Is there any better way to spend the immediate days post finals than frolicking around the wineries of Santa Ynez? The wine region, close outside of Santa Barbara, is a true paradise only an hour or so from LA. Think, beautiful rolling hills, the beach along the coast, the "funk zone"... and of course the wine.
We took a nice bus tour around the region, visiting four wineries set into the hillside. The wines were excellent -- think, big and fruity reds, light and refreshing whites -- but, the real treats were found at Roblar winery.
Roblar was quite a unique tasting room - apparently, the winery produces 40+ wines per year. Multiple variations of pinot / chardonnay / cabernet... but also some unusual variations of these grapes.
One of the most unique (and delicious!) wines we tried was a variation of the sauvignon blanc... called the fume sauvignon. Apparently, Mondavi coined it to refer to oaked sauvignon blanc (a rather untraditional treatment versus the steel-barreled fermentation). Honestly, I enjoyed it quite a bit, as it had some of the "bite" of a traditional sauvignon blanc with some of the more mellow fullness of an oak cab. Out of all the wines of the day, the group seemed to agree that this "fume sauvignon" was the true standout -- leading us to purchase a few bottles for later in the trip.
Below, a few pics from the day:
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