Mea Culpa"What fresh hell is this?" reads the t-shirt of Morgan Toral's new label which I wrote about in the April "Grapevine". What I omitted was the name of the label, "Cold Heaven," named for a poem by William Butler Yeats, which Morgan told me "struck me as a good name because I was using fruit [viognier] from Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, a vineyard in one of the coolest growing regions of Santa Barbara County.
The first vintage, a 1996 Cold Heaven Sanford & Benedict Vineyard viognier, will be released in early June. Fun!
Rave!
Buttonwood's winemaker, Mike Brown, is quite a talented winemaker. Mike's one of these guy's I would call "Mr. Science," because of his background.
A native of Australia, both of Mike's parents are surgeons. He went to college with the intention of going to medical school and holds two bachelor of science degrees from the University of Adelaide--one in biochem, the other in microbiology.
Somewhere along the way, med school got dumped for winemaking. With his science background he was admitted to UC Davis as a graduate student, and his first job out of Davis was here in Santa Barbara County as the assistant winemaker at Zaca Mesa under Ken Brown.
Mike's been the winemaker at Buttonwood for the last seven years, and produces small amounts of wine under his own label called "Kalyra," the aboriginal word for "wild and pleasant place."
Regular readers of this column know my negative feelings about cabernet sauvignon from Santa Barbara County (with the exception of the fine cabs coming out of Foxen Vineyard). So just last week, I tried--of all things--a 1994 Buttonwood Farm Vineyard cabernet sauvignon made by Mike Brown, and I was blown away by it!
No classic bell pepper and rotting asparagus in the nose!
Instead, the wine showed those wonderful classic Bordeaux flavors and aromas of cassis and tobacco, with the classic cigar box nose.
The vintage is one of the best of this decade anyway, with a long and cool growing season. After fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak barrels for 24 months ( I wish California winemakers would give up using American oak, and stick with classic French oak barrels). Six hundred cases were made. The wine retails for $16, and at that price it's a real bargain. Maybe there is hope for cabernet sauvignon in the county yet!
Events
- Saturday, May 31, Firestone presents a "culinary extravaganza" with chef Michael Schafer of Chez Melange restaurants--a cooking demonstration at 6 ($25) and dinner at 7 ($75). A benefit for the Family School of Santa Ynez. 688-3940.
- Tuesday afternoons, 4-6 p.m., Arnoldi's offers "wine tasting and bocce ball" in the lovely garden in back of the restaurant. June 3 features the wines of Santa Barbara Winery; June 10, Firestone; June 17, Bedford Thompson; June 24, Foxen. $10 includes the wine and hors d'oeuvres. 962-5394 for details.
- Wednesday evenings at 5:30, June 4-25, the wine series continues at Santa Barbara Winery. Reservations suggested. For details, call the winery at 963-3633.
- Friday, June 6, 5:30-9:30, Allan Hancock College offers a class in pairing food and wine with Ardison Phillips of McKeon-Phillips Winery at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Los Olivos. $22. Phone (800) 338-8731, ext.3248.
- Saturday, June 7, 5 p.m., Bedford Thompson Winery presents, "The Poor of New York," a play written by Dion Boucicault, a modern staging of this 1857 sensation according to the winery. Winetasting at 5, dinner at 6; curtain at 7:30. $35. 344-2107.
- Saturday, June 14, 3 p.m., the Central Coast Home Vintners club hosts a fundraiser wine tasting and dinner catered by Chef Rick's at the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium. $20. Call club president Bob Weldon for details and reservations at 349-0610.
- Saturday, June 28, 3-7 p.m., Buttonwood Farm Winery presents "Red, White & Blues," the second annual concert by the pond featuring the Bernie Pearl Blues Band. Reservations required. $25, 688-3032.
- Sunday, July 6 through July 13, it's eight days of activities and festivities at the KCBX Central Coast Wine Classic. This fundraiser for the public radio station takes place at locations in and around Avila Beach and includes wine tastings, dinners, symposia, the wine auction and beach party, Saturday, July 12, the grand wine tasting, Sunday, July 13, and this year for the first time--kicking off the week-long series, the Marian McPartland Trio at Cal Poly's Cohan Performing Arts Center, July 6, 3 p.m. For details on the fundraiser call 781-3026.
Bob Senn writes The Independent's monthly wine column, "Grapevine," and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
