I Heart Central Coast Wine, Part 2

The Panel: Moderator Patrick Comiskey, Kimsey's Ruben Solorzano,
Steve Beckmen,  Pete Stolpman, Rusack's Steve Gerbac, Hilaire Clarke,
Michael Larner, Jonata's Matt Dees, and Keith Saarloos (out of picture)

The selection of Santa Barbara County as the setting for the 2014 Wine Blogger's Conference offered me a great opportunity to learn even more about this AVA, which I love so much.

What’s to love?

Well, as I Tweeted (yes, I’m learning to do that!) while at the conference, “Who needs Italy, France and Greece when we have Santa Barbara wine country!” My favorite wine friend and I often discuss the merits of living so close to the Central Coast, from our growing-ever-hipper little berg of Culver City in West Los Angeles. While we both love traveling in foreign countries, and plan to do more of it soon, we console ourselves with the knowledge that the countryside and wineries aplenty in Santa Barbara (and Paso Robles) are available to us in those years when foreign travel is prohibitive. And we don’t feel like we’re getting second best. The Central Coast is spectacular!

I've driven my car through Ballard Canyon, the newest AVA in Santa Barbara County, and been impressed with its topography and beauty – the perfect background for a video I was working on. I’ve ridden my bike through its glorious roads, viewing the vines up close and snapping pictures along the way during the Solvang Prelude ride, which I do most years. Just this year, I even ran through Ballard Canyon, trudging my way up Corkscrew Hill before descending into the gorgeous valley en route to the downtown Solvang finish line of the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon.

And now I’ve actually tasted Ballard Canyon, thanks to the “Syrah Territory: Ballard Canyon” session at the 2014 Wine Blogger’s Conference held mid-July in Buellton, Calif. And boy does it taste good!

The north-south running Ballard Canyon is a unique area of varying elevations, soils (limestone, deep sand), and climatic conditions (fog, wind, maritime influences). These conditions, combined with a rich, lengthy farming history in the area, have led to the realization that it is the perfect area to grow Syrah … uniquely American Syrah.

Syrah has never been my favorite varietal, as I’ve found it too intense, with its inky black color and dense ripe fruit and oftentimes harsh peppery taste. But now that I’ve experienced Ballard Canyon Syrah, I’m a convert. Syrah done right is divine. Session moderator Patrick Comiskey seemed to agree with my view that there have been a lot of disappointing California Syrahs up till now.

The panelists at the WBC14 panel included a star lineup representing eight Ballard Canyon vineyards, most with deep roots in the farming history of the Valley, with either their 2012 or 2010 Syrah vintages. The 2012 lineup included Kimsey, Beckmen, Stolpman Vineyards, and Rusack; the 2010s were from Harrison Clarke, Larner, Jonata, and Saarloos & Sons. Each wine, while unique, was elegant, silky, and lovely. (Actually, we did not taste Saarloos as their 2010 was sold out.) 

The 2012 lineup

The youthful but expressive 2012s offered plenty of dark fruit, including boysenberry, blueberry, and plums, as well as spices, like vanilla, cinnamon, anise, and dark chocolate. Yum. All of the 2012s but Kimsey (to be released this fall) are 100% Syrah; Kimsey co-ferments theirs with 5% whole cluster Viognier.

The 2010s were richer and more complex with explosive aromas and black pepper, minerality (from the limestone), nice texture, and a long, pleasing finish. Jonata’s, grown in deep sandy soil, had 5% whole cluster Viognier, while the other two were 100% Syrah. These wines were particularly elegant. And their prices reflected it.

With only a bit more than 3,500 acres of Ballard Canyon devoted to Syrah, the production of each of the wineries is relatively low, and artisanal-quality viticulture and vinification processes are the norm. The seven wines tasted ranged from $36 to $125, so they could not be everyday wines for me. But I love the fact that they are not mass-produced, commercial wines.  So for special meals screaming for Syrah, I will revisit Ballard Canyon’s offerings.

In my next post, I’ll focus on another WBC 14 winery excursion, this time to the Hilliard Bruce winery in Lompoc, where a new LEED- and SIP-certified winery is about to open.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Perfect Pinots and Charming Chardonnays

An East Coast friend was recently insisting that you just cannot get a good Pinot Noir from California, that Oregon was “the” place for it. In fact, he and his wife were planning a trip to Willamette Valley this year to experience the lovely Pinots at the source, in the cascading hills caressed by the cooling Pacific Ocean breezes. “Good for you,” was my response, and I agreed that Oregon produces many magnificent Pinots. In fact, I recommended he visit the Evening Land Vineyard (www.eveninglandvineyards.com), where consulting winemaker Sashi Moorman works his magic.

But I gently admonished my friend, and informed him about the beautiful, local (to me, anyway, in Southern California) AVA called Santa Rita Hills, just 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, which is producing some of the loveliest, most nuanced, and most drinkable Pinots – and  Chardonnays – I’ve had the pleasure of tasting.

My local wine retailer, The Wine House (www.winehouse.com) this week hosted a "focused tasting of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA" featuring 29 wineries and 58 wines, produced from grapes grown in the AVA. It was almost overwhelming for me, as I can for the first time ever say that there was not one sip of wine at this event that I did not like. The hardest decision I had to make all night was which wines to purchase.

Established officially as Sta. Rita Hills AVA in 2001 (note that the abbreviated spelling is in deference to the Chilean producer Santa Rita) is situated in the cooler hills of Santa Barbara county, just east of the sprawling and warmer Santa Ynez Valley. Just about 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the area benefits from the eastward jag of the coastline and the west-to-east running hills, which allow coastal fog and wind into the area. The fog lingers from late afternoon to early morning, and then burns off, creating a combination of warms days and cool nights, which is perfect weather for Pinot and Chardonnay.  Additionally, a wide variety of soils – clay, sand, silt, slate – provides conditions that have been described as Burgundian, adding intense minerality to the wines.

The weather and soil conditions also produce grapes with nice acidity – a key to any good wine. So, in addition to Pinot and Chardonnay, you will find Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer – varietals known for their high acidity – as well as Grenache. 

   

The big-flavor wines that typified the AVA in the early 2000s are giving way to much more refined, mineral- and “terroir-“driven” examples. Several vintners at the Wine House event had two versions of their Pinot Noirs, from two different “micro-lots” (patches of earth) in the Hills, and the comparison was quite interesting. For instance, Transcendence’s (www.transcendwines.com) Joey Gummere had  tastes of his 2012 ‘F’ Street Pinot alongside his 2012 Encantada Pinot. The former ($34.99) had a beautiful fruit on both the nose and palate, while the latter ($44.99) was all about the minerals. Delicious in both cases.

Longoria's "Lovely Rita"

Richard Longoria of Longoria Wine (www.longoriawine.com) has been making wine since 1982, long before the area achieved AVA status. His two Pinots were the 2012 Lovely Rita ($29.99) and the 2011 Fe Ciega ($46.99). Lovely Rita had the classic Pinot aroma and taste of sour cherry as well as some spices, while the Fe Ciega offered much more, as it “is one of the most elegant, refined vintages of Fe Ciega we have produced,” per Longoria.

Other notable Pinots included Montemar (www.montemarwines.com) 2011 La Encantada ($49.99) and Rio Vista ($44.99); 2012 Wan Fiore Project Pinot Noir ($45.99); Pali Wine Co. (www.paliwineco.com)  2011 Pinot Noir “Fiddlestix” ($53.99); Lindley 2011 and 2012 La Lomita Vineyard (both $54.99); and Kitá 2011 Pinot Noir Hillard Bruce (www.kitawines.com, ($59.99). (Kitá is a Chumash Indian word meaning “Our Valley Oak,” and winemaker Tara Gomez is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, who provided a scholarship to help her study enology at UC Fresno.)

LaFond Chardonnay

A few Chardonnays were also notable, including the 2012 Lafond (a bargain at $21.99). This was oaked, but not too much, with good minerality and acidity. The Crawford Family 2012 Chardonnay Tin Shack ($41.99) is stainless steel aged, with nice acid and minerality, and a touch of grapefruit on the palate.

Many of the Sta. Rita Hills producers have tasting rooms located in Lompoc, Los Olivos, and downtown Santa Barbara. The “Lompoc  Wine Ghetto” (that’s pronounced “lom-poke” I was told several times during the event!) set up in an industrial park on the east side of town, has become the in spot for tasting rooms, so don’t just pass through this town on your way to and from the tonier spots in the Santa Ynez Valley. Stop, and enjoy a few tastes.

Until next time, Cheers!