April always explodes not only with wildflowers around here, but with wine events too. Here on the central coast, it’s a great time to get out and about, see the green hillsides brimming with colorful orange poppies, purple lupine, yellow daisies of different kinds, and mustard. Read on to learn more about where you should go: Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles, Champagne on Main in Ventura, California Wine and Jazz Fest at the Four Seasons Westlake, and the 34th Annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival Grand Tasting.
Whether you are a red wine fan or a white wine fan, whether you are an adventurous wine drinker or a more traditional one, a visit to Santa Barbara County’s tercero in Los Olivos is well worth a trip just off the main drag (2445 Alamo Pintado Ave, suite 104).
At the end of our late February visit, Que Syrah Sue bought seven bottles of tercero and I bought six. We were both tempted to buy more and we both look forward to going back. And here’s why:
tercero owner and winemaker Larry Schaffer has a wonderful philosophy and personality, and we appreciate his approach to wine to really showcase the fruit and not mask it with oak. We appreciate his playfulness and willingness to take chances with and play which is refreshing in a wine industry that can be so pretentious.
While February’s Santa Barbara Love #winestudio introduced Que Syrah Sue to Larry Schaffer and his Tercero wines, I met Larry in July of 2014 when he hosted a bunch of us wine bloggers at his tasting room in Los Olivos (2445 Alamo Pentad Ave) before the Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Ynez.
And we all left with half a case or more of tercero wine!
Why? Specializing in Rhone wines, tercero is not only off the beaten track in Los Olivos but he offers Rhone wines that are also off the beaten track.
No fooling around –this April, we Wine Predators will be fools for Albarino from Rias Baixas, Spain!
Legend says that the Rías Baixas are traces left by God’s fingers, where, after creation, he rested his hand. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, Galicia has over 1000 miles of coastline. The sea reaches inland to form estuaries where the Rías Baixas mix fresh and salt water to sustain a rich and diverse population of aquatic life–and provide an excellent place to grow Albarino!
Each Tuesday in April (and May!) from 6 – 7:00pm PST, I’ll be talking and tasting Albarino (and more!) with other wine writers and educators during #WineStudio’s weekly educational program using the hashtag #WineStudio.
I haunt wine sales, bin ends, mark downs, price changes — I’m not proud. I like a good deal.
So when I found Emmolo Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc on clearance at my local grocery store for around $10 instead of $30, I picked up a bottle, and gave it a swirl.
I liked it so much I went back and bought more. And then I went back and bought the rest of it.
And then when I broke my wrist at Thanksgiving and couldn’t open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew to save my life, I was really really grateful to have this reliable, delicious, flexible wine at my fingertips. Continue reading →
Throughout the year, the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum offers adult programs to encourage understanding and appreciation of the many facets of our natural world. Lectures and films, classes, field trips, panel discussions, and workshops provide opportunities to experience new ideas, develop new skills, meet active adults with similar interests, and learn from experts. And three events coming up are all related to wine!
On Sunday March 20, 100 guests will celebrate spring and learn about women in wine at the A Symposium Hosted by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History from 1:00–5:00 PM in the Fleischmann Auditorium from six significant women winemakers whose stellar wines play a significant role in the Central Coast: Continue reading →
In honor of Women’s History Month, this March Que Syrah Sue and I visited THE local Ventura County winemaker who is also a WOMAN: Brittany Jean Rice -Claypool of Millesime Cellars located at 425 Constitution Ave, Ste H Camarillo, California (805) 896-4049.
Palate over chemistry, says Brittany
Brittany comes from quite a wine making heritage: her great grandfather picked grapes at Inglenook, and her family started Sunstone in Santa Barbara. When she was 12, they planted their first merlot grapes at Sunstone; by the time she was 21, she was making their wine.
Now at 38, Brittany has her own winery where she is producing 1000 or so cases of red, white, and dessert wines a year.
Millesime Cellars library wine photo by wine maker Brittany Rice-Claypool
But Brittany didn’t take the direct route to becoming a winemaker–she came to wine making via art, food, and travel which leads to her claim that she prefers palate over chemistry.Continue reading →
