Solvang and Santa Barbara Wine Country
April, 2023
After a long, cold winter in San Diego, Lorri and I scheduled a get-away to Solvang in the heart of the Santa Barbara County Wine Country. We steeled ourselves for the trek north through LA and miraculously made it through with only a couple minor slow-downs.
Thursday (Brave & Maiden, Nojoqui Falls)
Friday (Lake Cachuma, Buttonwood, Rideau)
Saturday (Santa Ynez, Solvang, Dinner at home)
Monday (Lavender Oak, LaFond, Grappoli)
Tuesday (Ballard Canyon, Foxen, Los Alomos)
Wednesday, April 12
Our first stop was SAMsARA in Goleta, a few miles north (or maybe west!) of the City of Santa Barbara
There we were lucky enough to spend some time tasting wine and hanging out with our old friend, Matt Brady, the head wine-maker.
Matt has been doing a great job with his Pinot Noirs (inside this barrel!), Chards, and is continuing his excellent work with Grenache.
He's a great guy and a generous host. We also enjoyed meeting Lily, who runs the tasting room and wine club, and Stephanie, who runs the office.
These photos taken between Goleta and Solvang on 101 show how green and lush the hills are due to all the rain this year.
Usually they are tan, buff, dry, and brownish
Never seen this much color in this area!
We arrived in Solvang in late afternoon and checked in. Click below to see photos of the accommodations.
Photos of our cottage at Wine Valley Inn
First order of business after unpacking was to walk over to the Landsby Hotel bar for an attitude adjustment.
the Mad & Vin
A view of the WVI after our trip to the Landsby, which is about 50 yards away.
A morning walk through town
What's the first thing we see? Who cares what the question is?
What web site are you viewing right now? Superstork!
A little bit of Denmark
A bit more of Denmark! Solvang has made a full recovery from COVID years, and then some. Everything is clean and bright. No vacant stores. New restaurants and bars. More and better tasting rooms.
Wine Tasting: Brave and Maiden Estate
The winery and tasting room
The owners villa! I think the tastings should be at the owners villa.
We had a private tasting set up and they were ready for us!
Welcome Hill Party! Come on! Buy some of our expensive wines!
Very nice facility.
It was a little too chilly to sit outside.
Lorri and flowers
The vines were just starting to bud out
Our State flower!
Nojoqui Falls Park
We heard that the Falls were epic this year so we decided to go check them out. That guy in the foreground just kept sitting there. I got tired of waiting for him to move so he's in all our Falls photos.
The trail to the Falls was actually closed but everyone simply climbed over or slipped under the fence. It was a little slippery due to loose gravel but not bad enough to close the trail. We did not see anyone slip or slide to a watery grave.
Mini-Falls
Folded Hills
On the way back toward town we stopped for a tasting at Folded Hills which is owned by Andy Busch and his wife. Andy is the great-great-grandson of Augie Busch, the Budweiser guy.
I guess Andy must have tired of drinking all that free Bud and bought himself a winery so he could drink free wine instead. We like Andy's wines better than his beers.
Part of the tasting area at FH. Seems like a place better suited to a fine cigar and a glass of Cognac.
We stopped at the local Albertsons for a few items and to check out their selection of local wines. They had quite a few including this selection from Paso Robles - not quite local, but close enough.
This is one of the new bar/restaurants in town. It's called "Whiskey and Rye". They have Scotch too! And Vodka!
They had a pretty nice bar
Our last stop was at Coast Range Restaurant bar, another new joint. They late night crown was loud and happy!
And they had free matches! No smoking or ashtrays or anything, just matches!
Friday, April 14
Cachuma Lake
Again, the winter rains did their thing. Last year it this time, this lake was nearly empty. Now it is at capacity and has actually had to release water.
Jack and Lorri at the lake
The campground (we have camped here a few times when we had our Sportsmobile) was not the semi dust bowl of the past. There was grass and other growy stuff!
Amazing
Next Stop: Rideau Vineyard
But first, a stop at a roadside market to see what they were selling. Turns out, not much because not much was ripe yet, but it was pretty!
The main house of Rideau, the Alamo Pintado Adobe
We learned that Iris was/is a much admired and a trail blazing African-American Woman
The weather was warming up - perfect for a late morning wine tasting.
Another view of the restored adobe house
Not far from Rideau we next stopped at Buttonwood for another tasting and lunch.
We split a great burger and order of fries! It was one of those burgers that was so good, we nearly ordered a second one. The wines were excellent too!
Should I paint another wine truck?
Buttonwood selfie
Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at Lincourt, one of our favorites. It's part of the Foley wine empire of which we are members and therefore entitled to a "free" glass of wine at any of their numerous wineries.
I say "free" because, even though we don't have to pay for our glass of wine, we pay a zillion dollars a year for their wine club shipments. My Guess is Bill makes a profit on us.
Anyway, we enjoyed our Pinots and the ambiance.
Lincourt's windmill, the inspiration behind their logo.
Back at the WVI, a view of our home for the week.
Yet another new restaurant, Clean Slate, specializing in Tapas and local wines by the glass.
We liked this place!
The menu
The kitchen
And so ends Friday - a cozy fire back at the cottage!
Not quite sure what we did all day Saturday but I know we walked around Solvang. Here I am saying hello to Hans Christian Andersen, founder of Solvang. Just kidding, but he is a Solvang hero!
We watched part of the Padres game because we all know they're going to the World Series this year and we want to keep up with what's going on. This is Dodger country but the Pads happened to be on Fox Sports nationally.
We drove to Santa Ynez and stopped by this place which used to be the Santa Ynez Inn.
A very nice upscale hotel
Since we had somewhat of a kitchen and plenty of newly acquired wine, we decided to have dinner in our little cottage. We bought filets at El Rancho market and had the butcher slice them in half so they'd be easier to sauté. We had no oven in which to finish them.
Simple yet delicious! Caesar salad, pan-fried potatoes and seared steak! Where's the wine?
Los Olivos
We spent the day in the bustling little town of Los Olivos, CA, 93441
There are many tasting rooms, restaurants, shops, and even a hotel in town. You could spend a few days here wining, dining, and shopping, if you were so inclined.
We arrived early enough to find a good parking spot. Not much was open yet except this very colorful garden shop.
Lots of fun stuff!
You never know what you might see here. This horse (?) was maybe three feet high, fully saddled and ready to go. We kept looking around town for a munchkin-sized cowboy but never saw one.
We were on a mission this trip to sample and learn about wines and wineries that we had not visited before. This was one of them.
Good wines, friendly people, just around the corner from Dragonnette.
Quite a few people recommended this new restaurant, Bar le Cote, which apparently is somehow associated with Bell's, the Michelin starred restaurant in Los Alamos
The service was great but I wouldn't call our lunch great except for the raw oysters (not shown)
We would definitely go back though and sample some other entrées.
The walls were decorated with three or four large prints in this sort of Picasso-meets-Gunsmoke style, which I sort of liked.
Some friendly desk plaques in a store window.
Last stop in Los Olivos! Holus Bolus is Latin for "everything all at once". We chose to taste their wines one at a time, though.
We had a fun tasting and great time with Amy, the owner/operator (along with her husband). The wines were excellent and Amy was a blast.
Amy has a side project, a nice rose called "Wineslut"
Lorri bought a few bottles to share with some of her friends who may possibly identify as such!
We had a great cheeseboard/charcuterie dinner with local wines at home and relaxed in front of the fire again.
We stopped and "Patty Bakes" and picked up sandwiches for a picnic lunch at an as yet to be determined winery.
Our first stop was Lavender Oak Ranch and Winery.
It's a nice little spread on Santa Rosa Road just west of the 101.
Dean Heck and his wife, Christi, have done an amazing job restoring the farmhouse, planting vines, and making wine!
There is a nice little lap pool in the back yard. Dean spent nearly two hours with us telling us about their operation and how it evolved, and tasting wines.
Here is where we sat.
The restored house. It looks a little rustic from the outside. On the inside, it is not!
By the time we finished hanging out with Dean, we were ready for lunch! A little further west on Santa Rosa Rd is LaFond, a winery of which we are very fond. Ha ha.
It was a bit breezy but we found a secluded spot protected from the wind, bought a couple glasses of their excellent wines, and had a nice lunch.
Gnarly old guy in front of gnarly old vines.
Here you can see more vines budding out. Spring is in the air!
Monday evening we had a happy hour cocktail at Whiskey and Rye, then martinis at the Craft House bar at the Corque Hotel. Dinner was back at Osteria Grappolo where we met the owners, Rick band Susie, and had a nice visit. This is the wine we enjoyed with our dinner of Caesar salad, scallop risotto, and chocolate ganache, all excellent.
And then...another late night by the FP
Breakfast (including Breakfast stout!) at "Brekkies" in town, and then a ride out Ballard Canyon Road and then Foxen Canyon Road all the way up to Santa Maria.
I think this is the Stolpman Estate on Ballard Canyon
Heading north on Ballad Canyon Rd
The hills were alive
We stopped at Foxen but did not do a tasting. Lorri bought some of their wine glasses, though, and I bought a hat!
We did a big loop up Foxen Canyon and down 101, deciding to stop at Los Alamos on the way back to Solvang.
Los Alamos has been getting a lot of press lately for it's restaurants, tasting rooms, and accommodations.
But it was pretty much a ghost town on Tuesday.
Not a creature was stirring, not even Sonja at Casa Dumetz. We headed back to Solvang and decided to go for a restorative walk.
We found this park about a half-mile from our hotel and took the loop trail around the perimeter
We passed the tennis courts
And the pickleball courts
And the old-growth live oaks. And that was enough, so we walked back to town for more of the good life!
the good life! We are lucky because we have a good life and are able to celebrate it
It was a great week! Here's double cheers!
