their feel and their site and expect to fall in love with their wines when I taste them!  Want to see why I’m infatuated even before I taste?  Go to their “about us” page and click the top photo for a video interview with the Municipal Winemaker Dave Potter and hear his perspective.

While in this neighborhood you can walk just a few blocks to taste at 7 other tasting rooms including Kunin Wines, Kalyra Winery, Oreana Winery, Cottonwood Canyon, Santa Barbara Winery and Pali Wine Company…but we are headed out onto the water for our last tasting when we are there.  Conway Family Wines has opened their “Deep Sea Tasting Room” out on Stearns Wharf with “360 views of the Pacific coastline, Channel Islands, and the Santa Barbara Harbor or Riviera.”  So before we head inland we will head out onto the wharf to enjoy some of their white wines and some ocean air. If the view itself is not enough to entice you into this tasting room perhaps their sustainable vineyard practices will or their use of cold-soaking or fermenting with indigenous wild yeasts.  Their Estate is located in Rancho Arroyo Grande and they are committed to protecting the land and wildlife there.  Okay…are you there yet?

And…that’s not all the tasting rooms!  Silver, Jaffurs, Carr, Sanguis, Whitcraft and Summerland are just a little ways away and… I hear that Anacapa Vintners just opened a tasting room.

If you want the shortcut to find all the details head to Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail’s site for maps and links.  And stay tuned for the details after we visit!