Cali Style: Wine tasting in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica treats

So a week ago I took a little weekend jaunt to visit friends who live in Santa Monica. Aside from the general shock to the system of sunshine (I feel like a mole squinting in the sun when I go somewhere warm this time of year), we had a lovely and mellow time. We had a few choice treats in Santa Monica and spent a lovely Saturday exploring Santa Barbara wineries – an area made popular by the movie Sideways, but one I’d never been to. So, without further ado, a short commentary on finds:

Santa Monica treats:

Vanilla Bake Shop (512 Wilshire). Now, I’ve been to my fair share of cupcake joints, having lived in New York during the whole height of the Magnolia Bakery craze, but this joint has something going for it. In a completely genius move, in addition to regular cupcakes, they make mini versions. This not only allows you to taste more cupcakes with reduced calorie-guilt, but also allows them to charge even more per bite. Everyone wins! Although the red velvet cupcake could have used a little more cream and a little less sugar in its icing, the highlight was the Strawberries & Cream. It was a little bit of extra-light shortcake, a little bit of fresh whipped cream, and some fresh strawberry. Sure, it wouldn’t travel well, but it was a delicious afternoon treat. So thumbs up.


Santa Barbara Wine Tasting:

Los Olivos Café and Wine Merchant (2879 Grand Ave. in Los Olivos). A lovely wine country lunch spot on the main drag in Los Olivos. A satisfying burger to fortify ourselves for tasting and tasty pizzas. It’s attached to a well-stocked wine store with decent prizes and a deep selection of California wines, from Santa Barbara and beyond.

Consilience Wine Tasting Room. Just down Grand Ave. from the café, this was our first stop and, frankly, disappointing. I was eager when they had a Petite Sirah on their tasting list (j’aime petit sirah), but their wines were generally very high in alcohol and the 2005’s, the bulk of their tastings, were a bit young for drinking. But – the young woman manning the tasting room was delightful.

Daniel Gehrs Wines. Further down Grand Ave. was this tasting room, with serious Kenny Loggins playing in the background. The highlight was their 2005 Fireside Port from Amador County, served with a chunk of dark chocolate. However, it took serious restraint to keep myself from buying a case of their 2005 Paso Robles Syrah, for which they were running a case special of $10 a bottle.

Alma Rosa Winery. (7520 Santa Rosa Road in Buellton). Once we ventured out of Los Olivos and into the countryside, we headed to this gem, up a winding dirt road, over a stream (seriously) and in a cabin on the side of a hill. In addition to the fattest cat I have ever seen (apparently from eating picnic scraps) and the nicest porta-potties I’ve encountered (technology has definitely advanced), Alma Rosa had some delightful wines. Definitely a good picnic spot if it’s that kind of day. The hands down highlight was their 2005 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, and their 2006 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Blanc wasn’t half bad either.

Sanford Winery. (5010 Santa Rosa Road). Further down the winding Santa Rosa Road is this operation, somewhat slicker than the others. Apparently the Alma Rosa folks started this place, then sold out to a big company and moved down the road. It was pretty crowded by mid-afternoon, but still a friendly place. We were especially enamored with the chocolate covered blueberries on the tasting bar. A favorite (and bargain) here was their 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from the Santa Ynez Valley.

Fiddlehead Cellars. (606 Penna Drive in Davis). This place is so classic California wine boom. It’s basically a small warehouse space in one of those strips of warehouses where you’d find the UPS store next to a dog food distributor. What was so perfect was when we pulled up there were two Porsches out front – a convertible and an SUV – and their corresponding 50-something couples inside. The tasting room was manned by a delightful portly fellow, and won the award for best wines of the day. Their 2007 Pink Fiddle Rose, using Pinot Noir, was a smashing hit and their 2004 Seven Twenty Eight Pinot Noir, from the Santa Rita Hills was terrific. Certainly one of the day’s lessons was that the Santa Rita Hills make a decent Pinot Noir.

Road Trip: France, Part Three

The third and final installment of Road Trip: France saw us headed south in the trusty Renault Twingo to Bordeaux, Languedoc and Provence.

Although we were poor young folks, Bordeaux was surprisingly accessible. We stayed at the completely delightful Chateau de Foulon where we had an apartment complete with little kitchen and sitting room for under $100 a night (although, admittedly, was this before the dollar went to crap). We had wonderful breakfasts in the main chateau with the other guests in the regal dining room and the Count even came in to say hello before heading out to ride his horse one morning. There were great grounds that you could wander around with a little pond and a picturesque crumbling barn and peacocks and swans wandering about. Divine.

We made a loop of the Margaux region's wineries with the assistance of the tourism authority's vineyard map. Chateau Giscours probably had the best tour and facility, but our absolute favorite was Chateau Lascombes. This vineyard makes a grand cru wine (the fanciest - I'll save the discourse on appellations for another time) and doesn't really give walk-in tours, so was completely quiet, yet somehow they took pity on us and showed us around. We ended buying serious bottles here, although I think this vineyard is still a good bargain as it's not the fanciest or best known.

Having had our fill of tannins, we headed south into the not-as-travelled Languedoc region. In the interest of full disclosure, our next step was seriously in the hinterlands. It took champion navigational skills and a lot of windy mountain roads to find our way to La Cerisaie, a B&B in the small town of Riols. There's not much doing in this neck of the woods, but it was Bastille Day when we visited, so we were treated to the local parade down the middle of the village complete with firecrackers going off every which way. Complete with a pool and a delicious in-house restaurant, La Cerisaie was a great little escape. I imagine we could have filled a few more days with some ambling into the hills and sipping wine on the terrace.

But we had tracks to make, so after a detour to Barcelona, which is a tale for another time, we made our way to Provence. Specifically, another B&B gem called Le Mas de la Tour in the small town of Fontvieille, outside of Arles. This place was classic - provencal fabrics in the room, a warm pool outside and breakfast under the arbor. We had a perfect day trip to Arles to see the forum, buy some gifts, and while away the day in a cafe. It's also great hiking, jogging, walking country. We explored the local Montmajour abbey, took in the daily market, and generally enjoyed the loveliness of Provence.

Unfortunately the French road trip had to end too soon (although the auto adventures continued later in Italy), so our last leg was a drive to Nice, complete with insane laps of the city trying to find the train station, a day wandering the waterfront waiting for our overnight train to Rome, and general overload of summer tourism in Europe after weeks in the quiet countryside.

On the practical side: there are three key tips for a French road trip. First, Autoeurope typically has really good long term car rental rates. Second, the Rivages guide (now published in English by Fodors as the Rivages Guide to Bed and Breakfasts of Character and Charm, but more frequently updated in the French version or on the website) is indispensable. We found each place we stayed from this book, including places called only the night before. It is now referred to among the inner circle as "The Magic Book". Third, Michelin maps cannot be beat and the Michelin website has great maps for travel planning.

All in all, I'm a big fan of the European road trip as, not only does it make me use my limited foreign language skills, but it is far less likely that you will find yourself at a table next to an American couple and far more likely that you'll stumble into those delightful, unpredictable experiences that just don't happen on the well-trod path.