Wanabe Rant about High Alcohol Wines

I think I’ve always been a little put off by red wines that trend to and beyond 15% alcohol. I'm not a fan of whites like that either, but I don't feel I come across them as much. Most often I get in this mode when wines are driven by the aromas and textures of too much fuel. In most cases the wines are otherwise sound, balanced and enjoyable. Until recently I casually dismissed the alcohol as just a consequence of a warm growing climate where super-ripening is just business as usual.

Not this week! During a recent Boston Sommelier Society tasting I experienced three wines in a row (our whole red flight and second half of our blind tasting) that were all 14.5% or higher as stated on the label. Factoring in the +/- margin allowed in alcohol labeling in the US (and they were all domestically made) they could all have been well over 15%, with one potentially reaching 17.1%!!! I was offended at how the wines screwed with my nose and palate. One of the wines had enough wood in it for a genuine fear of fire!

The wines were again laden with fruit, earth, noticeable tannins, healthy acidity and otherwise enjoyable characteristics, but I had trouble getting past the alcohol. Frankly, the wines didn’t need all of it to be enjoyed. For me that meant they weren’t well balanced. There was healthy confirmation of the alcoholic strength of the wines at the table, but varying opinions on the balance of the wine despite this fact.

My wanabe rant ends here. The subject of high alcohol wines is not new. As a hobbyist winemaker I understand the processes at work here and figured a different take on the issue would be required to make an attempt at a rant a worthwhile read in the end.

I began writing this post on the bus ride home after the tasting and got the first three paragraphs out before I had thought much about where to take it. The next day I read "In Pursuit of Balance" at Steve Heimoff’s blog, which kicks around the same topic. The link was shared on Facebook by Andrew Murray (AndrewMurray Vineyards) and the comments from both he and Adam Lee (Siduri Wines) got me thinking.

How should consumers react to a wine when their final impression is that it is unbalanced. Is high alcohol a singular issue with a simple remedy? 

( Vines near Los Olivos, California )

The comments to the original post were most useful fodder for the consideration of how to make my argument meaningful. The final product here is the combination of vineyard fruit in concert the winemaking staffs' decisions and actions. The alcohol level is part of that. The need to take action to balance wine must pre-fermentation for any reason, sugar and the resulting alcohol being just one, is nothing new and is the charge of the people tasked with making the best wine they can. The decision not to intervene then becomes a corresponding creative choice, a choice with the same risk to that of action; that if the final wine is out of balance in some way it may be presented to customers in that form.

In one comment on the Heimoff post Adam provided harvest numbers for fruit from Hirsch Vineyard in the years 2009 through 2011. I've summarized that information here.

In 2009 when the Brix (sugar level) of the grapes was at its highest, thus more alcohol, the acidity was also the strongest eliminating the need to add acid to balance the must they fermented the wines from. The Brix trend in 2010 and 2011 was down (by 1.2% potential alcohol from 09 to 11), yet these were the recent vintages that required an acid addition. From the winemaker’s perspective Adam makes it clear that the 2009 grapes came in from the vineyard better balanced, requiring less intervention. Fair enough. Adam didn’t mention any objective differences he observed in the products, and without tasting them myself it would be hard for me to really say what difference this could make to the consumer.

I wondered would the 2011 wine with 1.2% less alcohol offer the same fruit character, acidity and tannins as its older sibling from 2009? If so, I might prefer the wine at 13.3% alcohol and would see the intervention as a positive act, producing what I thought was a better balanced wine. Or I might not.

The point being made was that when action was needed based on the balance of sugar, pH and strength of the grape’s acid content, it was NOT the year the sugar was the highest! The lingering question which Adam left the reader with was “So in which vintage was the juice more balanced and in which vintage will the wine be most balanced?”

Good point. The sweet spot in any year for what a winemaker might be seeking in fruit could naturally contain the potential for higher alcohol. Will the final wine be any better or worse balanced in this situation? A winemaker’s decision to act or not should tell us something. They think the final product is going to be made best with or without a particular intervention. We indulge their passion and experience because we want to enjoy the outcomes right? 

The ultimate perception of balance is on the palate of the consumer though, and exactly what that means in any one situation is just as dynamic as the choices made to produce a wine. It is likely that between two wines made from the same fruit by different winemakers, making different decisions that neither would be consistently labeled balanced or unbalanced by a panel of tasters. From this I conclude that there is no objectivity in discussing what someone should have done to make a “better” wine. Unless a wine is universally flawed, all impressions of it are personal and in some case may be unique enough that they can’t be reconciled by others.

( Vines at Michel-Schlumberger in Sonoma )

I exchanged a series of e-mails with Adam as I was trying to coalesce the ideas bouncing around in my head on this topic. Some of my initial thoughts were tangential or were narrowly developed and didn’t make good sense. Adam called me on several and offered his experience and opinion on others as requested. Yes, typically warm growing regions experience high levels of ripeness in grapes, but the balance of those grapes should be our primary concern. And as Adam pointed out, you get what you get and a lot of that is out of your control. Yes, there are people who claim that interventionist winemaking is some new demon and that there is a historical context for consistently high-quality natural wines not made with all the fuss. Actually there isn’t. Interventions in winemaking have been around since the origins of the craft (thanks again for the reminder Adam!), and producers have adopted lots of technology in the last several hundred years to actually improve their wines. Once again we benefit here, because their prior practices didn’t produce pleasant wine as frequently.

Ultimately Adam indentified a couple of considerations in how vineyard practices and winemaking decisions are a big risk mitigation puzzle, and you have to start over each year.

{Adam}

In 2011 we had two sections at two different vineyards (Keefer and Rosella’s – both 115 clone coincidentally) where the yields were so low, due to poor weather at set, that the vines never fully shut down, even after coloring up.  So we had active shoot-tips and laterals all the way up until harvest.  We discovered that these sections, even with a tiny crop, needed to hang longer to truly taste ripe.  It was odd…but much more of a vineyard/vine thing than it was a grape thing, even.

In 2010 we had fairly small crops across the board in California.  Despite an incredibly cool growing season, we had two tremendous heat spikes – one in late August and one in early September.  These, combined with the small crop load, pushed sugars up dramatically in Pinot Noir (however, not in later ripening varieties such as Cabernet or Syrah).  The heats spikes didn’t noticeably change acids, however, nor did they change the YAN numbers (yeast available nutrients)…thus we ended up with high alcohol, high acid, fast fermenting Pinots.

My point is that sometimes it starts with the physiology of the plant and other times with the grapes and sometimes things are out of your control but other times you can do things that help the situation (we prune 2 months later now at Pisoni than we did years ago….hoping to delay ripening.  That seems to help in most years).

{Jason}

Detailed examples of where weather and growth of specific vines in a particular season presenting new and different challenges to the winemaker before, during and after harvest. The change in pruning regimen in one vineyard is a great example of learning to work with the plant to push it to a balanced place at harvest. Note that it isn’t expected to work every year.

{Adam}

As far as the sacrifices of intervention go….any intervention has potential positives and potential negatives.  Any non-intervention has potential positives and potential negatives.  Choosing not to do something is making a choice with potentially negative implications.  The winemakers’ job is, in part, weighing the consequences of any decision or non-decision and deciding which course make the most sense.  In my opinion, a dogmatic approach (we always filter, we always fine, etc.) is just as problematic when it is equally dogmatic about not-intervening (we never chaptalize, never add water, never add acid, etc).  Both instances are occasions where listening to and learning from the plant and the grapes is a more prudent course than making wine based on safety or philosophy.

I think these statements bring closure to what I’ve learned after thinking about this subject. As wine drinkers we can describe whether we personally think a wine is balanced or not, can share what our sensory feedback is telling us to support out assessment, but there is no way (unless we are the winemaker) that we can be positive that the out of balance attributes were because of or in spite of any one potential choice by said winemaker.

Many such assertions could be the a cause, or it could be the weather, the shipping and storage of the wine, or personal taste. Assuming a fair taste at every turn, it may be that I personally find I don’t like high alcohol wines because they too often seem out of balance to me. If that is the case then I would need to take that as a personal reminder of what wines to buy for my own enjoyment. I would also need to keep that in mind when I reviewing wines that trended towards higher alcohol. Being fair to readers and expressing a sensory bias would at least make me look honest. Thankfully this is not currently the case and I expect I will be seeking out some tasty high alcohol wines to enjoy real soon. Who knows if I will find a three-peat like the wines above in my travels again!

Thank you to Adam Lee of Siduri Wines for taking the time to answer my questions and share his winemaking experience for readers.

In this pursuit of balance it is clear that both the producer and the consumer will benefit from better understanding each other, keeping the focus on the shared goal and not forgetting the new challenge to making great wine each year.

Cheers!

Jason

21 Amendment Restaurant and Brewery - San Francisco

I’m in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival and you know what that means, I’m going to be checking out the local and regional drink. Having such a specific focus might seem like a bore to some, but not to me! I came to San Fran to meet new people and do what I do best. I might be the Drink Doctor, I can take the pulse of a place by visiting a selection of its watering holes. And that’s just what I’m going to do.

My first stop is at the 21st Amendment Restaurant& Brewery on 2^nd street. Brewpubs almost always offer a beer sampler, and to me this is the best way to get a sense of the place. The windows were open so the cool breeze (it was unusually cool from what I gathered) was coming in right next to the table I snagged.

VIA

Belgian Single – 5.9% ABV

Golden color with a short off-white head. Almost clear. Light malts and some fruit in the nose. Low bitterness Wicked drinkable. Straightforward, but very smooth

Leuven Life

Belgian Pale Ale – 5.3% ABV

Gold/orange color. Hazy and unfiltered. Definite hop influence. Muted aromas but another massively drinkable beer. Much more bitter than the last (4x the IBUs) so it stands out.

I’ve found the smartest thing to do on the beginning of a beverage adventure in a new city is to ask folks at a nearby table. With luck they will live and/or work in the neighborhood and can help direct your next steps. Taking my own advice I chatted up a couple of guys at the next table and the through the course of the conversation I confirmed that two places already on my list, Tornodo and  Magnolia, are not to be missed while in town. Check!

Ancat Dubh

. Dark Belgian-style Saison 6.3% ABV

Medium brown in color with hints of red. Dark malts and a good balance of hops. Hints of funk in the mid-palate. Just enough roasted character to be notable.

Ninkasi Total Domination IPA

Northwest style IPA 6.7% ABV

Orange/gold color. Hazy and unfiltered. Very fruit nose. Light body with considerable hop nuance. A resiny/piney character dominates the finish. Apricot flavor in the mouth.

Rammstein

Strong Bavarian Wheat 7.2% ABV

Golden color. Hazy and unfiltered. Strong banana aroma and flavor. Surprisingly light body. Low hop influence in both flavor and bitterness. A savory element to the finish.

Roasted American

Amber American Ale 5.8% ABV

Reddish brown color. Clear. Warm roasty aroama. Gentle hope flavor, but the hops come back on the finish. Some nuts and well toasted bread in the mouth.

So what do you pair all these different beers with? Well, not any one thing, really. But the fried Monterey Calamari from the appetizer menu caught my attention so I went with it. I won’t profess to any pairing magic, but I will say that the calamari were cooked just right and were served with some fried capers which was new and interesting all to itself!

Fireside Chat

Spiced Dark English Ale 7.9%ABV

Medium brown in color with hints of red. Spiced evident in the nose. Slightly sweet. Palate of spices is very well balanced. Finishes solidly as a English ale with waning spice influence. The spices and the hops feel like they were supposed to go together.

Schooner’s

Oatmeal Stout 4.8% ABV

Guest brew from a local brewery. Dark brown and opaque. Classically constructed. Faint aromas of chocolate and coffee. Light bodied, with good balance of malt and hops.

Two Rivers Cider

6.5% ABV

Another guest brew. Anytime I find local cider on the menu I try it. But most of you already knew that.

Light gold in color. Gentle apple aromas. Crisp, dry and sparkling with tart apple slant I’ve come to expect from this style of cider. Refreshing, although the tartness is lengthy so the service temperature should be on the low side in my opinion.

The Final Analysis

I am going to go with the VIA and the Fireside Chat as my two favorites. The simplicity and drinkability of the VIA was very noticeable. The balance of the all of the components, including the spice, of the Fireside Chat made this beer work for me. I might even come back for one before I head home!

Cheers!

Jason

Tasting in Los Olivos

In my last post I shared our guerilla mission to enjoy food & drink in downtown Santa Barbara in the one day we(Margot and I ) had set aside for it. We had a second day and planned another round of wine tastings in a similar fashion. It is sort of what we do.

We rented a car (from Hertz in the lobby of the hotel, super convenient!) first thing in the morning and after breakfast headed up to Los Olivos, about 45 minutes to the north. Los Olivos is home to a wide array of tasting rooms for area wineries, making it a great place for us to drive to, park and explore. We certainly could have planned some winery visits, but with the extra travel we would inevitably have needed to spend more time or cut our plans short.

Out first stop was Alexander & Wayne the product of two wine loving gentlemen, hence the name. The sign outside the tasting room suggested Bordeaux and Burgundy styles, which if you think about it long enough doesn’t make a lot of sense since you are in California. I guess advertising to a common denominator and trying to evoke a sensibility from another place is a smart play, I just don’t get it. We saw a lot of that and suspect that the average taste isn’t very educated and needs to be led in this way.

Setting the rant above aside I did enjoy the wines. The blends were my favorite, offering considerable complexity with combinations of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. I liked the Cuvee HM the best although the Cuvee Five was very good, just a little more muscular and rougher. In both cases the tannins were pretty big, but softening; something I would imagine some time would help with. Their varietal Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc didn’t disappoint either. The Cab Franc in particular did exude some stinky cheese rind, which I was very happy to experience. The final wine I tasted here was the RSF, a port style blend of Zinfandel and Petite Syrah. It presented itself with a ruby/tawny color and aromas of dried fruits and raisins. Spices showed up in the middle and through the finish. We took a bottle of this home so we could have some sweet memories on another day.

Our second stop, and the reason why we really chose Los Olivos, was Andrew Murray Vineyards. Sometime in 2010 I noticed a Twitter follow notification for Andrew Murray (@gotrhones) and was curious enough to look up who the person was. If a the proprietor of a small winery in hills north of Santa Barbara thought I was interesting enough to follow I knew we should visit and try the wines. As luck would have it Andrew was out of town during our visit, but was sure to alert the tasting room staff that we would coming around so they could share the story and the wines with us. Stephanie cheerfully greeted us when we arrived, and for the next hour we had her and the tasting room all to ourselves. To be fair Los Olivos wasn’t busy so our exclusive attention was probably a bit of luck as well. I’ll say it right up front, I am so glad we chose to stop by. The Syrahs, all single vineyard designates, were fantastic and worth a leisurely taste.

The story of the wines and the person behind them is actually quite simple. Andrew lived in France with his family for a time when he was a teenager. His family was in the restaurant business and exposed him to wine in the Southern Rhone. He fell in love with the placed and the wines, something I surely know is easy to do. At some point they decided to bring what they loved to California and started a winery using his name.

My favorite was the 2007 McGinley Syrah. I found it to be really well balanced with bold but respectable tannins. The Tous Les Jours Syrah was much spicier with a considerable fruit forward character. The Watch Hill Syrah had some underlying funkiness to it that I couldn’t pin down. It added some allure and made raspberry fruit taste more savory than I would have ever expected. The last Syrah was from the Thompson vineyard and was a pleasurable combination of cherries, berries, spice and wood. We tasted several other styles including some from the “Days Off” label that offer wines designed for casual drinking and no fuss. The most recent Viognier was not yet available so my anticipation for it still stands. I will keep my eye on their online store in hopes I catch it before it sells out! Before we left we put together a mixed case to have shipped home. Sharing the Syrahs with friends is going to be a real treat.

This post would not be complete without a mention of the serendipitous lunch option we took advantage of. It turns out that we had arrived on “Tri-Tip” day, which is a local fascination. The R Country Market sells wood smoked tri-tip sandwiches a few days per week and when it is gone, it is gone and you have to wait until the next week. Margot and I love smoke meat and BBQ so this really was a lucky break for us. The sandwich was one of the best I have ever had and I will say nothing more. Look it up online, and believe me I have given you enough information to find it. New York Times, anyone? You’ll be jealous, and this picture isn’t going to help!

The last tasting room we visited was Byron Estate. I picked this one while had lunch after remembering how much I enjoyed a Chardonnay of theirs that we had had at the Blue Ginger (Ming Tsai’s restaurant) in Wellesley, MA about 10 years ago.

I tasted four Chardonnays and three Pinots. The Chards spanned 2005 to 2009 while the Pinots were all from 2009. The 2008 Santa Maria Chardonnay felt the most familiar and had me connecting the richness I enjoyed with my lobster dish at the Blue Ginger. The 2007 stainless Chard presented an interesting spiciness which grew through the finish. The 2005 selection was one of their library wines (no longer available) from the Nielson vineyard. It was impressive to see how well this wine has held up in the nearly 6 years since it was made. Keeping with the spicy theme I was caught off guard by the spicy (pepper) character of the 2009 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. With cherry and smoke added in this wine was one of the more interesting ones I tried on this trip. The 2009 Nielson Pinot was the most complex of the three I tried. The baking spices and considerable structure of the wine was a great pleasure to taste.

By this point the afternoon was fully upon us and we headed back to Santa Barbara. It is always going to be true that you will need more time to really get to know a place, but the time we did had helped make it much less of a stranger to us.

Cheers!

Jason

Santa Barbara Food & Drink Guerilla Style

We planned one day for a guerilla visit to an area of downtown Santa Barbara near the hotel where stayed and the site of the WineMaker Magazine Conference later in the week. We packed in a nice walk down State Street from Stearns Wharf, a visit to Santa Barbara Roasting Company, lunch at Santa Barbara Brewing, wine tastings at the Santa Barbara Winery, Oreana, Kunin and Municipal Winemakers, and dinner at the Fish House.

We grabbed the Harbor-Zoo shuttle shortly after 10 AM and got off at Stearns Wharf. The opposition of the mountains and the ocean under the spring sun was a great way to start our short vacation. State Street is a very commercialized area with an incredible diversity of shops, restaurants, bars and services. Like most areas of its type these days there are plenty of spaces in transition and not currently active. We took a stroll through a store named World Market that contained an eclectic mix of seasonal, lifestyle and food/beverage products. I don’t know how far we walked up from the wharf. We turned around at some point and made our way through a cute open air galleria with shops on multiple floors winding through a series of brick lined “side streets”.

We made our way to Santa Barbara Roasting Company to share an iced mocha. We’ve always used simple measures of a place, and a good mocha is a strong vote! The coffee was intense and strong, but the chocolate wasn’t overwhelmed and it wasn’t heavy on the cream. I felt at home checking the work iPad with along all the other very connected coffee house guests.

A few blocks off State in several different directions you can find portions of the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail. We started our journey at Santa Barbara Winery at 202 Anacapa St. and ended up visiting 4 places on that same street by the time we were done.

The tasting room staff were friendly and set us up right away to taste 8 styles of wine. As we went the source of the fruit, fermentation process and aging characteristics were presented. The Santa Barbara Winery is the oldest in the county and has been operating since 1962. We learned that all of their bottling occurs at the facility attached to the tasting room (thus the larger AVA level designation for the wines instead of a sub-region) and that their white wines are processed an aged on site as well. The processing and aging of the reds is done up at the LaFond winery facility located in the Santa Rita Hills to the north.

We both loved the all-stainless Sauvignon Blanc and the beautifully oaked Reserve Chardonnay of the 3 whites we tried. The Chard has dried fruits in the middle with easily accessible spice and a little residual sugar. We tasted a Pinot, Nebbiolo, Grenache/Syrah Blend and a varietal Syrah. The Grenache/Syrah Blend was the mutual favorite, and hugely reminiscent of the aroma and flavor combinations we found in the Cotes du Rhones we enjoyed in France in February. We ended up buying some of each of our favorites and sprung for some of the LaFond (a boutique label run by the same person) Syrah and Pinot to have in our cellar.

 

Next up was Oreana. I picked this one off the trail because it was newer and was a single facility operation. All of the wines are processed, fermented and aged on site. The space was decorated eclectically and there was bottling active when we arrived. We were greeted warmly and I dipped right into my 6 tastings. I enjoyed the two un-oaked whites and picked out some watermelon on the Sauvingon Blanc which made me think of summer parties. My favorite was the Pinot which was designated as Central Coast because of the 3 sources of fruit from that area that went into it. It was very fruity and dry with mild but working tannins. I also tried a Syrah and Zin and remarked that the Zin was quite austere in comparison to many of its relatives. I took a bottle of the Malbec Rose with me to share at lunch on one of the conference days.

With that it was lunch time and we headed back up to State street and to Santa Barbra Brewing Company. I keyed right in to the beer sampler and got one ordered, with tasting glasses of 8 different styles to look forward to. To eat I ordered a French Dip sandwich and Margot ordered a Blue Cheese Chicken Wrap, both with the Garlic/Parmesan French Fries.

The beer came before the food and I got to work. The selections were Harbor Light, Marzen, Orange Wit, IPA, Red, Old Town Brown, XX IPA and a Stout.

• The Harbor Light is a typical lighter pale ale and not something I usually dig. It was made well and was refreshing so I can’t say anything bad.
• The Marzen had honey and black tea flavors, almost no aroma with a bitter finish. I could see this being a good Spring beer.
• The Orange Wit is one of the best beers I have ever had! So much orange wrapped in malt an grains. The finish was clean with citrus riding down the back of the throat. We immediately thought of trying to amp up our upcoming Wit like this, which we are in fact already underway with.
• The IPA was super fruity and hoppy with a piney finish and a clean exit. Definitely a solid example of a well made IPA.
• The Red ale was slightly sweet in the middle with hops in the finish. This is another style I am not too keen on, but again there was nothing wrong at all with it.
• The Old Town Brown was superbly nutty and malty with hops coming in late and lingering through the finish. It was lighter brown in color than I expected, but clearly enjoyable nonetheless.
• The XX IPA is a bad-ass beer. It has the clout of a big beer with hops, fruit, malt, sweetness, a clean bitter finish that is smile inducing. I suggested I wanted to swim in this beer!
• The Stout was disappointing as it was way too light. Margot is the Stout expert and put it down right away. I didn’t finish it because I felt it wasn’t balanced between the body and flavors. Can’t win ‘em all!

Lunch was very tasty and the Garlic/Parmesan fries really did live up to the hype. They were cooked perfectly and had tons of real flavor. (Look at the picture, how could they not?) My French Dip contained thin sliced beef that had been cooked with care on a crusty French roll. The au jus was flavorful and not too salty. The XX IPA killed it with the fries and the regular IPA and brown ale were good matches with the sandwich.

At this point we took a break and headed back to the hotel for a swim and some quite time in the sun. The Santa Barbara weather was beating the rain and cool temps at home so we couldn’t pass up the chance!

Back on the wine trail later in the afternoon we first stopped at Kunin. Kunin’s space was full of windows and bright sun which complimented the restrained décor very well. I tasted 5 wines, including my first Viognier from the area. I found it to be floral and fruity in the nose with more fruity and minerality in the palate. I got hints of creaminess in the body of the wine which were interesting to ponder. The Pape Star is a riff on a Chateauneuf-du-Pape style blend that definitely lives up to the name. The balance between the fruit, space, earth and oak was spot on. Their Grenache, Syrah and Zin were all solid representations of the style with more of that classic jammy southern California character. We got to talking Tour of California (bicycle racing & Lance Armstrong) with some other tasting room guests. We had no idea it would be right nearby on Friday. You see what kind of priorities we had!

Our last stop of the wine trail was to Municipal Winemakers. I picked this one because of their very offbeat presentation on the web and for the fact that offered 1 liter refillable bottles filled from kegged wine. I had to try that! Right away we knew we were in for a treat. The name of their wine club is Club Awesome! I tasted 6 wines most of which focus on Rhone grapes and blends. The rose was a remarkable pink color and as primarily made from Grenache. My favorite was their Dark Red, a blend of Cab, Syrah and Petit Verdot. It had this little hit of sweetness in the center that resonated well with me. I did get a to-go bottle of Syrah which I shared with a group later in the week. The concept of the refillable bottle and wine on tap was new to many folks and something I bet won’t be so new in years to come.

We again made our way back to the hotel, this time walking along the beach. The scenery was really beautiful and with almost nobody around it was peaceful.

We finished our guerilla mission on Santa Barbara food with dinner at the Fish House. I was growing tired and didn’t bring my notebook along so I don’t have a full report here. Spending some QT with Margot without the camera going off scored some points so you’ll just have to take it. I had an appetizer of wonton wrapped deep fried prawns that performed well beyond expectations. The prawns were crispy and served with a medium hot chili infused sauced. My dinner consisted of one of the best pieces of Mahi I have ever had that had been breaded with sesame and crushed wontons and cooked just until done. The sauce that sat around it was creamy with some killer savory flavors. We enjoyed our meal with the Dry Creek Vineyard 2008 Chenin Blanc. It was dry with melon and island fruits which coordinated well with our meal.

Clearly you can do a lot in one day if you are willing to be on the go. We enjoyed this city crawl and would recommend Santa Barbara to other who are looking to find a place with enough diversity to do several different things all in close proximity.

Cheers!

Jason

Gloria Ferrer 2007 Carneros Chardonnay

This was a random pick for me. I saw it there as I was looking for something new and brought two home. I am so surprised with the complexity of it and really enjoyed it. I know people are split on oaked CA Chardonnay, but I think this one goes in a spicy direction that is worthy of a taste.

Toasty nose w/ pear and tropical notes. Lots of spice, and full bodied even for a Chardonnay. It has a spot right in the center where it is very full. Citrus in the finish. Great texture with a medium dry finish

Cheers!

Jason