Giuseppe and I spent a few wonderful days in Santa Barbara. We stayed at the legendary Biltmore Hotel, now known as the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel. It is situated on Butterfly Beach in Montecito (the hoity toity town where Kim and Kris Kardashian had their 'showmance' wedding). The hotel was once favored by old Hollywood and bigwigs since it opened in 1927. And bigwigs we felt at this beautiful place.
During our visit, we saw Billy Baldwin at the Bella Vista Restaurant and some other celebrity sightings -- was it Jane Lynch from Glee one night? Or was the sighting at the Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch? Another amazingly beautiful place where John and Jacqueline Kennedy honeymooned. It's one of those places from another time in the most beautiful and romantic way.
Santa Barbara is pinot noir country and it was right up Giuseppe's alley. He LOVES pinot noir so I had to give in on this one. We drove to Lompoc in the heart of the winemaking region and visited two wineries, Foley Vineyards and Melville Vineyards.
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| Melville Winery |
Melville came in highly recommended by my friend, Sam, at Acker, Merrall & Condit. He was definitely right. Melville produces pinot noirs, chardonnay, syrah and viognier wines. They have a 20,000 bottle production (meaning not huge) and all the wines are very well priced in the $26-$36 range.
The 2009 Estate Chardonnay had lots of minerality, a nice creaminess and some yeast on the palate. It lasted a long time on my palate. The 2010 Clone 76 Inox Chardonnay was an all stainless steel fermentation -- meaning more lemons and green apples on the palate. Inox is the name of a particular yeast strain. There are a gzillion different types of clones that are created to bring out certain qualities that are prized by growers. Think roses: I love roses, but have you ever noticed that some don't smell anymore? Some never open? Some last a full week? Even roses have different clones and grapes are no different. Lest I digress......
The pinot noirs did not disappoint. Our favorite was the 2010 Verna's Estate Pinot Noir. It was elegant, pleasant, smooth and non-offensive in every way. The acidity was not piercing like a lot of young pinots with fruit flavors of rasberries, rhubarb and dried herbs. Giuseppe said this wine was what you want a pinot noir to taste like. At $26 a bottle, the price was right for a California pinot noir of such high quality. The 2009 Estate Pinot Noir was very good as well, though it had more alcohol on the nose and palate. Perhaps with a little time, it would be amazing.
I wanted to visit Foley Wines because Wine Spectator Magazine just did a piece on California pinot noirs and Foley was mentioned there. Foley produces several pinot noirs. Owner, Bill Foley, created the Brand Series, a series of mostly pinot noirs to honor Foley's rancher and cattlemen roots and his Texas heritage.Their wines were delicious, full and stylish. Our two favorites were the 2009 Pinot Noir Barrel Select (pictured left) and the 2009 Pinot Noir, T Anchor Ranch ($55). The Barrel Select ($60) was a big California pinot noir, but I think with some time, the alcohol and tannins would soften and be more European in style (think softer). The T Anchor pinot had lots of cloves, rasberries, cola and supple tannins. It was more approachable in the near term. Overall, Foley had something for all palates and it's definitely worth a visit.
We loved Santa Barbara and can't wait to go back. Hope all is well at home and will write more soon.
Love, Jennifer
Links:
http://www.melvillewinery.com/ http://www.foleywines.com/
http://www.fourseasons.com/santabarbara/
http://sanysidroranch.com/san_dining.cfm
http://www.winespectator.com/
http://www.ackerwines.com/
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