Here is your chance to be treated like a VIP for a whole weekend and walk away with a greater understanding of all that goes into a bottle of local wine: Santa Barbara Vintners’ new event called Key to Wine Country, which runs June 20 through 22.
More than two dozen wineries and vineyards in Santa Barbara County—from the Santa Maria Valley to the Sta. Rita Hills and almost everywhere in between—will offer one-of-a-kind vineyard experiences, wine tastings, luncheons, tours, and so on, with the purchase of a $100 “key.” People who have these keys can participate in as many events as they like, but only 500 keys are available.
Some of the featured events include winemaker Andrew Murray’s summer sangria party at his new winery and an in-depth sensory seminar at Cold Heaven Cellars where you will learn how to smell (and taste) wine like a professional.
You can also drink Dierberg Vineyards’ library wines paired with cheese, chocolate truffles, and live music; learn about sustainable vineyard management as you walk through Riverbench Vineyards; or take a rare stroll through the Solomon Hills Vineyard near Orcutt with vineyard manager Chris Hammell.
Other options include talking about pinot noir clones with Peter Work at Ampelos Cellars while sampling from the barrel; sipping Goat Bubbles sparkling wine with winemaker Norm Yost; visiting the Lompoc Wine Ghetto to taste SAMsSARA pinot noir and syrah straight from the barrel paired with small bites; meeting Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards owner Royce Lewellen and winemaker Megan McGrath Gates, and then tasting their wines paired with cheeses, olives, and dried meats; and spending time with Clos Pepe Vineyards’ winemaker Wes Hagen and tasting from the barrels.
Many of the wineries are also offering 10 to 30 percent discounts for key holders who buy wine.
Picturesque Melville Winery will give vineyard-to-the-bottle private tours and tastings during the Key to Wine Country weekend. Attendees will start in the vineyard to learn about Melville’s philosophy on farming.
They will then proceed to the cellar to taste barrel samples of the 2013 vintage, “and basically connect the dots for everybody; the wine growing—to the winemaking,” proprietor Chad Melville said. “It’s great! If I have someone from out of state coming into town and they’re in the business, this is exactly what we do with them, so it’s really cool for the public to get this kind of insight.”
Melville believes having people at the estate physically touching the soil and smelling it, seeing the grapes when they are just tiny berries, and the stems and the leaves, “and then immediately to walk inside and taste, feel, and smell what all that means—I think that [has] such a dramatic impact on someone’s understanding of wine,” he said. “If you think of wine as art, like I do, the more you understand it, the more you’re going to like it.”
Some wineries are offering events at an additional cost such as Presqu’ile Winery’s side-by-side comparison tasting of several different producers that make wines with Presqu’ile fruit, including Storm Wines, Luminesce, Labyrinth, and Presqu’ile. At Beckman Vineyards, people can tour the winery with the winemaker and then stay for a pond-side reserve wine tasting and lunch hosted by Bell Street Farm.
Those looking for a more mobile adventure can drive from vineyard to vineyard with winemaker Sonja Magdevski and anthropologist Bryan Bass, discussing terroir. Lunch, snacks, and Casa Dumetz wines will be served through the day.
Larner Vineyard and Winery is collaborating with chef Budi Kazali for a winemaker dinner at The Ballard Inn. Horseback riding enthusiasts can go for a ride through Fess Parker vineyards with Vino Vaqueros and then drink some wine.
Exclusive vineyard tours and private wine tastings are just part of the job for Santa Barbara Vintners Executive Director Morgen McLaughlin.
She has visited different wine association members every week since she accepted the position late last summer,
“When I come for a visit, I generally spend two to three hours tasting through the wines and, when applicable, walking the vineyards as well. This time really allows me to focus on one producer and to better understand their personal expression of Santa Barbara County,” McLaughlin explained.
“Traveling through the region, I have been struck by the diversity of landscape and climate. Many of the region’s vineyards are tucked into beautiful valleys with breathtaking vistas,” McLaughlin described. “Being able to discover these hidden treasures by foot and vehicle has given me an entirely new perspective of the area.
“Standing in a vineyard in Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara midday and then tasting wine in the Lompoc Ghetto in early evening certainly provides evidence [of] the huge variance in temperature we have here. It is one thing to read about climate diversity, but to experience it firsthand is very powerful,” she said.
Likewise, it is one thing to read about Key to Wine Country in this column, and another thing entirely to experience it firsthand.
Sun wine and food columnist Wendy Thies Sell’s shoes will be dusty and her teeth will be purple during Key to Wine Country weekend. Contact her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 5, 2014.