Over one year ago now we met up with friends from the Bay Area for a weekend trip. We had heard good things about the wine country in Santa Barbara County - and decided to give it a shot. We had a little bit of advice from friends about wineries to check out, but in general we were flying blind.
Saturday (Los Olivos & Solvang)
Road Music: DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
Epiphany Cellars
Right on the main drag in Los Olivos. It's the place with a big "E" sculpture out front. Nice tasting room cat. We thought the wine was okay - but did not experience any epiphanies while we were there. Experience: B- / Wine: C+.
Tensley Wines
Just around the corner from Epiphany. Tensley shares their room with Carina and it can be crowded. Lea, one of the owners was pouring. She was very helpful and friendly. The wine was tasty - especially the Pinot Noir.
Experience: B- / Wine: B+.
Dragonette Cellars
Further down street from Tensley. Luckily we were the only ones here, and John Dragonette was working behind the counter. He took great pride in sharing the wine, which was all awesome.
Experience: A- / Wine: A-.
Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards
The Lucas & Lewellen experience was the exact opposite of Dragonette. The place was packed with people, the tasting room attendees were more about getting people out as quickly as possible. The wine was subpar.
Experience: D+ / Wine: D+.
D'Alfonso-Curran Wines
Modern space right on the main road in Solvang. Tasting room attendants were nice and enthusiastic about the wine. Wine was very good. We really enjoyed the Gewurztraminer.
Experience: B+ / Wine: B+.
(April 2012 update - D'Alfonso-Curran have closed their Solvang tasting room, and are now hosting tastings at their winery on Santa Rosa Rd.)
Sunday (Highway 246)
Road Music: TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Melville Vineyards
On our way back home we decided to swing by one more place. After spending the previous day at in-town tasting rooms, it was nice to experience a tasting room located in a vineyard. Parking is right next to grape trellises. The tasting room is in a beautiful building. Though the overall space is sterile. The tasting room attendant was knowledgeable. All of the wine was top-notch.
Experience: B- / Wine: A-
Overall an excellent first trip. We were very happy with almost all of the wineries that we visited - which may explain why we are now committed visitors to this area. I'd recommend checking out the La Purisima Mission if you're up there. Its a huge complex and it is well-curated.
Why Wine is Better than Fantasy Football
Recently I decided to give up playing fantasy football. I had really enjoyed it for a long time, but my enjoyment had decreased significantly. Being a dork, I needed a new hobby. Somehow wine became that new hobby. So with about one year of wine hobbying under my belt, I can see a handful of reasons why I prefer being a wine dork over a fantasy football dork.
Reason #1: Wine is less about luck
Without going into detail - I'll simply state that fantasy football is largely about luck. The person that wins at the end of the year is the person that had the most good things happen for their team and the least bad things. Which means that all of the preparation that one puts into putting together a team can be wasted when one player gets hurt.
The worst piece of bad luck with wine is paying good money for wine that turned out to be corked. Which I guess can be pretty upsetting, but that happens rarely. I'd much rather spend my time on something that doesn't make me have wild mood swings.
#2: Wine stories are not insufferable
Easily the second worst thing about fantasy football are the stories that people tell about their teams and the crazy things that have happened. It goes something like this:
"Oh man it was so nuts, my team was down 30 points going into the Monday night game. The only player that I had starting that night was Antonio Gates - and he came in huge for me! It was awesome!"
These stories are not worth telling, and horrible to listen to - but let me tell you: it's impossible to not get exciting and tell these horrible stories when they happen to you. It cannot be avoided. You get swept up, and tell these boring-ass stories.
A wine story, of any kind, can never be worse.
#3 Wine encourages traveling
Fantasy football encourages people to sit at home, or at best at a sports bar, all Sunday, while continually checking stats on a computer or phone. Friends may come together to watch the games, but even then it's a pretty solitary activity. Crappy food is consumed - day-drinking occurs. Evening hangovers ensue.
Wine encourages exploration. It's fun to check out new wine bars and wine stores in town. Its great to take a weekend trip to a nearby wine region. Exploring wine country is a great time. It's also a good opportunity to kick it with friends. Day-drinking may ensue as well, but the quality is likely going to be better.
So that's that. I've persuaded myself. Perhaps next year I'll be pitting wine against exotic big game hunting, or debating the pros and cons of stamp-collecting. Until then - wine it is.
Reason #1: Wine is less about luck
Without going into detail - I'll simply state that fantasy football is largely about luck. The person that wins at the end of the year is the person that had the most good things happen for their team and the least bad things. Which means that all of the preparation that one puts into putting together a team can be wasted when one player gets hurt.
The worst piece of bad luck with wine is paying good money for wine that turned out to be corked. Which I guess can be pretty upsetting, but that happens rarely. I'd much rather spend my time on something that doesn't make me have wild mood swings.
#2: Wine stories are not insufferable
Easily the second worst thing about fantasy football are the stories that people tell about their teams and the crazy things that have happened. It goes something like this:
"Oh man it was so nuts, my team was down 30 points going into the Monday night game. The only player that I had starting that night was Antonio Gates - and he came in huge for me! It was awesome!"
These stories are not worth telling, and horrible to listen to - but let me tell you: it's impossible to not get exciting and tell these horrible stories when they happen to you. It cannot be avoided. You get swept up, and tell these boring-ass stories.
A wine story, of any kind, can never be worse.
#3 Wine encourages traveling
Fantasy football encourages people to sit at home, or at best at a sports bar, all Sunday, while continually checking stats on a computer or phone. Friends may come together to watch the games, but even then it's a pretty solitary activity. Crappy food is consumed - day-drinking occurs. Evening hangovers ensue.
Wine encourages exploration. It's fun to check out new wine bars and wine stores in town. Its great to take a weekend trip to a nearby wine region. Exploring wine country is a great time. It's also a good opportunity to kick it with friends. Day-drinking may ensue as well, but the quality is likely going to be better.
So that's that. I've persuaded myself. Perhaps next year I'll be pitting wine against exotic big game hunting, or debating the pros and cons of stamp-collecting. Until then - wine it is.
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