Santa Barbara Wine Country Trip

at Foxen Vineyards

(Starting from top, L-R: Denise, Michelle, Jen, Erica, Janelle, Carrie, Ramona, Sunny, Karina, Dee Dee)

On April 17-18, the wine clubbers and friends drove north to wine country just north of Santa Barbara to do some wine tastings at vineyards and tastings rooms. We visited all the various regions of Santa Barbara wine country, including the Foxen Canyon vineyards, the tasting rooms of Los Olivos, the Ballard Canyon / Alamo Pintado vineyards, the tastings rooms of Solvang and the Route 246 / Santa Rosa Road vineyards. We had a great time; the weather was beautiful and sunny, we tasted a good variety (and quantity) of wines, picnicked and ate lots of good food at vineyards and back at the cottage in Los Alamos.

Vineyards / Tasting Rooms visited in order:
Saturday:
Tres Hermanas
Rancho Sisquoc, where we had a little Bay Cities picnic at the tables around the winery
Foxen Winery, a cute rustic shack overlooking the hills of Foxen Canyon
Koehler Winery, a beautiful winery with ostriches (or emus) and sheep
Stolpman Tasting Room in Los Olivos (free thanks to Dee Dee!)
Tensley Tasting Room, where we met the winemaker, Joey Tensley, and tasted some of the best syrahs of the trip, including a syrah rose and the WS 95 point 08 Colson Canyon syrah (although most of us preferred the WS 91 point 08 Tierra Alta syrah)
Olive Oil Tasting Room

Sunday:
Brander Vineyards
Lincourt Vineyards, a pretty house in the middle of sauvignon blanc and merlot vines on Alamo Pintado. Nice Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay
D'alfonso Curran, a tasting room in the Danish town of Solvang with unique white wines and a lovely pinot noir under the Badge label
Foley Wines, a beautiful winery in the midst of a huge vineyard on Highway 24

Foxen Tasting

Walking around Los Olivos

Olive Oil Tasting

Vineyards at the cottage in Los Alamos

Outside of Beckman, which we didn't taste at

Lincourt tasting

Solvang

D'alfonso Curran