What’s local when it comes to wine? For me, based in Ventura in Southern Central California, in an eight hour drive I can get to just about every wine growing region in California — both above and below the border in Mexico! From the well known areas like Sonoma and Napa, to lesser known gems like Mendocino and El Dorado, as well as Baja’s Valle de Guadelupe, it is all relatively accessible. 

But I’m only an hour away from the verdant vineyards of Santa Barbara County where a geographical anomaly allows the cooling Pacific Ocean breezes to race east along the Santa Ynez River Valley from the Pacific to Lake Cachuma. 

Most of the mountain ranges in the western United States look like caterpillars slowly racing from Mexico to Canada: from the Coast Ranges to the Sierras in California to the Basin and Ranges in Nevada to the Wasatch in Utah and the Rockies in Colorado, they all line up in their lanes. 

EXCEPT the Transverse range in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties where we do things a little differently. Many of our beaches are actually south facing, and our major drainages are east-west making it possible to grow fine wine grapes in hotter land areas– and for the cool coastal ones to get enough heat too. Along a 10 mile transect from the coast to Cachuma, the temperature raises dramatically changing the character of the wine so much that we thought it would be fun to compare them. 

Example: 3 Syrah from Santa Barbara  

• 2016 The Ojai Vineyard Syrah, Duvarita Vineyard, just outside Sta Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
  If you drive from the Pacific Ocean near Lompoc east more or less following along the drainage, this Demeter certified biodynamic vineyard is so close to the coast that it was not included in the Sta Rita Hills AVA because no one thought grapes could ripen there! This made the purchase of the land much more affordable.
  
  
• 2019 Beckmen Vineyards Syrah Block Six, Ballard Canyon, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
  Located near Los Olivos, Ballard Canyon is the only AVA with a Syrah focus; this is a sweet spot of not too hot and not too cold. Beckman is a pioneer in growing organically, and they are certified by Demeter as biodynamic. 
  
  
• 2014 Montemar Syrah, McGinley Vineyard Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara
  Happy Canyon is farthest east, all the way to Lake Cachuma, and so warm that it is best known for Bordeaux grapes like Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  McGinley Vineyard is respected for their sustainable farming, and some blocks, like The Ojai Vineyard’s Sauvignon Blanc grown there, is organic.

Learn more about Santa Barbara’s AVAs here with wines from the Slow Wine Guide.

What about local food? Again we are fortunate in California to have access to excellent produce, meat, and seafood at the farmers market all year around — all coming from nearby! We can also grow our own produce all year– I have lemons, kale, herbs, and tomatoes growing in my garden almost every day of the year! 

For Earth Month, Sue and I are hosting Wine Pairing Weekend’s local excursion to discover local wine AND local food. Scroll down for how to join us!

• Keep reading below for these three Syrah from these three Santa Barbara AVAs moving west to east.

Up next this week: a preview post with titles and links to participants plus our post about fresh local seafood and Clos des Amis wines. All of the vineyards are located a 30 minute drive away as is the solar powered adobe brick winery and estate vineyards on South Mountain in Santa Paula, CA, where I will be joining them tomorrow for bottling Pinot Noir. Grapes grown organically and sustainably, but not certified made with low intervention into wine. Our post for this prompt focuses on Tablas Creek in Paso Robles paired with lamb grown and raised on the property. We have more local and sustainable California wines coming up — like from Paso Robles Regenerative Organic Certified Robert Hall, biodynamic Frey from Mendocino, and AJA from Malibu. Stay tuned! Subscribe! 

Menu

• Cheese board:
  Comte, mushroom brie, goat gouda, stilton, creamy blue, jerk spiced sharp cheddar, sharp cheddar truffle cheese from the Snowdonia cheese company, spicy salami, dried olive mixed nuts. While we can find local or Santa Barbara made cheese, I didn’t have any in the house! 
• Sautéed mixed mushrooms and homegrown kale over organic polenta topped with truffle cheddar or stilton and crispy salami using what was left over from our cheese plate. So easy and so impressive as to how it changes the profile of the meal.
• Bowl meals with layers of flavor are not only easy to make but the layers are so enjoyable and pair well with wine.
• Sautéed French lamb sausage locally made and purchased at the Ventura Farmer’s Market. 

2016 The Ojai Vineyard Syrah, Duvarita Vineyard, Santa Barbara County

ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $50 (current release 2019; library release $85)
Grapes: Syrah
purchased as a member of their Wine Club

We love The Ojai Vineyard. While most of the grapes come from Santa Barbara, an hour away, wines are made 15 minutes away and the tasting room is only 20 minutes away. Winemaker Adam Tolmach says it’s a struggle to ripen syrah at Duvarita — even on a south facing slope. But it’s worth it, in part, he credits the biodynamic farming principles in place that “produces fruit that is often compelling and highly expressive of terroir.” Only 188 cases produced. Read more about The Ojai Vineyard here from an interview with Adam Tolmach and Fabien Castel here.

Appearance:  Medium density, maroon, mauve rim, a bit cloudy

Aroma: Olive brine, olives cured in sea salt and herbs, eucalyptus, menthol, petrol, natural oil deposits, pepper, violet, iris, perfume. 

Palate: Smooth and spicy, black pepper, eucalyptus on the back of the palate, red currant, red raspberry, bold tannins, nice now, and will be even better with food. 

Pairing: With the mushroom brie, the wine and the creamy blue cheese are very earthen together, nice with the stilton as well, fine with the jerk sharp cheddar, fabulous with the complex Comte cheese–a Comte grilled cheese sandwich would be perfect with this wine. The OMG for both of us was with the sharp cheddar truffle cheese and the wine, so incredible together. The sausage had many of the same spices that were in the jerk sharp cheddar which was perfect with the wine.

This meal of many flavors and combinations of bites was so fantastic with the wine. 

2019 Beckmen Vineyards Syrah Block Six, Ballard Canyon, Purisima Mountain Vineyard 

ABV: 14.8%
SRP: $75
Grapes: Syrah
500 cases
sample for my review

Back in 2002, Beckmen began farming biodynamically with this highest elevation, limestone deposited block. It worked so well that Steve Beckmen was convinced to go all the way and get Demeter certification not just here but elsewhere on the estate. According to Beckmen, this is a great vintage and the wine should cellar well for another 20 years or more. Read our interview with Steve Beckmen here. 

Appearance:  Very cloudy, so pretty, youthful, ruby, fushia rim, very bright.

Aroma: Blue fruit, violets, blueberries, baking spice, blueberry pie, sage flower, thyme flower, lavender, black pepper, damp earth, cyenothesis,

Palate: Bright tart blue fruit, chalky yet smooth, delicious, brambles, savory, black pepper, more blue fruit, mellow tannins, nicely structured, the expression of the grape shines so nicely, lovely texture, so nicely balanced that nothing is out of place. 

Pairing: So fantastic with mushroom brie on a crispy sunflower cranberry cracker, not great with the Comte or the goat gouda, the creamy blue and the wine was a rock star pairing, I imagined a fancy panini with pear, arugula, the creamy blue and toasted walnuts as a course with this wine. The stilton was even better than the creamy blue with the wine. Also great with the jerk spiced sharp cheddar, and the sharp truffle cheese as well. Very nice with the spicy salami bringing out nice florals in the wine as well as changing the texture. The polenta dish was fabulous with the wine: it becomes more sweet, the shiitake mushrooms are meaty earthy and rich. The wine changes and becomes one with this complex meal. Yummy, yummy, yummy, 

2014 Montemar Syrah, McGinley Vineyard Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara

ABV: 14.6%
SRP: $40
Grapes: Syrah
purchased in 2020 at the Garagiste Festival Silent Wine Auction fundraiser for scholarships

Montemar produces only 1200 cases of wine from grapes purchased throughout the AVA, and they made only 54 cases of this wine. Of this wine, they say, “We have had our same block in McGinley since 2002 and love everything about it and in the garage we have bottled many 100% McGinley.  McGinley is in Happy Canyon and is a warmer area for Syrah. This wine was gently destemmed then cold soaked for 4 days and fermented with gentle punch-downs. Aged in one tight-grained French oak Puncheon (twice the size of a normal barrel) for 21 months.”  I look forward to learning more and interviewing their team soon!

Appearance:  Medium density, cloudy, ruby going to garnet, pale garnet rim, looks like cranberry juice,, 

Aroma: Black vines and red vines licorice, black pepper, sweet vanilla, river moss, mud,  sechiwan pepper, lilac, cranberry raspberry, as the wine continues to open it becomes rich and heady, etherial, other worldly, 

Palate: Very easy to drink, luscious blue fruit, smooth tannins, raspberry finish with black pepper, red vines licorice, so smooth and easy to enjoy, 

Pairing: This is a great wine for strong flavored interesting cheeses: it went so well with the Comte, goat gouda, creamy blue cheese and the stilton. The jerk spiced cheddar was an amazing pair, and it was fantastic with sharp cheddar truffle cheese.  Just like the jerk spiced cheddar was perfect with the wine, this spicy lamb sausage was also harmonious with the wine. The layers of flavor in the meal enhanced the layers of flavor. This older vintage of wine (if you are open to it) makes you slow down and take notice to the various nuances in the wine. The wine is sweeter and so heady with the meal. So, so great and satisfying together. 

You’re invited to join Wine Pairing Weekend for Earth Month by writing an article this week and/or participating in our chat Sat. April 8, 2023.

• In the next week, find one or more wines “local” to you, and ideally grown sustainably. All are welcome to participate.
• The wine/s can be from any grape in any style– red, white, rose, orange, sparkling, sweet–- and from any region of the world that’s “local” to you.
• Wine Pairing Weekend emphasizes pairing wines with foods, and we encourage you this month to feature “local” foods paired with your local wines sharing regional specialties and recipe adaptations.
• Sponsored posts and sample wines are fine as long as they are clearly identified as such.
• We love to read about the stories behind the wine and why you chose it, but this month it is particularly important to share how the wine is “local” and since it is Earth Month, to learn more about how the wines are sustainably produced.
• We love to learn about the sourcing of your local food!
• We love to learn about travel to the region of the world where your wine/s and dishes came from. Tell us what’s special about what’s local. Note who lived on the land before you– who were the original inhabitants? What was living there before the vines?
• During April, please get your title to me by commenting below or posting in the Facebook event under the title thread before EOD Tuesday April 4, 2023 so that I can publish a preview post with titles and links to participants.
• From Friday April 7 to Saturday April 8 at 9am, please publish your post; we encourage you to include #WinePW in the title of your article.
• Append to your post the preliminary HTML to link to other participants; it can be found on the Facebook event page or can be cut and pasted from the preview post. Then update with the final HTML.
• You’re invited to join our 8am Pacific twitter chat on Sat. April 8 by following the hashtag #WinePW. Prompts will be posted here at Wine Predator in the Preview Post the day before.
• You are welcome to schedule your tweets and to invite those you are writing about to join us. 
• Read around, comment, and share each other’s posts.
• As soon as it is available, please remember to add the final HTML to your post which links to participants’ published posts.
• Have fun! Happy Earth Month! Stay tuned and subscribe!
• Email me with any questions: gwendolynalleyATyahooDOTcom.