Slowing wining back to 'normal'...

JD & Larry

The Goddess of Wine and JD took a quick trip south to Los Olivos and Solvang. First time since December 2019. It felt good. And odd. JD's been running errands and making the occasional foray down to Ellay, but I haven't been anywhere south of San Luis Obispo.

We stopped in at Tercero for a too-short visit with the irrepressible Larry Schaffer. He's got some new and interesting wines available. And he's been keeping busy doing Zoom tastings, both public and private. Admirable. You should check them out. Chatted briefly with a young couple who were just learning about wine. Always good to see bright faces light up with those 'aha' moments. 

Tasting Santa Barbara County Wines with the Goddess of Wine...

From the Sta Rita Hills in the west, to Happy Canyon in the east, and to the Santa Maria Valley in the north, the diversity of winemaking and grape varieties in Santa Barbara County is astonishing! 

Did you know that there are more than 70 varieties of grapes currently being grown and made into wine in Santa Barbara County? From the coolest Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs to the warmest Cabernets and Syrahs, there is something for everyone!

Join Goddess of Wine, Denise Lowe, for tasty trip through Santa Barbara County!

As a special treat, the Goddess will be pulling bottles from her own cellar for this #tasty evening! 

Wednesday, April 18th, 7PM, at the Morro Bay Wine Seller, 601 Embarcadero Ste. 5, Morro Bay, California 93442 - Tel: (805) 772-8388

Click here to purchase your tickets! Must be 21 or older to attend. 
$45/per person / $35/MBWS Club Members (or wine trade)

Includes wines, snacks, handouts, and fun!

Denise Lowe, the Goddess of Wine, provides wine education in an informal, fun atmosphere. We’ll talk about regional history, how and where wines are made, and what foods to pair with them, all in a casual and interactive setting. The more questions you ask, the more we all learn! Basic tasting notes will be provided for you to take home, and best of all, there’s no test!

Wining away the day in the Santa Ynez Valley...

Wes Hagen, pruning

The Goddess of Wine and JD headed for the wilds of Lompoc recently, ostensibly to pick up wine at Clos Pepe, but also to spend a bit of time in the vineyard with that Renaissance man, Wes Hagen and his trusty assistant, Andrew Turner. It was a beautiful day, sunny and breezy, and Wes and Andrew walked us through winter vineyard management and a demonstration of how to prune a grapevine, during which we learned a new word: phloem. In vascular plants like grapevines, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients, especially, sucrose, to all parts of the plant where needed. So when you prune a vine, you are looking for the center of the cane to be green and alive; this is the phloem, which ensures that the vine continues to live through the winter.

Dispatches from the road...

Been on the road since Monday the 8th.  JD and I drove up to lovely Buellton as the first step on our road to San Francisco.  Stopped at Paula's Pancake House for our usual first meal of the day - tuna melt for me, some sandwich filled with cheesy goodness for JD - and headed over to Buttonwood for a winery lesson with Karen Steinwachs.

I left my camera and notepad in the car, and just listened and tasted as Karen showed us around the winery, gave us a detailed and interesting history of Buttonwood, and pulled barrel samples for us of the 2008 and 2009 wines sitting quietly in either new French oak or neutral (used) French oak barrels.  After tasting the Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and the Malbec (she's not sure what she's going to do with it, but it was delicious!), we got a chance to taste assistant winemaker Graham's Gewurztraminer.  He was testing the sulfur dioxide levels, and poured the wine directly from a beaker!  It was delicate and lightly spiced; I think it will be wonderful with spicy Asian food!

After over two hours at Buttonwood, we bade Karen and Graham a fond farewell, and headed over to Los Olivos to check out some of the tasting rooms that have sprung up since the last time we hung out there.