I was in Santa Barbara county earlier this week and spent Monday visiting several local wineries. I did a lot of preparatory work to maximize my visit. I created a list of the "best" SB wineries based on research on this board plus some other sources. I wanted to visit at least four wineries, with the option for one more based on time and sobriety (I was alone). I also wanted the last winery to be close to my base of operations - the Ballard Inn.
Based on these parameters, I made my list, plotted by course and was off and running early Monday morning (the three hour time difference certainly helped).
The first stop was Foxen Winery (http://www.foxenvineyard.com), located on Foxen Canyon Road. (The back story is pretty interesting - William Benjamin Foxen was an English sea caption and great-great-great grandfather of one of the owners). Foxen recently opened a new tasting room just down the street from their flagship tasting room. I visited the new one first, the Rhone-style wines. First a disclaimer: I have almost no experience with Syrah so these are my general impressions. The 2008 Foxen Syrah Toasted Rope was sourced from another winery due to the frost in 2008 - it was smooth and spicy and quite good. The 2008 Foxen Syrah Tinaquaic Vineyard was very different - my first impression was that it was Pinor Noir, very smooth with soft tannins and a quick finish, also nice. I had one more but it escapes me now. I then hopped in the car for a quick drive down to the original tasting room - a shack right next to the road. I had three more tastings, one a very tasty Cabernet Sauvignon, the very nice 2006 Foxen Sangiovese Volpino, and one dessert wine mixed with brandy which I couldn't finish (I didn't like the taste and the day was young). [Sidebar: some may be cringing because of my lack of detailed notes and poor memory but in my defense I had a aggressive schedule to keep, I'm too lazy to write things down, plus I had run a marathon the previous day so this was my day to relax]. Very nice wines, a great way to start the day.
Next I headed to Los Olivos to the Qupe (http://qupe.com/index.html) tasting room, located on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Olivos. Qupe is located in a building shared by other wineries and stores. After walking into the wrong tasting room, the annoyed pourer pointed me two doors down to Qupe (he must get that a lot). I had a bunch of tastings here but two stood out. The 2008 Qupe Los Olivos Cuvee, a blend of syrah, grenache and mourvedre, was incredible. Everything was in perfect balance - firm yet smooth, a touch of fruit, and nice finish. The 2009 Qupe Marsanne Santa Ynez Valley (81% Marsanne and 19% Roussanne) was also incredible. I don't have any experience with these grapes but I loved the wine - acidic, nice fruit taste, and a touch bold.
My next stop was lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe. I almost went off plan when I noticed the Daniel Gehrs tasting room on my way to the cafe but I resisted the temptation. At the cafe, I detoxed a bit and ate an incredible pizza - the Alba Pizza (wild mushrooms, ricotta, arugula, parmesan) and washed it down with a 2009 Stolpman Rose (80% Sangiovese 20% Grenache). It was a great lunch!
Now loaded with more food, I headed out for the second part of the day. I took a lovely drive out to Sanford Winery (http://www.sanfordwinery.com/default.aspx). (Quick preview: incredible Chardonnay). There was a tour van out front so I was a bit leery but fortunately there were only four very happy people inside. I ordered from the reserve collection tasting of three Chardonny's and three Pinor Noirs. The Chardonnay was incredible! I'm not a huge chardonnay fan but these wines would convert anyone. I had the 2007 Sanford La Entrada and the 2007 Sanford La Riconanda , intense tropical fruit, very acidic and tangy finish. At first I thought they were fermented in stainless steel because of a lack of strong buttery taste, but the pourer John (who was very knowable about wine - we had a good discussion on Burgundy and the 1855 Bordeax Classification) indicated they spent some time in neutral barrels (the right amount by my estimation). Next on to the Pinor Noirs. Although the three were sourced from different vineyards (2008 Sanford Pinor Noir La Rinconada, 2008 Sanford Pinor Noir Benedict, and 2007 Sanford Pinor Noir Vista Al Rio), they tasted very similar to me. They had firm tannins, almost a bit harsh that maybe needed some time to mellow, but were good overall. The Vista Al Rio was $75/bottle so there is a QPR issue here.
I had only one more winery on the list and over two hours before they closed, so I added my contingent winery to the plan - Babcock Winery. The drive from Sanford was stunning so I was relaxed and happy when I arrived. Both Babcock and Melville sit up on a slight hill so the views were real nice. There was another couple there tasting when I arrived and they asked me to take a picture of them with the server. I did that and asked them where they were from as I detected German accents. Turns out they were indeed from Germany and were biking from Anchorage, AK to the tip of South America. Yes, riding their bikes from Alaska to Chile! Because I spent the tasting talking with them, I really didn't remember much from Babcock except the Bordeaux-blend 2008 Babcock Fathom Santa Ynez Valley (45% Cabernet, 37% Merlot, 18% Petit Verdot), it was a bit young and fruity with minimal tannins, the Verdot added just a bit of smokey flavor. It was real nice and should age nicely.
The sun was dipping towards the ocean and I had about an hour for a leisurely drive to Beckmen Vineyards, located under a mile from the Ballard Inn. The approach to the winery was nice - a tiny road curving through the vineyards. I was surprised that they were still harvesting grapes so the winery was real busy with activity. The 2008 Beckmen Estate Grenache was real nice but the syrahs were incredible - I saved the best for last! There was a variety of Syrahs from different clones and vineyard blocks, such as 2007 Beckman Purisima Mountain Vineyard Clone #1 Syrah. Well balanced, spicy flavors, firm tannins and with a nice finish. What a great way to end the day!
But there was one more stop! After a brief rest at the Ballard Inn, I headed to the Hitching Post II in Solvang (which is an unexpected Danish-inspired town in California). I had an absolutely delicious Filet Mignon matched with a 2007 Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a bold CS but somewhat smooth (14% Petit Verdot). I then headed back to the Ballard Inn and was asleep within a few minutes.
Overall, a great trip. The wines were world-class and the scenery stunning. A great way to spend a Monday.