Discovering some sweet whites in Santa Barbara

It’s been at least five years since The Wine Guy visited Santa Barbara Wine country. When I recently took some friends there for an exploration getaway, I discovered a lot of things haven’t changed, but a few have.

The hype over the movie “Sideways” has abated a bit but Santa Barbara still remains a consummate tourist destination, sometimes stopping just short of “kitchsy”. However, even in the highly tourist oriented village of Solvang, there is always abundant things worth exploring and fun to be had. Our entourage, armed with a quick breakfast that included the requisite (and delicious) homemade Danish pastry headed out to explore shopping and wine tasting in a community that offers both in abundance. We made an obligatory stop in one of the great Christmas shops that operates here year around. (Mrs. Wine Guy decorates five trees every holiday season and is always on the lookout for something new!). With well over 100 wineries now listed as members of the Santa Barbara Vintner’s Association and nearly two dozen wine bars and tasting rooms in the tiny village of Solvang alone, there’s much to choose from. Santa Barbara wines are far from limited to the Pinot Noir made famous by the movie. In fact, the variety of wines being offered by Santa Barbara winemakers is very reflective of the wide diversity of microclimates in the region.

At the Mandolina tasting room, the Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards offer a wide sampling of Italian varietals. Co-owner Louis Lucas has a thirty-five year history in the area. His vineyards utilize cuttings brought from Italy and bottled under the Mandolina brand. Mandolina’s bolder Italian reds (Nebbiolo and Barbera), while quite drinkable, offered a little imbalance with a slight tendency to bite or burn on the finish. The best red offering was a nicely balanced, bright cherry Sangiovese with a moderate finish. The room’s standout offering was a Malvasia Bianco, a refreshing, gently sweet and aromatic offering that smacked of apricot and white peach. It’s an unusual varietal for not only Santa Barbara County, but also California as a whole, and, sadly, only four acres of their Los Alamos vineyard are dedicated to this grape.

Whites held the day, as well, at the co-owned Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards tasting room just a couple of blocks away. Lemon and orange aromas and flavors were accented with a touch of clover honey in a very respectable late harvest Viognier. We also discovered a pair of excellent aperitifs in two Late Harvest Sauvignon Blancs, both containing a stout 14% residual sugar. The latter, labeled “Sommeil en Barrique” (French for “slept in barrel”) benefited from 12 months aging in French oak barrels. Friend Kent (pictured above with The Wine Guy and our tasting steward) preferred the un-oaked variety while Mrs. Wine Guy and I opted for the greater depth offered by the oaked style. Both went home with us for later enjoyment.

Tasting room visitors may also want to sample the Lucas & Lewellen Silver King Port. It’s an unusual fortified late harvest merlot. It’s fruit forward sweetness makes it nice for serving with chocolate (in fact, the tasting room offers the taste in a chocolate tasting cup). It was a nice dessert offering but probably not the body style that true port aficionados would rave about.

There are a lot of excellent Santa Barbara wines to be found in an area that abounds with great food, good accommodations and great fun but all priced slightly on the high side. Here are a few wines, I’d recommend you sample when you’re in the area:

LaFond Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir
Stolpman Vineyards Estate Syrah
Foley Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot Noir
Sanford Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir
Zaca Mesa Vineyards Estate Z-Blanc
Carr Winery Paredon Syrah

There are a number of excellent Syrahs coming out of Santa Barbara County and they have an expression that is somewhat unique to that area. In a blog entitled “Que Sera, Syrah?” (see Roger’s Grapevine archive for blog of 9/30/09), I discussed the ability of this grape to grown in diverse regions and offer great representation of the environment in which it’s grown. There may be a potential for Santa Barbara winemakers to create a signature Syrah for their region.

I have a few more stories to tell in upcoming blogs about our Santa Barbara Wine country visit, including a look at the wines of one of the area’s up and coming young winemakers, David Carr. Please stop back for those and, in the interim, enjoy a great glass of wine.

Saliente!

Good Friends, Good Food & Good Wine Make for a Great Evening!

Over the Memorial Day week, Mr. & Mrs. Wine Guy shared an exploration of Santa Barbara wine country with our good friends, Kent and Kara. (pictured above on the left with Mr. & Mrs. Wine Guy to the right) We were both honored and delighted when we were asked to share an anniversary celebration dinner at the acclaimed Stonehouse at the San Ysidro Ranch in nearby Montecito. What an enjoyable evening it turned out to be.

The Stonehouse is a former fruit-packing house now converted to house a pair of restaurants in the ranch’s resort hotel setting. San Ysidro Ranch served as the site for the Lawrence Olivier-Vivian Leigh wedding and for John and Jackie Kennedy’s honeymoon. Its restaurants have won James Beard culinary awards and the wine list has earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. For our friends, for us, as well as countless other couples seeking an ambiance suited to a special romantic occasion, it proved to be a great choice.

While our friends enjoyed steak and seafood, the fetching Mrs. Wine Guy and I enjoyed a delightfully smooth, rich and creamy spaghetti al limone. Best of all was our paired wine, a Jean Luc Colombo Viognier La Viollette. This very well balanced white offered scents of lemon and honeysuckle on the nose with bright pear, honeydew and peach flavors that blended into the a palate caressing finish. The Wine Guy has long been a fan of Viognier and this wine ranks not only among the most enjoyable but also among as the most unique Viogniers I’ve had.

Uniqueness is an attribute that is often applied to many of Jean Luc Colombo’s wines. This versatile oenologist, vigneron, negociant and consultant has made quite an impact over the past couple of decades in France. Raised in a culinary family (both his mother and grandmother were chefs) he has served as a consultant to scores of French wine growers and winemakers and has been innovative in his own wine growing and wine making methods. He believes in 100% de-stemming and utilization of older vines and lower yields. He also places importance on longer maceration periods, often involving both stainless still and oak vessels for that part of the winemaking process as well as for aging. The result is wines that achieve fruit forwardness without sacrificing elegance and expression of terroir. His wines are usually characterized with great acid balance and drinkability both in their youth and after periods of ageing. I’ve previously enjoyed many of his reds, particularly his Syrah and Cotes du Rhone. This was my first experience with one of his whites and I clearly wasn’t disappointed.

This Viognier is sourced from grapes grown on 20-year old in the Languedoc-Roussillon (Colombo was responsible for introducing the varietal there and not being a traditional varietal accounts for the wine’s Vin de Pays d’Oc designation). 80% of the wine was macerated in stainless steel and 20% in oak barrels. Six months of ageing on the lees followed with 70% occurring in tanks and 30% in barrels ranging in age from one to three years. The resultant depth of fruit expression and creaminess contributes to the uniqueness of this Viognier. It also makes it quite suitable as an aperitif and it may be in that regard that my readers would most enjoy this wine.

For red wine drinkers who want to experience the uniqueness of Jean Luc Colombo’s wines, I would recommend his Les Abielles Cotes du Rhone. If you’re willing to spend a little more, a must try Syrah recommendation would be his Les Means Cornas

To good friends, Kent & Kara, thank you for a wonderful evening and for allowing us the honor of sharing your special occasion. May you be blessed with many more years of happiness together