September 1, 2004
Lovin' It in LompocSaletti's Restaurant & Bar, over in Lompoc, cooks up fine Italian vittles, has a great bar, and an extensive wine list, with an offering in the neighborhood of 150 wines, maybe more! It's an impressive selection-one of the best and most extensive on the Central Coast. The list features many local wines, and some pretty impressive imports too, like GAJA Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany. Notable local offerings include wines from Di Bruno (Bruno D'Alfonso), Mosby, Beckmen, Curran, Sanford, Longoria, Loring Wine Company, Palmina, the hard-to-find Seasmoke from Santa Rita Hills, Qupe, Saxum from the Paso Robles area, and The Ojai Vineyard produced by Adam and Helen Tolmach.
I'll bet the list will soon feature the brand new and first releases from Lompoc resident, Peter Cargasacchi. His label is Point Concepcion. The wines, by the way, are worth searching out.
Back to the winelist at Saletti's, other notable California producers included are Rombauer, Heitz Cellar, Cakebread, and Turley.
The menu is extensive and the portions are very generous. I ordered the lasagna, and left with a doggie bag. Also had several Makers Mark sweet manhattans for starters, and Mosby's 1998 sangiovese-Santa Barbara County. The wine was a perfect foil to the lasagna, and the manhattans rivaled the ones from Harry's Plaza Cafe in Santa Barbara when Alex was making them.
Saletti's is located at 825 North H Street in Lompoc.
I'll be back! Now I know of two good reasons to visit Lompoc, Saletti's and the Cajun Kitchen.
Que Syrah, Sirah
After I wrote last week's column, my editor asked me about syrah and its correct spelling. Here's the scoop. Besides the spelling, syrah and petite sirah are different grape varieties. Usually, petite sirah is spelled with an "i." Syrah is spelled with a "y." Petite sirah and syrah are different varieties. Syrah is the great red grape of the northern Rhone region, but also grown in the southern Rhone and Chateauneuf-Du-Pape where it is usually blended with grenache and sometimes mourvedre (plus others).
Petite sirah is really a grape variety called duriff, a Rhone varietal, which has fallen into virtual obscurity in Europe.
Occasionally wineries deviate from these spellings. I know of at least one famous producer that spells "petite syrah" on the label. As a wine writer/reporter I always honor these deviations as "poetic license."
Events
The Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association will bite the bullet and do another "Celebration of Harvest" Celebration on Saturday, October 9. To savor and sample the edible delectables-both wine and food-call the Vintners' Association at (805) 688-0881.
Bon appetit!
Wine lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the bucolic Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
