It turns out the April Vintners' Festival which was held over at Rancho Sisquoc Winery may have been the best ever. The wines were dazzling and so was the weather--perhaps El Nino is history at this point.
And the venue was terrific too. A number of people told me they like the Ranch Sisquoc venue the best. No doubt in my mind, Rancho Sisquoc and Sanford are two of my most favorite wineries to visit--both have splendorous views and homey, friendly tasting rooms and Rancho Sisquoc has a great picnic area.
Speaking of weather, bud break has occurred. Bud break is the term which describes new growth on the dormant vine, and driving around the county, you will see the spectacular, almost translucent, lime colored leafy green developing on the vine right now. But this time of year, after bud break, the plant is extremely vulnerable to frost, and vineyardists like Joe Carrari are out in the early hours of the morning spraying water on the new leafy growth. This process is called frost protection. When the water freezes, heat is generated which protects the plant.
The Vintners' Association has just published and released a terrific book titled Aged in Oak, "The Story of the Santa Barbara County Wine Industry." The book was written by the Graduate Program in Public Historical Studies at UCSB, produced by Cachuma Press of Los Olivos, with some pretty fine photography from Kirk Irwin.
I must confess, it's quite flattering to see my name, the name of this column, and the name of this newspaper footnoted in the book, along with my good friend Mark van de Kamp from the Santa Barbara News-press. Newspapers are source material for historians. I guess those of us who do this sort of thing are involved in the legacy of history for the future generations of wine drinkers.
The book retails for $16.95 and is available through the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association (805-688-0881).
There's a new tasting room in Los Olivos--the Andrew Murray Vineyards tasting room at 2901A Grand Avenue. The room is open daily from 11 to 6. Next month, Rick Longoria will be opening a tasting room up the street.
Spring events:
RAVE!
- Saturday, May 9, 10 to 4, the wineries of the Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Vintners Association will present the third annual "Roll Out the Barrels." Members of the association will be hosting special events at their wineries. Tickets are $40. For more information, call 541-5868.
- Sunday, May 17, 1-5 p.m., the Brander Vineyard presents the 9th annual Bouillabaise Festival at the winery near Los Olivos. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. The price includes the bouillabaise tastings, a souvenir wine glass and wine tasting. Proceeds benefit Chilren's Services at Cottage Hospital.
If you like pinot noir like I do, you have to try the new Hitching Post releases made by Frank Ostini who owns the Hitching Post II in Buellton, and the two new pinot releases made by Chris Whitcraft!
Pinot just doesn't get any better than these!
- Frank's Hartley-Ostini 1996 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir was produced from grapes grown at River Bench and Sierra Madre Vineyards. Supple, very drinkable and user-friendly, this wine retails for about $20.
- Frank's Hartley-Ostini 1996 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir is a bit bigger and simply exudes that fabulous Santa Maria Valley pinot fruit that gives our part of the wine world the great reputation it so rightly deserves. This wine retails for about $25.
- Chris Whitcraft 1996 Bien Nacido N Block Pinot Noir was released at the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Festival. This unfined, unfiltered, unpumped wine might be one of his best ever. A big and gutsy wine, you'll ebjoy to the very last drop. The wine retails in the high $40s and is worth every penny.
- Chris's new Whitcraft 1996 Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast is an equally incredible wine. I have found the Hirsch Vineyard wines tight upon release, taking a lot of time to open up. Not so with the current release! This wine is more supple and a delight in the mouth. This wine also retails in the high $40s.
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.
