Eric's Blog: Santa Barbara Wine Tasting

Tue 30 Nov 2010

Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara

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Welcome to Santa Barbara Wine Tasting.

I am a Santa Barbara native and wine enthusiast eager to introduce more people to the tasting rooms of my home town and of the four surrounding AVAs, or wine appellations, in Santa Barbara’s wine country: Santa Ynez Valley, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley.

Napa Valley and Sonoma are still the two best known wine growing regions in California, but along with the quality of its wine, Santa Barbara’s reputation keeps growing. Nowadays, some of the best Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah in California is made in Santa Barbara’s wine country.

Taking Chardonnay as an example, Steve Heimoff, the West Coast editor of Wine Enthusiast magazine, writes in a blog post entitled Tasting Santa Barbara County Chardonnay that, “Santa Barbara County is one of California’s great Chardonnay areas and a case can be made that it is the greatest.” He especially recommends Chardonnays crafted in the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills AVAs, both of which are blessed with cool microclimates favorable for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. By the way, here’s a good wine buying tip from Mr. Heimoff: “…both 2007 and 2008 were very great years for Chardonnay in Santa Barbara County.”

As for Pinot Noir, I personally recommend those made by the internationally acclaimed wine maker Jim Clendenen at his Santa Maria Valley winery, Au Bon Climat, which is also highly reputed for its other Burgundian varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Au Bon Climat is only open to the public twice a year, but they have an “official tasting room” in the shape of a wine bar called Tastes of the Valleys with locations in Solvang and Pismo Beach.

More generally, I recommend Pinot Noirs made from grapes grown in the Bien Nacido Vineyards. Over 20 wineries in Santa Barbara County make wines from grapes sourced from this prestigious vineyard, and Bien Nacido Vineyards is a name that you will see on the label of many an award winning wine, including Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, and cool climate Syrahs. Just as an example, the Wine Advocate‘s Robert Parker Jr. gave a score of 96 to Jaffurs Syrah Santa Barbara County, Bien Nacido Vineyard 2007. Speaking of Jaffurs, if you’d like to taste some truly great Rhone varietals made in Santa Barbara City, I highly recommend visiting the Jaffurs Cellars tasting room, which is located downtown, not too far from State Street. Simply stated, Jaffurs is the best winery located within the Santa Barbara city limits.

The largest of Santa Barbara County’s AVAs, Santa Ynez Valley, also has the highest concentration of wineries in the region, and a number of them make outstanding wines. For a combination of local color and good wine, I recommend Fess Parker Winery and Blackjack Ranch Vineyards and Winery. The former was opened by the Fess Parker, the recently deceased actor who is best known for his television depictions of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. Both their red and white wines are excellent, and you can take home a free tasting glass embossed with a coonskin cap etching. Blackjack Ranch Vineyards and Winery is one of the wineries that was used as a location for the Acadamy Award winning movie (Best Adapted Screenplay) Sideways, and the place to sample Bordeaux-style blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

The suggestions above barely scratch the surface of what Santa Barbara’s wine country has to offer. Thanks to the diversity of microclimates the region boasts, its wine makers have been able to succeed with a wide range of grapes and wine making styles. In other words, it’s an area in which you can sample a wide variety of wines. Besides local variations on three of Frances most famous wine-making regions: Burgundy; Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley; Italian varietals such as Barbera, Sangiovese, Primativo and Pinot Grigio are also available for your tasting pleasure, and some area wineries produce tasty Tempranillo and other Spanish style wines.

To sum up, if your vacation plans or dreams include going on a wine tasting tour, you definitely should consider Santa Barbara as the place to do so. With over 100 wineries, 21,00 acres of vineyards, sunny weather, gorgeous scenery, first class restaurants, local color and a sumptuous diversity of varietals, blends and wine making styles, Santa Barbara’s wine country offers every wine enthusiast, from the novice to the connoisseur, an unforgettable wine tasting experience.

Santa Barbara Wine Tasting’s Articles:

How To Determine a Good Wine

The California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara

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