April 12, 2001
Lafond Winery and VineyardsBlazing a trail in Santa Barbara County's burgeoning wine country, Pierre Lafond debuts his second winery and public tasting room--Lafond Winery and Vineyards-this month.
A pioneer on the local scene, Pierre Lafond opened Santa Barbara Winery almost 40 years ago, in 1962, as the county's first post-prohibition winery. Lafond, a visionary like other pioneers Richard Sanford and Brooks Firestone, purchased vineyard land in the Santa Ynez Valley back in 1972 and began cultivating an initial 65 acre plot for Santa Barbara Winery.
The new winery and tasting room located on this 150 acre site is located 18 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Rita Hills region of the county six miles west of Highway 101 at 6855 Santa Rosa Road.
The 800 square foot tasting room and 7,000 square foot winery were designed by Pierre Lafond, an architect by trade.
Santa Barbara Winery with its lovely tasting room is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 202 Anacapa Street, just two blocks up from the beach.
Both the Santa Barbara Winery tasting room and the new Lafond Winery and Vineyard tasting room are open daily from 10-5.
Elsewhere in California
I just made a three day junket to the Livermore Valley and the San Francisco Bay. The Livermore Valley is located in Alameda County in the east bay-an easy 30 minute drive from San Jose on Interstate 680, in off-peak commute time.
The city of Livermore has a population of about 75,000. There are about 15 wineries located in this bucolic place, with green contours and terrain, very similar to northern Santa Barbara County and the Los Alamos Valley.
The two oldest wineries in the region are Wente and Concannon, still going strong since the 1880s. When I was in college, my special occasion wines were from Wente-their grey riesling, semillon, and "blanc de blancs." In fact, one of the most memorable wines I have ever had was a Wente semillon in 1963. I was on a sloop in San Francisco Bay, and the occasion was the first time I had ever had caviar. It's odd how certain things are always stored in memory. I don't recall what the champagne we were drinking was, but I have a vivid memory of that semillon and that day. In a Platonic sense, that wine will always represent an ideal type, and over the years I have never found a semillon to measure up.
I had lunch at the Wente Vineyards Restaurant, probably the best restaurant I've ever had lunch in-French onion soup, sirloin tips with a Wente reserve merlot, an '88 vintage Ficklin port and a dash of brandy from their own barrel, distilled for the winery restaurant at Germain-Robin in Mendocino County. With all the great eateries in Santa Barbara, I don't think I've every had a better gustatory experience than eating in this marvelous restaurant with its 24 page winelist!
Some of the wine highlights of the trip came from Concannon-especially their Rhone-style rose and white blend, and their 1997 reserve petite sirah. Concannon is the standard bearer of great petite sirah in California, and probably has been for the past 100 years.
Bon appetit!
Bob Senn writes The Independent's monthly wine column, "Grapevine," lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
