Pictured, Tasting Room Manager Elizabeth serves Lee some of Curtis Winery's finest wines. The Curtis Tasting Room is located on the Curtis Estate in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. Curtis Wines that I liked, the 2007 Viognier and a very good red, the 2005 Syrah from the Ambassador's Vineyard.
Lee and I visited two winery tasting rooms in Santa Barbara proper, Santa Barbara Winery and Oreana. Both had a great selection of wines including some dry and citrusy whites and lush reds. At Santa Barbara we tasted 6 wines:
2007 Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Laford SRH Chardonnay
2005 Sangiovese
2007 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills
2006 Grenache
2006 Petite Sirah
I very much enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc and thought of having some fish tacos for lunch - nicely dry and acidic great for spicy foods. The Chardonnay was rather typical of Cal Chards, buttery but "flabby" I think is the word oft used. The Pinot was good, fresh and soft, but maybe a little sweet to me. It is certainly drinkable now - low tanins. My favorites were the Sangiovese and Petite Syrah, both of which made me hungry for a nice pasta bolognese in the case of the Sangiovese or a deliciously rare steak for the Syrah. The Sangiovese was spicy and rich and the Sirah was young and tanic, though certainly drinkable.
Oreana is a small cult winery that vints its wines from grapes procured from the local region. It is right across the street from the Santa Barbara tasting room. They were labeling bottles when we arrived. I cannot find my tasting list, but I do recall the wines that left an impression and will update this note when I find my list. (Lee sent me his copy), we tasted 6 wines officially and a 7th because!
2005 Viognier - Jepson Vineyard
2007 Verdelho - Ehler's Vineyard
2008 Malbec Rose - Central Coast
2006 Malbec - French Camp Vineyard
2005 Pinot Noir - Central Coast
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Syrah
Well, the Verdelho, a white wine of Portugese descent was actually quite good, crisp and with a hint of guava - rare for me to detect that though many vinters note it in their descriptions. I could see having this with seafood and even Chinese food. The Pinot Noir was better than the one across the street at Santa Barbara, but maybe I was in the mood for salmon and a Pinot! The usual black fruits were there along with the spices. It is drinkable now. As usual I thought the Syrahs from all of the vineyards we visited that served them were great. We didn't taste any bad wines at any of the vineyards but the Cabernet Sauvignon here was just so so. I like my cabs to coat my mouth in silk and of late none of the California Cabs have been of that nature - most just knock my over with a big bowl of black fruit. So, let me add, after the fact, that I liked the Viogners, though not always a big white wine fan. I think, though, that one always needs some whites in his cellar for balance and the white fish that we have to have!! I forgot the Malbec, though I remembered the Malbec Rose. The list Lee sent had my comment regarding the Malbec - Excellent, with a tart finish. I have been lately experimenting with Malbecs and Riojas with Mexican food - this one would do well with a Cochinita Pibil taco!!
After visiting the two tasting rooms in Santa Barbara we had lunch at the Boat House Restaurant on the pier. We had salmon salads and clam chowder and drank draft beer!!
After lunch it was north to the wine country in the Santa Ynez Valley. There we visited three vineyards, Firestone, Curtis, and Fess Parker. One cannot pass up visiting Daniel Boone's Winery when they are in the area - it is just not done! From the direction we came - from the south the first vineyard to be visited was Firestone. Sevens wines were served there:
2007 Chenin Blanc - Santa Ynez Valley
2007 Cabernet Franc Rose - Santa Ynez Valley
2006 Chardonnay - Santa Rita Hills
2004 Merlot Reserve - Santa Rita Hills
2005 Cabernet Syrah - Central Coast
2005 Syrah - Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon - Santa Ynez Valley
I enjoyed all of the wines served even the whites and the Rose, though not really a big fan of the Roses in general. I would buy the Chenin Blanc, but not the Chardonnay. My favorite was the Merlot - a 100% Merlot - a la Petrus, very austere and made for aging. Even at the 5 years it was still young in my view, but with a bit of decanting - as I did by swirling it around in the glass for several minutes - thus delaying the pouring of the Cab Syrah. It mellowed some and was quite delightful. Rich with black cherry and two of my favorite flavors chocolate and caramel. One could easily have this with red meats! Of the two Syrahs, the Syrah was the best and I could easily see having this with a great rack of BBQ'd babyback ribs! Cab, smab! Okay.
Just down the way on up the hill on the left is the Curtis Vineyards, still owned by a Firestone, who sold the Firestone Vineyards. There we tasted 6 wines (actually 7 - they let us taste the Merlot from the Ambassador Vineyards - see picture above):
2006 Viognier - Santa Ynez Valley
2007 Heritage Blanc - Santa Barbara County
2005 The Crossroad Grenache - Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Heritage Cuvee - Santa Barbara County
2005 Syrah, Ambassador's Vineyard - Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Syrah, Roch Hollow Vineyard - Santa Ynez Valley
On my list I have two checked, not counting the Merlot, which is not on the list, The Heritage Cuvee and the Rock Hollow Syrah. Curtis specializes in Rhone style wines and the Cuvee was a wonderful blend with the flavors of jammy fruits and hints of spices and would be great on a warm summer day with a rare burger with bleau cheese and bacon!! In the Rhone Syrah is it and here at Curtis they have managed to build a wine that highlights all that is good about Syrah, raspberries and strawberries and a hint of pepper spice and great tanins for aging. Where's my steak!!!
Moving a bit further down the road on the right is the Fess Parker tasting room, Coon Skin caps and all, a beautiful place to visit (See Picture at very top). Here we tried 6 wines:
2006 Chardonnay "Ashley's"
2007 Viogner, "Santa Barbara County"
2008 Riesling, "Santa Barbara County"
2006 Pinot Noir, Clone 115
2006 Syrah, "Santa Barbara County"
2005, "The Big Easy"
Of the Pinots that we tried the Fess Parker Clone 115 was probably the best. It is still young, but the tanins were not overwhelming. It was silky and not overly fruity - a problem that seems to plague Pinot makers these days. I should have bought a bottle - but lugging it home on a plane is not an easy chore anymore given TSA's moronic over reaction to everything. I have to question why, when serving Pinots there is no fresh salmon to eat during the tasting!! The Riesling was sweet but not overly so - not quite dessert. The Viogner, I would buy it because it would go well with Mexican food. Both Syrahs were good and bold and great for aging. The 2006 SBC would have gone well with a BBQ and "The Big Easy," well, steak it is!!
For dinner we had fish tacos at the Firestone Brewery a bunch of miles back down the road toward LA. I drank pints of IPA!!!
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