As usual, the Santa Barbara Wine Festival took place on the last Saturday in June at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.  We had a delightful time walking around the grounds outside, discovering several local wineries and restaurants we hadn’t been to before.  Keep reading and we’ll tell you the highlights of the event.

It was a beautiful day and about 100 Central Coast wineries and food purveyors poured wine and shared samples of their products to an appreciative crowd thoroughly enjoying themselves.   Adding to the festivities was a dinosaur serving as a bouncer next to the bougainvillea.   Honestly, we think more food and wine events should consider employing animatronic dinosaurs to remind people how to behave (bring their IDs, be old enough to drink, and stay behind the line before an event starts).

Just saying.

Favorite Wines at the Santa Barbara Wine Festival

There was a wine for everybody at the Wine Festival.   White wines included Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Torrontes and Malvasia Bianca.  Red wines included Dornfelder, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Touriga and Syrah.  There were also plenty of Rosés made from a variety of varietals.  Listed below are the wines we enjoyed the most.  We encourage you to taste these for yourself and possibly visit the winery tasting rooms at these locations.  
Andrew Murray Vineyards (Los Olivos) – 2011 RGB (Roussanne, Grenache Blanc)

Au Bon Climat (Santa Barbara) –  2008 “La Bouge Au-dessus” Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley)

Babcock Winery and Vineyards (Lompoc) – 2010 “Precocious” Pinot Noir

Brander Vineyard (Los Olivos) – 2011 Santa Ynez Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Brewer-Clifton (Lompoc) – 2009 Gnesa Chardonnay, 2010 3-D Pinot Noir, 2010 Machado Pinot Noir

De Su Propia Cosecha (Lompoc) – 2010 Grenache Blanc

Epiphany (Los Olivos) – 2010 Grenache Blanc

Fiddlehead Cellars (Lompoc) – 2008 Seven Twenty Eight Pinot Noir (Fiddlestix Vineyard)

Flying Goat Cellars (Lompoc) – 2008 Rio Vista Vineyard Pinot Noir (2A Clone), 2009 Garey Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir

Huber Cellars (Lompoc) – 2008 Dornfelder

Kenneth Volk Vineyards (Santa Maria) – 2011 Torrontes, 2009 Touriga, 2008 Santa Maria Cuvee Pinot Noir

Koehler Winery (Los Olivos) – 2010 Santa Ynez Valley Chardonnay

Kunin Wines (Santa Barbara) – 2011 Phoebe (Rosé of Cinsault and Grenache)

Melville Vineyards and Winery (Lompoc) – 2010 Estate Pinot Noir – Sta. Rita Hills

Palmina (Lompoc) – 2010 Malvasia Bianca

Tablas Creek Vineyard (Paso Robles) – 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc (Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc), 2011 Rosé (Mourvèdre, Grenache, Counoise), 2009 Esprit de Beaucastel (Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache, Counoise)

If you’d like to do a comprehensive tasting on your own of Santa Barbara wines, an outstanding wine store is The Winehound, who also participated in the Festival.  This source of local, national, and international wines is located at 1221 Chapala Street in downtown Santa Barbara and is open 7 days a week.

Favorite Foods at the Festival

The food tastings at the Santa Barbara Wine Festival came from restaurants, caterers, and other local food purveyors.  These were the samples we most wanted to go back to for seconds:

Ca’ Dario is an outstanding Italian restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara, open for dinner 7 days a week and lunch 6 days a week, that has won many local polls for best Italian Restaurant.  Crowds gathered all day to try their Ravioli al Burro e Salvia.

Freezer Monkeys manufactures natural frozen pops and treats using fresh seasonal herbs, fruits, and spices primarily from local growers and farmers.  Of the many flavors offered, we liked the Caramelized Pineapple and Mexican Chocolate ones the most from this Ventura County-based vendor.

La Mousse is a Los Angeles bakery with over 30 years of experience and currently makes over 120 different desserts and baked goods.  We were able to try several of their products at the Festival but for us the standout was their Carrot Cake.

San Ysidro Ranch is a luxury hotel in Montecito with two restaurants onsite, Plow & Angel and The Stonehouse.  At the event we highly enjoyed their Meyer Lemon Tart with Edible Viola Flowers. 

Via Maestra 42 is an Italian restaurant/deli/catering company in Santa Barbara popular with local residents.  Their Ravioli di Porcini with a Black Truffle Sauce was divine.

The Santa Barbara Wine Festival was a well managed event.  Participants were prepared when the guests entered, ticket holders were screened easily and effectively, the booths and crowds were spread out evenly (for the most part), and there was plenty of shade and water available.  It is very easy to understand why this event sells out.

Proceeds from the Santa Barbara Wine Festival support the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s educational programs and exhibits, inspiring a thirst for discovery and passion for the natural world in all ages.  To learn more about the Museum and how to support it, or to get on their email or mailing list, please go here.   If you want to mark your calendars for next year’s festival, it should be on June 29, 2013.