Day 1 in Santa Barbara

Our first day in Santa Barbara started with the boys getting up around 6am to start their drive up to Rubicon. My mom and I slept in, and after getting up at 9am to cappuccinos and checking a few emails, we headed towards Santa Ynez and Los Olivos for wine tasting. We took hwy 154 out, and I snapped quite a few pictures along the way…

And then we hit the first Winery..Gainey Vineyards. Absolutely gorgeous and the wines were great. For a moment, I almost forgot about the tasting as I wandered the grounds…it takes your breath away to see the natural beauty of the vines combined with their architecture. But, once I started tasting, I realized that the true beauty was in their wines. Unbelievably well done…We picked up a bottle of their Chardonnay (2007) and a Syrah (2006).

After Gainey, we were starved and headed up the road to Los Olivos. It is one of the cutest towns, still only 1,000 people live there! We stopped for lunch at the Wine Merchant Cafe, and the pictures do not do it justice. The food was awesome and so was the atmosphere. Minus one woman who was speaking as if she was at a concert to the 2 ladies sitting at her table. But the incredible food and a glass of wine helped me get over that one…

After lunch, we wandered through town and found Tre Anelli winery. They are known for their Spanish reds, and being a sucker for good red wine, we stopped in. I was not disapointed. We left with 2 bottles, their 2006 Sangiovese and their 2007 Dolcetta. After finishing our walk through the town (didn’t take long, it’s really tiny), we headed towards Solvang.

We stopped at one final winery, Rideau, known for French wines. My parents had been there 13 years ago, and my mom remembered how beautiful the building was. We decided to stop so I could see the building, were surprised with how good some of the wines had gotten!

Our last stop of the day was Solvang. Honestly, one of the most interesting places I have visited in California…

It is time for day 2…right now I am sipping my coffee and then we are headed to downtown for shopping, sushi lunch and maybe another glass or 2 of wine!

Related posts:

1. Day 2 and 3 in Santa Barbara
2. Guest blogger – kind of ;)
3. Some “grape” expectations!