A Southern Man Goes to Willamette Valley

This past Labor Day weekend, my wife and I, along with my sisters and brothers-in-law, met up in the beautiful Willamette Valley to run the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon and drink some primo wine.  I'm happy to report that we did both...and had a great time.  But rather than prattle on about it, I've posted several captioned pics below from the trip.  Before you get started, a few observations:

• If I had to describe the Willamette Valley in a word, it would be "green".  Not only was the natural scenery a picturesque green (as opposed to the drier,and brown-er, California AVAs), but there was a clear emphasis by the wine industry on environmental responsibility.  LEED-certified wineries, as well as biodynamic, organic, and "salmon safe" vineyards, and a multitude of other "green" terms were everywhere, and a part of virtually every conversation.  Many of the wineries explained that they are using screwcaps instead of corks or environmental reasons.  Very cool.

• If you go to the Willamette Valley to drink wine, you better like Pinot Noir.  The stuff is ubiquitous.  Fortunately, we were all fans of Pinot, but even we were ready for something else by the time we sat down for our last dinner together.  We stayed around the Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge, and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs, and most of them share a relatively similar climate (coastal, cooler than California) and two predominant soil types:  Willakenzie (sedimentary) and Jory (volcanic).  These environmental similarities, as well as a more restrained style of Pinot, probably contributed to the Pinot-monotony.  I'm not saying that no wines were distinct or offered sense of place, but overall there was not the wide variety you find in a place like Sonoma.  For the record, we did taste some Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling, rose of Pinot Noir, sparkling wines, and even a Bordeaux blend.  It's just that you might taste one or two of the other varietals for every 10 Pinots.  Surprisingly and a bit disappointingly, we didn't taste even one Pinot Gris.  I did try several great craft beers, though.

• 2011 was the most prominent vintage being poured in most of the tasting rooms, and I'd say the wines are OK.  With some exceptions, most were lean, trim and taut...I might even characterize a few as "weak".  2011 was a cold, wet vintage and it shows in the wines.  Penner Ash stood out as the best of the 2011s, able to coax some richness out of the difficult crop.  I'm talking about Pinots, of course, and the 2009s and 2010s we tried were more complete.  2009 was a hot year, which made for fuller, richer, bolder wines, not too unlike a "typical" California Pinot.  2010 was a quintessential Oregon vintage, producing wines that displayed great balance between spicy fruit and nervy acidity.  From what we heard, 2012 and 2013 should be solid, if not great, vintages.

• Oregonians love them some football.  This was especially refreshing for a Southerner who likes to talk football.  On Labor Day weekend, no less.  We actually watched LSU v. TCU while up there, and were pleasantly surprised that some locals took interest.  I was able to talk pigskin with many a tasting room worker.  Nice.

• Lastly, a stomach bug swept through our house like a plague of locusts a few days before the trip.  It was intense but short-lived, and I was able to run the half marathon.  While I did not (and did not expect) to get a PR, my bro-in-law crushed it, finishing in 1:43.  I have run more than a few great races in cool places, but this was the prettiest course I have run.  If you have a chance to experience the Oregon Wine Country Half, I strongly recommend it.

OK, to the pics!  All of the good images were shot by my little sister, Meredith Curtis Photography.  Here we go:

Our trip began with brunch at Veritable Quandary in Portland.  The above salmon scramble made a great,  protein-packed, day-before-race meal.  We ate outside, which we could never do in Louisiana in August.

After checking in to our hotel in Newberg, we ate a killer pre-race dinner at Recipe.  Gnocchi pictured above.

Recipe is a quaint, locally-sourced restaurant with small but exceptional menu and wine list.  We ate inside the old Victorian home and really enjoyed our dinner.

Sunrise at Stoller Vineyards just before race time.

Wow!  My Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon race medal doubles as a coaster.  Get out!

Post-race brunch at JORY, located in the swanky Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg.

Without question, the most incredible French toast I have ever eaten.  Too bad for my lil' sis, who ordered it and didn't get to enjoy much of it.  If angel food cake and rum cake had a baby, and that baby was covered in peach slices, blackberries, pistachios and creme fraiche, it might taste something like this.  I'm still dreaming about it, which explains the massive amounts of drool on my pillow.

The barrel room at Roco winery.  The 2009 "Private Stash" Pinot Noir was our favorite.  Note:  they also pour Purple Hands wines in their tasting room.  We left with a few bottles of that as well.  Pouring 2009s and 2011s.

The estate vineyard of Trisaetum.  Spicy, food-friendly Pinots and semi-sweet to sweet Rieslings.  Cool tasting room with lots of contemporary art.  Pouring 2011s.

Penner Ash's Dussin Vineyard, home of our favorite 2011 Pinot Noir.  Lynn Penner Ash makes or has made, like, every other wine in the Willamette Valley it seems.  That's a good thing.  Pouring 2011s.

Penner Ash tasting room.  A great way to cap off a day of racing and tasting.

Celebratory race day feast was had at The Painted Lady in Newberg.  This is in the top five of my all-time greatest meals.  Really.  That good.  We had the Chef's tasting menu with wine pairings.  Amazing.

I don't remember what this was but it was awesome.

Rabbit entree.

Getting dark, but this was the most incredible dessert I have ever eaten.  A pistachio souffle that you puncture and fill with chocolate sauce.  My hands are shaking typing this. 

A really cool experience:  tasting and tour of the Dusky Goose Rambouilet Vineyard.  They don't have a tasting room, but were more than accommodating when I called them up.  Cheers to Nancy and Linda for coordinating and leading a great tour.  Oh yeah, the wines were the best we tasted.  (also made by Lynn Penner Ash).  They were pouring 2009 and about to release the 2010 vintage.

Almost pickin' time at Rambouillet Vineyard.  We sampled a few grapes and they were quite tasty.  Rambouillet Vineyard cannot be certified biodynamic (the previous owners put in irrigation), but it is "salmon safe".  They do not use irrigation, pesticides or herbicides.

Lily's Block at Rambouillet.  They make a super-limited Pinot from this block that was my personal favorite.  The block slopes steeply down to a creek.

Lange Estate Winery.  Really good wines.  The just-released Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir was my favorite.  Pouring 2010s.

A wine country staple:  cheese and crakers.  At Red Hills Market in Dundee.

On every wine country trip, we reach a point where we just need pizza.  Awesome artisan version at Red Hills Market.

Nice views and Pinots at Archer Summit.  They have a nice patio at which to taste their wines.  This was our last winery to visit and, honestly, our palettes were blown, so not sure we did it justice.

The barrel room at Archery Summit, which one must traverse in order to get to their restroom.  Luckily, it smells like aging wine and not a bathroom.

Not pictured but worth noting:  Argyle Winery, Longplay Wine (and its quirky yet friendly proprietor), and Chehalem Valley Brewing Company.  Thanks to my fam for making this a great trip.

The Death of a Winery

It seems that many of us (myself included) have this rose-colored picture of owning a winery.  That of a casual, fun-loving lifestyle of picnicking in vineyards, going to lavish parties, being treated like a rock star, and hosting grand feasts at your estate where the wine flows aplenty.  Now, wine country marketing certainly contributes to this perception, but the reality is that owning a winery is costly and risky and requires a lot of hard work.

This is why I was somewhat surprised but extremely disappointed when I received the email from Peter Young back in August.  Peter is the proprietor of Grey Stack Cellars, a fantastic, small-production winery located in obscure and remote Bennett Valley in Sonoma County.  The first line of Peter's email read: "It is with considerable regret and a great deal of sadness that I announce that Grey Stack Cellars is going on a 'hiatus' from wine production for the indefinite future."  Boom.

Grey Stack's wines are excellent.  They make (made) probably my favorite Sauvignon Blanc, as well as killer Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Syrah.  Fairly recently, they had earned some respectable scores from Wine Spectator in the high-80s and lower-90s.  Their product was, in my opinion, reasonably priced.  So, why is Grey Stack closing its doors?

As Peter said in his email, "turns out it takes more than good wine to make a financially successful winery."  He goes on to explain that Grey Stack needed to grow its production substantially in order to survive, but first needed to grow its direct sales percentage in order to grow.  Meet the difficult chicken-and-egg proposition that small wineries face:  wineries need to produce more wine in order to sell more wine in order to grow revenues and invest in growing the business.  Oftentimes distributors aren't interested in picking up "boutique" wines because the small supply just isn't worth their time (I think there is a real sub-market opportunity here, but that's another blog).  So, small producers are forced to rely on direct sales from their tasting rooms or on their websites (to those states that allow it).  In an out-of-the-way place like Bennett Valley, I can imagine this is hard to do.

I only know of Grey Stack because, a few years back while trying to get into the wine businesses, a marketing guy sent me a case of Grey Stack in hopes that I would pick it up as a boutique distributor.  Believe me, if my enterprise had taken off, I would be slinging Grey Stack today.  I immediately joined the mailing list and became a devoted customer.  I enjoyed Peter's dry sense of humor, which he used on his website, mailing list correspondence, and on his wine labels (one year he declared on a label that the vintage had contributed to his receding hair line).

Grey Stack has now sold all of its remaining wine inventory, including bulk juice, so the best chance you might have to try some (unless you come to my house) is finding it online.  A quick check at www.wine-searcher.com showed that a few Grey Stack wines are available for only slightly inflated prices.

So, soon I'll be toasting Grey Stack with Grey Stack.  I hope the "hiatus" is only temporary.  The world - at least my world, anyway - was a better place with Grey Stack Cellars in it.

An Evening with James MacPhail

It's no secret that one of my favorite wineries is MacPhail Family Wines and one of my favorite winemakers James MacPhail.  So, when I got the email from James' wife and trusty assistant, Kerry, that a winemaker dinner was being planned in nearby New Orleans in July, I was all over it.

My wife and I were first introduced to MacPhail a few years back when we we scheduled a tasting at his backyard winery after doing some research for a Sonoma trip.  We were blown away by his Pinot Noir, and the fact that James himself spent a couple of hours with us, pouring his wines and just hanging out.  We have been back since with friends and each experience is extremely personable and the wines are always fantastic.  In addition to tastings at the winery - which is literally behind James and Kerry's home - they are opening a new tasting room in The Barlow in Sebastopol.  I'm looking forward to visiting soon.

James has been making wine for a while under his own label, and is a former assistant winemaker to the esteemed Merry Edwards.  He sold his brand to The Hess Collection a few years ago, but retained ownership to his winemaking facility as well as control of the winemaking process.  This is a very good thing.  I think James makes the quintessential "California" Pinot Noir - beautifully balanced with a silky mouthfeel, pure fruit and distinctive notes of earth, spice, etc., which express the characteristics of the unique vineyards from which he sources his grapes.  James also makes a killer Rose of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Unfortunately, MacPhail Family Wines have only been avaialble to Louisianians when purchased at the winery or online...until now.  MacPhail recently gained distribution in the New Orleans area, and the winemakers dinner at Dominique's on Magazine was the kickoff event.

This was our first time to dine at Dominique's, and it was excellent.  The evening started with some social time, during which we got to visit with James and meet up with some friends, whilst sipping some 2012 Rose of Pinot Noir.  The Rose is medium-bodied and bone dry, but with tart fruit flavors.  Perfect for a hot July day, and proved to be a perfect pairing for the First Course of Octopus and Lemon Fish Ceviche.

Next, we moved on to the 2012 Gap's Crown Vineyard Charonnay and the Second Course: Sauteed "Feuille de Brick" Crusted Local Flounder.  Gap's Crown Vineyard is located in the Sonoma Coast AVA (and actually very near the Pacific Coast in Sonoma), right at the mouth of the Petaluma Gap, which funnels cool breezes and fog from the Pacific Ocean up into the Russian River Valley.  It is a cool but sunny site and, in this case, produced a rich, intensely fruited Chard that remains crisp, with zippy acidity and a clean, sea breeze finish.  It was a great match with the flounder, which was basically wrapped in pastry, and melted in our mouths.  Delish.

Our Third Course, Duck "Menage A Trois" had a racy but apropos  name, as it included seared duck breast, duck leg confit, and foie gras.  Not coincidentally, it was served with a trio of stunning 2010 Pinot Noirs - the Sangiacomo Vineyard, Pratt Vineyard, and Sonoma Coast.  I could barely contain all the Pinot-awesomeness.  My favorite was the Sonoma Coast, which MacPhail just released this past Spring, quite a bit later than the single vineyard wines (James said this was because he used whole clusters and the wine "just needed more time").  I'm glad he did, because the wine is absolutely singing right now - juicy and smooth with some interesting earth and spice notes.

Is this Heaven?  No, you're just surrounded by awesome MacPhail wine at a swanky NOLA restaurant.

For dessert, we enjoyed Blonde  Chocolate Mousse, served with Domaine Carneros Le Reve Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine.  The mousse was very good, but the Le Reve stole the show.  This is one of my favorite bubblies.  Fresh and complex, it reminds me of drinking on the terrace at Domaine Carneros overlooking Carneros.  James doesn't make a sparkling wine (yet - I think we may have convinced him), so we appreciated him serving the good stuff along side his fine wines.

All in all, it was a great evening, and we look forward to enjoying a lot of MacPhail wine when we dine in New Orleans for years to come.  Now if we can just get MacPhail to Baton Rouge...

My lovely wife and I with Mr. MacPhail

A Southern Man Runs & Drinks in Washington Wine Country

It's fall, and that means I've got a summer's worth of posts to share.  Although it's pretty much always summer here in South Louisiana, my official season got started with a trip to Washington for the Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon and some wine tasting.

While I have run several half marathons, this was my first "full", so I wanted to run it in a fun location that, of course, offered some wine country.  As always, my lovely wife came along, and we were also joined by some good friends who decided to parlay the trip into their birthday celebrations.

We stayed at the historic Sorrento Hotel in  the First Hill neighborhood just off of the downtown.  Opened in 1909, the Sorrento is Seattle's oldest and longest-running boutique, and we couldn't have been happier with it.  The suites were spacious, the staff was very helpful (the hotel has a car service that will take you anywhere within a 2-mile radius), the location was great, and the architecture and ambiance were charming.

The Sorrento Hotel

Upon checking in the afternoon before the race and hitting the pre-race expo, we hitched a ride to Crow, one of our favorite Seattle restaurants.  Crow is located in the Queen Anne neighborhood near the space needle, and offers a cool, neighborhood-restaurant-kind-of-vibe.  True to form, someone walked by us as we entered the restaurant openly smoking weed, the cloud following us inside.  This provoked the hostess to comment:  "someone's having a good time!".  We all had a laugh and the incident became the premier topic for small talk with cab drivers for the remainder of the trip.

The menu at Crow is small and simple, and focuses on fresh and local ingredients.  I enjoyed my traditional pre-race pale ale - American Breakaway IPA - and their incredible lasagna.  The girls raved about a simple roasted chicken dish that each of them ordered.  Jet-lagged and bellies full, we retired early in preparation for race day

The freakin' sun comes up at 4:40 a.m. in June in Seattle!  After the fact, we discovered the hotel windows had shades but, needless to say, I was awake and ready early to head to the starting line.  My friend Bryan decided the day before to run the half marathon, so we trekked from the hotel to the monorail station to catch a ride to the Space Needle, where our races would begin.  The crisp 58 degree morning temp made up for the early sunrise, and after checking gear and eating bananas, we were ready to go and headed to the starting line.

Space Needle at dawn.  It's like 5:00am in this picture.

Now, I've run my fair share of races, but never one this big - 24,000 runners.  We were warmed up and psyched up for the starting gun, only to wait 45 MINUTES until we actually crossed the starting line and began our respective races.

Crowded starting line of Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon & Half

The first six miles flew by.  Bryan and I were engaged in conversation, enjoying the views of downtown and some quirky older neighborhoods, and I was right on my goal pace of 9'33".  At about 6  miles, our routes split and I began an absolutely scenic 7-mile leg along Lake Washington and through Seward Park.  I joined back up with the half marathoners around mile 13 and was still on pace, stopping to eat a bite quickly.  At mile 15, we scaled a short but steep uphill trail to jump on Interstate 90 (yes, I-90), where the half runners broke left and the marathoners took a right.  This took me across Lake Washington and through two tunnels on a 6-mile jaunt.  About halfway back across the lake, I crossed the 20-mile marker and hit the wall.  Fully-exposed on a steeply-banked, interstate highway bridge, I saw my pace drop pretty drastically off of my goal.

Through another tunnel, back on to I-90, past Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and then skirting downtown along the waterfront, the last 5+ miles were painful but beautiful.  I hobbled up the last hill and crossed the finish line by the Space Needle in 4 hours and 33 minutes.  Not quite what I had hoped, but I finished.  Let the festivities begin!  (Note: unless you are an experienced marathoner, I would not recommend a day of boozing post race.  While we did some pretty cool stuff, I was catatonic for most of the day.  A nap and more (non-alcoholic) fluids probably would have made more sense.  Oh well.)

Some kids at the post-race festival offered us bracelets to the VIP tent, so after a quick lunch, some chocolate milk, and a celebratory beer, we headed back to the Sorrento to shower before the next activity, a lake cruise.  

We boarded our "cruise ship" at Lake Union and secured a window table where we settled in for our cruise, sipping local wines and microbrews as we took in the sights, including the University of Washington campus and the home of Bill Gates.  Literally, everywhere you look in Seattle you see either mountains or water or both.  We moved above-deck and soaked in some sun (and more drink) as we cruised back to the dock.

After a pseudo-nap and a stop at the hotel bar (still celebrating), we went to dinner at RN74.  This highly-acclaimed restaurant by Chef Michael Mina was excellent...from what I can remember.  Evashem Wood Pinot Noir and the tomato basil soup fondue with grilled cheese dippers were fantastic.  After that, I think I ordered duck but the run and subsequent festivities had fully caught up with me.  The sun did not wake us up at 4:30 the next morning.

On the third and final full day of our visit, we scarfed down a hearty breakfast at Lowell's in Pike Place Market, and then hired a town car to take us to the nearby Woodinville wine country.  Our driver was a Ukrainian man named Uri who hated life.  While trying to make some initial small talk, I asked if he liked being a driver.  He said, "No".  Small talk over.

Seafood for breakfast:  the view from Lowell's at Pike Place Market.  Bryan ordered an omelet so full of crabmeat he squealed like a little girl.

Notwithstanding our less-than-enthusiastic driver, this was the way to go.  It is much less expensive than car services in Napa, and allowed us to dictate our own schedule, as opposed to a group tour.

Woodinville is a suburban community about 30 minutes outside of Seattle.  Spearheaded by Chateau Ste. Michelle, several wineries moved to the the area decades ago, hoping to capitalize on the critical mass of nearby Seattle.  While there are no sweeping views of vineyards, Woodinville makes for a great day trip destinations and the wines are very good.

We started out with brunch at the Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Woodinville.  Like its big sister in Seattle, this restaurant had a casual, lounge-y atmosphere with an interesting menu and expansive wine and beer offerings.  I had an artisanal pizza, and we all shared a bottle of fresh and nervy Quail's Gate Chenin Blanc from British Columbia.  A great start to the day.

Canadian wine, eh.  Quail's Gate Chenin Blanc.

Our first wine stop was the combined winery of Novelty Hill and Januik.  Mike Januik used to be the head wine maker at Chateau Ste. Michelle, and set out on his own several years ago.  Novelty Hill makes affordable, largely approachable wines while Januik is a little more high-end.  The winery is a contemporary concrete facility with a lounge-style tasting room, restaurant, and some cool outdoor spaces.  We sampled a range of Novelty Hill wines including Sauvignon Blanc (a favorite), a Rhone-style white, and several reds including a Malbec.  All were very good.  Our tasting was capped off with some sort of late harvest dessert wine.  Our friend Bryan is not a wine drinker, but took to this sweet stuff and it quickly became his theme for the day.

The stark exterior of Novelty Hill/Januik Winery.  The wines are quite inviting.

Next, we visited the stately chateaus and pastoral grounds of the esteemed Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington's oldest and largest winery.  CSM has the role of visitor destination down.  Large tasting rooms, wine and souvenir shops, picnic areas, concert series and more are scattered throughout their sprawling complex, but it somehow remains pretty personable.  Our pourer was a sweet lady from Texas who walked us through an array of somewhat obscure wines not normally found in the grocery store.  They also had a late harvest, which Bryan requested for all five of his tastings.  We especially liked a new, lightly-oaked Chardonnay called "Mimi" and left with some.

The palatial grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle

Our next stop was to the Airfield tasting room, located off of the main highway in a quaint strip center.  I had read about Airfield, but never sampled their wines, so I was especially interested in this tasting.  In addition to quality wines at reasonable prices, they have one of the most generous tastings I have ever experienced.  For some nominal fee ($10 I think, waived with a bottle purchase), you got something like 11 tastings.  I started with an excellent off-dry Riesling and worked my way through the Syrah-based blends.  The "Mustang" red blend and, oddly enough, the Yakima Valley Pinot Noir stood out to me.  The Pinot was particularly interesting as that is not a varietal widely grown in Washington.  Airfield grows it on their estate vineyard (a reclaimed air strip), in a cool microclimate that slopes down to a reservoir.  This tiny vineyard pocket produces a soft and subtle Pinot with red fruit and spice.  I purchased some.  Oh yeah, they also had a late harvest wine and even Bryan couldn't drink 11 samples of the sweet stuff.  He tried, though.

Like Sasquatch, Washington Pinot Noir is not just some urban legend.

I was pumped for our last stop, Distefano Winery.  We discovered this little operation a few years back on a trip to Woodinville.  At that time, I think they had family working the tasting room, which was little more than a glorified storage unit.  They have a new winery now, but kept the little tasting room, which we happened to visit during their 30th anniversary.  Mark Newton, the owner and winemaker, was there personally pouring his wines.  We arrived late in the day and were basically the only customers there, so it turned from tasting to a casual visit with Mark, the wine flowing freely.  I am a member of Distefano's wine club and familiar with most of the wines, but it was great to hear Mark talk us through many of them, how he selects the grapes and makes the wine.  One of my favorites, Sigaro, was made to pair with cigar smoking.  While I am not a big cigar smoker, I really like the Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend, and it was fascinating to hear Mark describe his trial-and-error process for getting the blend to pair with his favorite cigars.  Good times.

Friends greeting us at Distefano Winery

 Uri grumpily drove us back to Seattle and  we readied ourselves for an excellent waterfront dinner at Aqua (formerly Waterfront Grill).  I know I had some incredible halibut cheeks and some kind of gooey-cookie-thing for dessert.  They also had grappa, which was bad.

With puffy eyes and throbbing heads, we returned home the next morning.

Black Crowes, Sweet Tea, and Obvious Wine

Last weekend was, as you know, Memorial Day Weekend, and in Baton Rouge, that means Bayou Country Superfest comes to town. Full disclaimer: I am not a country music fan. However, I am married to one, which means I must annually endure two days of eight-dollar beers, numerous references to "sweet tea" in song, and listening to country-pop bands try to cover the occasional rock classic (in hopes, no doubt, to keep dopes like me engaged).

Truth be told, the event itself is a lot of fun. Given that it is held in Tiger Stadium, it has the feel of a college football game...and the people-watching is phenomenal. This year, I got lucky and the Black Crowes also performed the night before Superfest at another venue, so I did get my fix of good music.

That is one long segway into the topic that is always at hand on this blog - wine.

In an attempt to explain my general disinterest in contemporary country music to my bride last weekend, I mentioned that country music (to me) is so - in a word - obvious. Seemingly all of the songs are about the same range of subjects: tractors, girlfriends/boyfriends, servicemen and women, the good ol' days, being "country", and (for some reason) the beach. I hypothesized that country songs are simply penned using some sort of formula of words that must be referenced in order to sell records (see: sweet tea).

"That exactly why I like it", my wife responded. "You don't have to think about it or figure it out. It's just...fun. It reminds me of the good ol' days."

That got me to thinking...isn't this also true of wine? Sure, I love to enjoy and ponder an ethereal, complex, nuanced wine. Identifying the aromas and flavors as such a wine unfolds can be absolutely mesmerizing. At least for a wine geek like me.

But sometimes you just want something reliable and fun...even obvious. Casual backyard barbecues, tailgates, or just Tuesday night dinner often do not necessarily warrant a mysteriously complex wine. You want a tasty, easy-drinking quaff that you know you and your friends will enjoy. Often these "obvious" wines are readily available, inexpensive, and mass-produced. Year after year, their producers (dare I say "manufacturers") create wines that embody a certain style that consumers enjoy and have come to expect.

Is it obvious? Yes. Is it a consumer-driven formula? Yes. But sometimes it's just what you want. Maybe I'll give country music another shot. Mmmmmmaybe not. But at least I kinda get where my wife and the 70,000 other fans at Bayou Country Superfest are coming from.

Here are some of my favorite, go-to, perfectly obvious wines, all available at your local grocery for $10-12, tops:

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling
Lindeman's Bin 65 Chardonnay
Cline California Zinfandel
Underwood Cellars Pinot Noir
Bogle Merlot
Jacobs Creek South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon

Enjoy!

Sideways in Santa Barbara

I know...sorry for the title.  Couldn't resist.  Indeed, as you set foot in Santa Barbara County wine country, you can't help but notice that you're surrounded by relics from Miles' and Jack's raunchy rumpus from the famous book and movie.

That much of Santa Barbara's wine country - Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Happy Canyon, collectively - remains virtually unchanged from the Sideways story backdrop was a bit of a surprise...but a welcome one.  As close as the region is to Los Angeles, it remains pretty rural, almost podunk, in a good way.  My wife and I, along with some good friends, were there last May for a half-marathon, and outside of the race festivities, it was fairly quiet.

Like all California wine country, the weather was perfect and the scenery inspiring.  But as compared to, say, Napa (or even Sonoma), the vibe is more casual.  Very few tasting rooms or restaurants required a reservation, and we were as likely to sip wine next to someone is jeans and boots as someone in cashmere and Italian shoes. 

And the wine?  This was the real surprise to me.  Other regions may have a better "best" but, top to bottom, the wines of Santa Barbara were excellent.  Some of the best I've had.  And although the region is best known for Pinot Noir (and they were very good), I was most impressed by the big reds:  Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache and blends.  Many wineries were also pouring crisp whites, from Chardonnay to Viognier. 

But rather than blabber on about my experience, I've decided to share it with pictures.  Below is a photo-journaling of our Santa Barbara experience.  Credits to my better half, who is also a better photographer.

Entrance to Au Bon Climat tasting room in Santa Barbara.  Outstanding values in Pinot Noir and Chardonay.

We had a pre-race dinner (for me, anyway) at Julienne in Santa Barbara.  A quaint, but top-notch farm to table restaurant.  Small but interesting local wine list.

Just one of many breathtaking views along Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Lompoc.

The chilly, foggy starting line of the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon in the rustic town of Santa Ynez.  Corkscrew Hill sucked, but I set a PR...and my legs wanted to fall off afterwards.

Nothing rewards a runner post race like a piping hot stack of pancakes.  The famous Paula's Pancake House was worth the hype...and the 1.5 hour wait.

LinCourt Winery

Barrel Room at LinCourt

A "wow" big red:  LinCourt's Cabernet Sauvignon

No, that's not a wine label, goober!  That's an incredibly detailed doormat.

Beckmen Vineyards

By far, the most crowded tasting room of the trip...and for good reason.

Even their olives taste good.

Biodynamically-farmed vineyards

Quaint Beckmen tasting room

Byron's swanky new tasting room.  Their Pinots and Chards are reliably good.

The (in)famous Hitching Post restaurant.  No, Maya was not working.

Babcock winery

Babcock tasting room

Entrance to Melville winery.  Very distinct and delicious estate wines.

Poppies blooming between vineyard rows.

Melville winery & tasting room

Foley Estates.  High-end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Foley tasting room

Firestone-Walker Brewery and Restaurant.  Awesome pale ales and pizza.

Loring Wine Co. tasting room in the spartan Lompoc Wine Ghetto.

Festive picture at La Botte Italian Restaurant in Lompoc.

Vineyards in Santa Maria Valley North of Lompoc

Cambria Winery

The only place to find a meal in Santa Maria Valley, apparently.  Turns out they had good sandwiches.

The "new" Foxen Winery and tasting room, where they pour their famous Pinots, Chards, Syrahs, etc.

The foxen 7200 shack, where they serve slightly obscure but equally delicious wines, like Tempranillo and Cab Franc.

Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards = tasty Rhone-style wines

Ferocious fowl guard the Zaca Mesa tasting room

The pearly gates to Demetria Estate.  Quite possibly the most beautiful place in the world.

Demetria Estate winery

Demetria tasting room - seriously.

Wines were so good, those 1 oz. pours didn't last long.  I liked the Riesling, Cuvee Papou, Pantheon and Constantine.

Our farewell dinner was at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe.