Eve's Wine 101

Peltier Winery voted Best Winery of 2023 in San Joaquin County

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The readers of San Joaquin Magazine have voted the Lodi winery their favorite this year

LODI, Calif., /PRNewswire/ — Peltier Winery & Vineyards in Acampo, California, has announced that it was voted as the “Best Winery” and 2nd runner up as “Best Tasting Room” in San Joaquin County for 2023. This accolade recognizes the high quality, award winning wines and approachable experience that the family owned and operated winery has become known for over the past 22 years.

“We’re incredibly excited to be recognized by our local community as a go-to winery in SJ County” says Hadyn Schatz, Vineyard Manager and son of proprietors Rodney & Gayla Schatz. “It’s amazing to have watched my parents build this business from the ground up, and my sister, Faryn (Marketing Manager at the winery) and I are proud to help continue building on the values of quality, integrity and innovation from vineyard to bottle that they started with.”

Nominated and voted for by the readers of San Joaquin Magazine means this Lodi Winery is not only a must visit on your next wine tasting weekend but a need to know and taste for any California wine lover. As farmers first, the Schatz family (owners and operators of Peltier) are known for their minimal intervention style of winemaking that allows the quality of their Estate Grown, Certified Sustainable Vineyards to guide the process, and over-delivering on quality wine for the price point.

Wine is as much a personal experience as it is a shared, social one. Cracking a bottle and catching up with friends or lingering over a home cooked meal where the wine flows freely are the times the Schatz Family and Peltier Winery live for. When you visit the tasting room, you’re a friend of the family, and the tasting room is their home away from home.

Faryn Schatz
Peltier Winery & Vineyards
1-209-329-7053
faryn@peltierwinery.com

Perlises Pick: Thacher Winery dinner at Tam O’Shanter

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We recently wrote about a wine dinner at Tam O’Shanter restaurant featuring Carol Shelton Wines that we were unfortunately unable to attend. At the time, we had resolved to do our best to make it to the next wine dinner at The Tam, and that opportunity came sooner than expected when Tam O’Shanter paired up with Thacher Winery of Paso Robles.

Michelle and Sherman Thacher discovered the Kentucky Ranch in what is now the Adelaida AVA of Paso Robles in 2003 when they attended a wedding there. They ended up buying the property soon thereafter and Thacher Winery officially opened in 2008, in time for their fourth harvest. The focus is primarily on Rhone varietals and Zinfandel from a combination of estate and purchased fruit. We’ve tasted and enjoyed the Thacher wines at events but have not yet visited the winery.

It is always an eye-opening and palate-gratifying reminder what a talented executive chef such as The Tam’s JC Salazar can do when using his expertise to create dishes to pair with selected wines. An added bonus was having Tony Quealy, Thacher Winery’s General Manager, available to discuss the wines and the winery.

Here is the menu with our comments in italics:

Lemon Hamachi Crudo – fennel, cucumber, apple-pear, watermelon radish, aguachile, smoked salt paired with 2021 Own Rooted Chenin Blanc – Shell Creek Vineyard, Highlands District, Paso Robles AVA.

First of all, kudos for using Chenin Blanc, a much overlooked grape these days. Even more kudos for using grapes from a vineyard planted in 1972. With a lemon and apricot nose, it was crisp and clean with grapefruit notes. Moderate acidity and body and very well balanced with a medium to long finish. The wine was a perfect accompaniment to the refreshing and complex crudo and was perfectly timed to the hot-day segueing into a pleasantly cool evening.    

Lamb, Lavender & Plums – New Zealand Lamb Rack, Romanesco succotash, plum chutney, lavender honey paired with 2019 Constant Variable – Central Coast.

Is there a better pairing with lamb than Rhone varietals? We think not. In this case, the wine was a blend of 37% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 12% Mourvedre, 7% Cinsaut, 7% Counoise and 2% Viognier. Tony referred to this as Thacher’s flagship wine. The deep burgundy/maroon wine presented with dark, ripe stone fruit and a hint of white pepper on the nose. There were spicy notes from the Counoise along with a hint of baking spices. Extremely well balanced in body and acidity with added freshness from the Cinsaut. The mouthfeel was full and the finish was long. All the varietals were barreled separately except for the co-fermented Syrah and Viognier. The richness of the lamb with the chutney and honey proved to be both sweet and savory and this wine helped to bring out these aspects.

Certified Angus NY Strip – potato fondant, glazed Globe carrots, asparagus ribbons, shiitake demi paired with 2018 Original Copy – Adelaida District, Paso Robles AVA.

As lamb pairs with Rhone varietals, beef pairs with Bordeaux varietals. In this case, a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Petit Verdot and 14% Cabernet Franc combine to make a wine that is deep, dark, rich burgundy in color with aromas of ripe plum. Nicely structured and medium-bodied, with earthy and smoky nuances and a medium to long finish. The bold flavors of the perfectly cooked steak dipped in the demi went hand in hand with the Bordeaux blend.

Olive Oil Cake – macerated cherries, almond brittle, Fosselman’s vanilla ice cream paired with 2020 Working Holiday, Cass Vineyard Red, Paso Robles Geneseo District, Paso Robles AVA.

The dessert was not overly sweet and was delightful with this fruit forward wine from the renowned Cass vineyard on the east side of Paso Robles. A combination of 54% Syrah, 37% Grenache and 9% Mourvedre, this Rhone blend and lively, ripe raspberry on the nose and followed through with the same on the palate. A perfect way to end a perfect dinner, leaving you satisfied and looking forward to the next time.

In addition to greatly enjoying our dinner, we learned a few things about Thacher Winery from GM Tony Quealy. Production is about 5,000 cases, of which about 65% is Estate. Estate growth is being expanded, including plantings of Mencia, a red grape grown in Spain and Portugal, as well as a mixed white field blend. The logo for Thacher Winery is a grasshopper, based on the Thacher family crest going back to Sherman’s English heritage. And shortly after we attended the dinner, we learned that Brenna Hill had been promoted from Cellar Lead to Assistant Winemaker at Thacher.

We want to thank Tam O’Shanter management and staff for an excellent dinner, both in food and service. We have never felt better taken care of. We are looking forward to the next wine dinner to see what imaginative dishes Executive Chef JC will come up with, although we will definitely be revisiting Tam O’Shanter before then. And the Thacher Winery and Vineyard will be on our agenda the next time we are in Paso Robles, one of our absolute favorite stomping grounds.

Thacher Winery & Vineyard

www.thacherwinery.com

8355 Vineyard Dr, Paso Robles, CA 93446

The Tam O’Shanter Restaurant

www.lawrysonline.com/tam-o-shanter

2980 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Zaca Mesa Winery

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Zaca Mesa Winery just celebrated its 50th anniversary. That’s quite an achievement in this relatively young wine region. The land was purchased in 1973 by John Cushman and five of his friends. It was only the third winery in Santa Barbary County and served as the training ground for many winemakers who then went on to become famous. Its first winemaker was Ken Brown, and some other notables are Adam Tolmach, Jim Clendenen, Bob Lindquist and Daniel Gehrs, to name just a few. It is no wonder that the winery is sometimes referred to as Zaca University or just Zaca U. Current Head Winemaker and GM Kristin Bryden and Associate Winemaker Andrew Keil are maintaining the Zaca Mesa tradition.

Rhone varietals are the primary focus at Zaca Mesa. In fact, the first Syrah grown in Santa Barbara County was planted in 1978 in the Black Bear Block of the Zaca Mesa Vineyard. Of course, the region is also well known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which is now produced under their TREAD label.

We had an opportunity to taste some of the wines one beautiful afternoon on the Zaca Mesa patio:

2018 Roussanne Estate – Santa Ynez Valley AVA from the Foxen Block. 100% Roussanne. White flowers on the nose. Ripe, creamy, peach notes with a luscious, rich finish. 

2019 TREAD Pinot Noir – Santa Barbara County – from Cottonwood Canyon, Spear, John Sebastiano, Bien Nacido and La Encantada vineyards. 100% Pinot Noir. Classic notes of cherry and raspberry. Solid on the middle palate and medium body with notes of mushroom and autumn leaves followed by a smooth finish.

2020 TREAD La Encantada Pinot Noir Black Label – Sta. Rita Hills AVA, La Encantada Vineyard. 100% Pinot Noir. Bright fruit, pomegranate and strawberry nose. Earthy notes of black tea and nutmeg. 

2021 TREAD Our Lady of Guadalupe Pinot Noir – Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Our Lady of Guadalupe Vineyard. Big plummy red fruit on nose. Wisps of cinnamon and clove notes with a medium mouthfeel and finish.

2017 Mourvedre Estate – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, from the Chapel and Mesa Blocks. 95% Mourvedre, 5% Syrah. Deep, dark burgundy color. Brambly berry with pepper notes. Medium finish, full body. 

2018 Toyon – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Zaca Mesa, TTT, Vogelzang, Happy Canyon vineyards. An unusual blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre and Petit Verdot, the wine is named for a local shrub that grows around the Zaca Mesa vineyard. The Petit accounts for the deep color and the blend is softened by the Cabernet. Blueberry fruit notes with a full mouthfeel and medium finish. [Note that the actual Toyon shrub produces bright red berries – don’t eat these though; they’re poisonous!]   

2016 Estrella Syrah Estate Black Label – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Mesa Block. 100% Syrah/Estrella Clone.  Deep color, almost black. Star anise nose with black fruit and black currant notes.  Layered, structured, and very yummy.

2017 Mesa Reserve Syrah Estate – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Chapel and Mesa Blocks. 100% Syrah. Big jammy fruit with a touch of lavender and eucalyptus on the nose. Milk chocolate, white pepper notes and a whisper of tobacco leaf notes. Long, complex and balanced finish.

The Cushman family continues to own Zaca Mesa Vineyard after all these years. Sadly, shortly after our visit we learned that founder John Cushman had passed away. Belated condolences to his family, friends and everyone at Zaca Mesa Winery and beyond. The Santa Barbara County wine region would have been a lot different without his vision and we are all grateful for what he accomplished. Here is a nice video that Zaca Mesa posted: John Cushman on Founding Zaca Mesa – YouTube.

Zaca Mesa Winery

www.zacamesa.com

6905 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Andrew Murray Vineyards

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Our wine journey would probably have been a lot different if we hadn’t wandered into a certain modest storefront winery tasting room in downtown Los Olivos back in the mid-1990s. Yes, we had already discovered California Rhone wines with a bottle of Le Cigare Volant from Bonny Doon Vineyards that we had purchased at a wine store in Glendale CA, but finding an easily accessible tasting room for a winery that was 100% devoted to Rhone varietals was an eye-opening and palate-gratifying experience.  The wines from Andrew Murray Vineyards were delicious and they sent us down the Cal-Rhone rabbit hole and we haven’t looked back.

Andrew initially made his wines at – and sourced much of his grape supply from – the property owned by his parents in the Santa Ynez Valley. That property was sold in 2005 and Andrew spent several years making his wine at different sites while expanding his sources of grapes. Finally, in 2014, he took over the old Curtis Winery and Vineyard property, establishing not only a well-deserved permanent home for this star in the Cal-Rhone firmament, but also creating a wonderful place for wine lovers to visit – which we did and this is what we tasted…

2021 Viognier – 100% Viognier, a blend of two different vineyards – White Hawk near Los Alamos and a vineyard owned by AMV in the Santa Maria Valley.  Aged in neutral oak.  Peach, floral notes. Very zesty and lively. Nice long mouth feel.

2020 Esperance Rose – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Curtis Vineyard. 97% Cinsault, 3% Grenache.   Stainless steel, very light skin contact. Floral, rose flower and a touch of tomato notes.  Soft and easy on the palate.

2020 Esperance Estate GSM – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Curtis Vineyard.  65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre.  Ripe berry, followed by stone fruit with soft spice notes. 

2020 Estate Grenache – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Curtis Vineyard. 100% Grenache.  15% whole cluster fermentation for added complexity.  This was a warm year, resulting in fruit forward, very aromatic wine.  Plush berry, balanced tannins with a medium body.

2020 Estate Mourvedre – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, Curtis Vineyard.  100% Mourvedre.   Last fruit picked, mid to late November. Dropped fruit for better, more intense wine.  Herbal, leathery notes, more weight than usual. Very meaty long finish.

2020 Estate Syrah – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  This 100% Syrah saw almost 30% new oak.  Fruit forward, lots of spice.  Cozy feeling, “Hugs in a bottle”, smoke and bacon notes.  Very long finish, big mouth feel.

2020 Watch Hill Syrah – Alisos Canyon AVA near Los Alamos area.  94% Syrah, 6% Viognier.  25% whole cluster.  From the cooler hillside.   Deep, inky purple. Savory and fruity bite and finish.  Always a classic.

2020 Etranger Estate – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Petite Sirah.   Inky, purplish grey in color.  Massive body with chocolate, coffee notes and blue fruit notes.  Added color and weight from the Petite. 

2019 Brazen Estate – Santa Ynez Valley AVA, 70% Syrah, 30% Petite Sirah.   Only 45 cases (2 barrels) this wine spent two years in barrel and another in bottle before release. Ripe plum fruit with hints of licorice and espresso notes.

From one wine to the next, it was evident that Andrew hasn’t lost his touch.

We got to spend a little time with Andrew discussing the AMV wines, as well as what happens to the non-Rhone grapes that are grown on the 150 acres that are farmed by Andrew and his team – some go into their E11EVEN label [which has now taken over that Los Olivos tasting room] and others go to other wineries, including some big producers like Sutter Home and Joel Gott. We hadn’t seen him in some time and it was nice to catch up. With his and wife Kristen’s kids pretty much grown he still manages to look about the same as we recall from over 25 years ago – winemaking must agree with him. His wines will attest to that.

Andrew Murray Vineyards

www.andrewmurrayvineyards.com

5249 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Pico Los Alamos

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The tiny town of Los Alamos, just north of Los Olivos on Highway 101, has surprisingly good stuff going on. If you didn’t already know to look, you might just pass by this small town with the decidedly old western feel to it and continue your journey, wherever you were going. But then, you wouldn’t know about it being home to Bob’s Well Bread, reputed to be one of Southern California’s best bakeries, as well as world class wineries such as Angela Osbornes’s A Tribute to Grace and Sonja Magdevski’s Casa Dumetz, among others.

Los Alamos also has excellent restaurants, including at least two fine dining choices – Bell’s [which has earned a Michelin star!] and Pico Los Alamos, which is where we chose to dine one evening.

Pico Los Alamos occupies the site of the old Los Alamos General Store. In fact the signage still says General Store (and they only just recently stopped selling soap!). The name Pico is an homage to local 1850s bandit Salomon Pico, who was supposedly one of the influences of the Zorro stories. His ultimate departure to Los Angeles and then Baja Mexico from his hideout in the Drum Canyon area south of Los Alamos enabled the town to be founded in 1879.

The restaurant was founded in 2016 by Will Henry and Kali Kopley. Will is also owner and co-winemaker at LUMEN where he makes wine with rockstar winemaker Lane Tanner [the term rockstar is possibly used too often but it definitely applies in this case]. LUMEN was founded in 2012 after Will left his father’s company, wine distributor Henry Wine Group – you may have read our coverage of several Henry Wine Group events over the years. Kali is from Boston and moved to Lake Tahoe in the early 2000s, where she founded three wine bars and two restaurants before moving with her husband Will to open Pico.

Chef Cameron Ingle joined Pico in 2022. Cameron started working in restaurants at the age of 14 as a dishwasher in his native Michigan and has had an amazing career that includes Bouchon Bistro working with Thomas Keller as well as stints at Bestia and Bavel in Los Angeles and five years at Blue Hill Stone Barns in Hudson Valley, New York. His dream of a farmer-driven menu with locally sourced ingredients that changes frequently is realized at Pico.

Walking into the cozy charming restaurant, one would have no idea of the beautiful patio dining available in back. It seems to stretch on forever and provides a very welcoming environment.

A few comments about Pico’s website:

The web address respects its roots — www.losalamosgeneralstore.com.

The menu changes often so what you see on the website might not be what is available that night. But that really doesn’t matter because everything we tried was delicious. Portions are large too and sharing is encouraged. We feasted on the beef tartare, salmon tartare, roasted beets with goat cheese and patatas bravas while sharing the duck and beans entrée and had plenty left to take with us for our next meal. All the dishes emphasized total freshness with just enough seasoning to bring out the best flavors possible.

Don’t be fooled by the wine list on the website, which shows a number of very interesting wines, along with craft cocktails and beers. This wine list highlights Pico’s by-the-glass program but to see the huge full wine list you need to come into the restaurant.

Kace Sarvis, Pico’s Wine Director, has put together an absolutely amazing list, about two dozen pages long with hundreds of selections, which he constantly updates. Kace also joined Pico in 2022, bringing his years of experience at local wineries such as Beckman and Pence. Given the length and depth of the wine list and the obvious reverence with which Kace has put it together, fellow employees good-naturedly refer to him as Wine Jesus and the list as his Wine Bible (with apologies to Karen MacNeil, of course).

With Kace’s help, we selected the 2018 Syrah from Civilization Wine Company. It was from the Ampelos Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills. Regular readers of Eve’s Wine 101 and/or fans of the Wine in the Pines event just north of the Santa Clarita Valley should recognize the name Ampelos as Ampelos Cellars has been a fixture at that event over the years. Using grapes from that vineyard, Kris Beverly of Civilization has crafted a small amount (only 108 cases) of a delicious wine with a nice long finish and beautiful fruit that complemented but did not overpower our dining choices. This is definitely a winery that we need to check out. Thanks to Kace for the suggestion and for putting up with all of our questions, as well as providing us with a taste of the 2022 Lumen Escence orange Pinot Gris to finish up our meal – not technically a dessert wine but vibrant and full of enough fruit to belie its dryness and was a delicious way to end our meal.

We are looking forward to our next visit to the area and to visit Pico Los Alamos again.  We had the most enjoyable evening on their beautiful patio.  The food and wine were exquisite and the service was impeccable.  What more could one want?

Pico Los Alamos

www.losalamosgeneralstore.com

458 Bell Street, Los Alamos, CA 93440

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Folded Hills Winery/Ranch/Farmstead

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When we first heard of Folded Hills, we were excited that we were going to try a new winery.

Folded Hills was definitely new to us, although Eve’s Wine 101’s own Eve Bushman wrote about a tasting of their wines that she attended in early 2020:

www.evewine101.com/2020/02/28/discovering-folded-hills-winery-plus-winemaker-angela-osborne/

The winery itself is also fairly new. The 15 acres of vineyards were planted in 2014 and the first vintage of Folded Hills wine released was the 2015 vintage – of purchased grapes at that time, of course; by the 2016 vintage some estate grown grapes were used. The wines now are almost 100% estate, which are organically and bio-dynamically grown. The original tasting room opened in Montecito and the Homestead onsite tasting room not too long after that.

And the winemaker is pretty new, to this winery at least. Original winemaker Angela Osborne has moved on to devote more time to her own A Tribute To Grace winery and Michael Brughelli has been with Folded Hills since 2020. Michael is well known for his own brand, Brughelli, as well as Scar of the Sea, which he previously co-owned, in addition to his own Vignerons Consulting.

But all this newness belies the rich heritage of the property. If you are heading north on Highway 101 from Santa Barbara up to Buellton, this is the first winery property you will see. The original Homestead was established in 1898 and there were wine grapes planted and a winery here pre-prohibition. The entire property is about 600 acres, near Nojoqui Falls Park and the famous Alisal Ranch.

The owners have a rich heritage as well. Andy and Kim Busch moved their family to Santa Barbara County in 2002, after falling in love with the area when Andy was captain of the U.S. Polo team in 1998. It took a while but they found this property in 2004. Andy was no stranger to large properties and hard work, having managed Grant’s Farm in St. Louis Missouri which the Busch family has owned for generations.

We had the great pleasure of touring the farm with Andy Busch. His pride was evident and justified as he showed us that the vineyard and winery operations were just a small part of this beautiful property. We saw farmed crops and orchards, the beautiful lake, polo grounds and the amazing family home. There were lots of animals too, including peacocks, pigs, chickens, goats, alpacas, llamas and a zebra. Of course, there were Clydesdales – in case you haven’t already figured out, Andy is part of that famous Busch family. We even caught a glimpse of George the camel! Andy also pointed out to us the view of the hills seemingly folding into each other, which gave the property its name.

At the end of all this, it was just about time to taste some wines, but not before one of the farmers stopped by and offered us a taste of some of the sweetest strawberries we’ve ever had. Then, onto the tasting room, or in our case the patio just outside the tasting room.

What we tasted:

2022 Lilly Rose of Grenache – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  Fragrantly floral on the nose with stone fruit notes. Very bright and clean. Named after Andy’s great grandmother, Lilly Anheuser.

2021 August White – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  86% Grenache Blanc, 14% Viognier.  Lemon, green fruit notes and good minerality.  Nice long finish. Named after Andy’s father and grandfather.

2021 Estate White – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  50% Grenache Blanc, 37.5% Clairette Blanche and 12.5% Marsanne.   Light citrus notes and rich on palate due to the Marsanne with a lively finish.

2021 Grant Grenache – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.   100% Grenache.   Milk chocolate on the nose. A naturally lighter style but with a full mouth feel and a medium finish. Named after Grant’s Farm in Missouri and its original Farmsteader, Ulysses S. Grant

2020 Estate Grenache – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.   100% Grenache. The warmer year than the 2021 resulted in bright red fruit with some new oak imparting vanilla and cocoa notes. Fuller body than the 2021 also with a lingering finish.  Mostly from Golden Eagle block. 

2020 GSM – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.   A classic blend of 58% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 12% Mourvedre, Ripe, dark fruit and herbaceous on both nose and finish. 

2019 August Red Blend – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  70% Grenache, 30% Syrah.  Cote de Rhone style blend with cherry and pomegranate on the nose.  Clove and spices notes.  Sharper tannins, lower acidity, very structured.    

2020 Estate Syrah – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.   100% Syrah. From the Nojoqui Vineyard, the southernmost block of Syrah. Deep, burgundy color. Plum, and boysenberry on nose, very fruit driven. Tobacco, leather and mocha notes followed by a lush finish, with a hint of sweetness belying its dry fermentation.

We really appreciate that Andy spent so much time to give us the complete flavor of the property. The wines themselves are delicious, elegant and among the best we have tasted in Santa Barbara County. You can taste and acquire these wines at the Montecito tasting room or the Homestead tasting room. If you can, we recommend you go to the winery to enjoy the entire experience. If you go, please say hello to George for us.

From Folded Hills: “To meet George, guests can book a private tour by emailing events@foldedhills.com. We also have a wine club and awesome private club member events…like our Polo Classic, where guests get to tailgate and picnic while watching a polo match on the Folded Hills Private Polo Field.” 

Folded Hills Winery / Ranch / Farmstead

www.foldedhills.com

Tasting Room at the Homestead: 2323 Old Coast Highway, Gaviota CA 93117

Tasting Room and Wine Shop in Montecito: 1294 Coast Village Road, Montecito CA 93108

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Stolpman Vineyards

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With annual production of about 50,000 cases, Stolpman Vineyards might seem like a large winery compared to many of the others in Santa Barbara County, but the reality is that it is fairly small relative to the big corporate producers. Still, we were wondering why this winery that produces a wide variety of excellent wines including a great selection of Rhone varietals that are right in our wheelhouse, had not attracted our attention enough to pay them a visit until now. Of course, we had enjoyed their wines at various events and Eve had visited them some time ago, but for us not to have paid them a visit yet was definitely our loss.

The answer might lie in the history of the property.

Tom and Marilyn Stolpman acquired the land in 1990 in what is now the Ballard Canyon AVA. For years, most of the excellent grapes grown under the care of legendary vineyard manager Ruben Solorzano were sold to other wineries, while Tom continued with his law practice in Southern California. It wasn’t until Tom and Marilyn’s son Pete left his wine distributor employer to focus full time on the winery in 2009 did the business model change to keep most of the grapes for production. And demand took off, so production had to keep up. We had not spent much time in the area during this surge, so we missed the excitement. We’re glad to have rectified that.

Stolpman Vineyards is a true family operation. Tom and Marilyn are still involved. Pete’s wife Jessica, who he met at the aforementioned wine distributor, runs California’s wholesale market.  Ruben’s wife Maria is also involved in Stolpman Vineyards day-to-day operations.

The family treatment extends to Stolpman’s workers as well. Stolpman Vineyards not only employs its workers full-time and year-round, but these workers get to enjoy the profits of wines made with the La Cuadrilla label designations.

Of course, without the efforts of head winemaker Kyle Knapp and assistant winemaker Matt Nocas, none of this would matter.

A fairly new member of the Stolpman Vineyards “family” is Nicole McAllister. Nicole’s story might sound familiar to many who experienced difficulties during the pandemic. When the shutdowns hit in March 2020, Nicole had to leave her sommelier position at the acclaimed Jean-Georges restaurant in New York and ended up heading about as far west as possible to the Santa Ynez Valley. She brought her expertise to Stolpman where she has created a private tasting program in the vineyard.

On the day that we were scheduled to meet with Nicole at the vineyard, the threat of rain was hanging over us. Fortunately, the wine gods were smiling and we were able to keep our scheduled appointment with Nicole and her assistant, Rye.

Nicole tasted us through several wines…

2022 Love You Bunches Rose – Central Coast.  Blend of Grenache and Mourvedre.  Citrus notes. Effervescent with a kiss of sweetness on the finish.  From Stolpman’s “So Fresh” line of wines.

2020 L’avion Estate Blanc – Ballard Canyon AVA.  Roussanne aged in new French oak.  Peach and apricot notes.  Buttery brioche in color and on the palate, deliciously rich style.

2021 Estate Rouge Grenache – Ballard Canyon AVA. Cherry and floral notes on the nose.  Well rounded mouth feel.  

2021 La Cuadrilla Estate – Ballard Canyon AVA.  75% Syrah, 15% Grenache, 10% Sangiovese.  Ripe, raspberry notes.  Juicy, fruity, structured and balanced. Buy this wine. You’ll like it and so will the workers.

2021 Pliocene Estate Mourvedre – Ballard Canyon AVA. 100% Mourvedre.  Bedrock and limestone earth coming through. Cobbler, brambly fruit notes. Medium finish. Cool label too.

2020 Angeli Estate Syrah – Ballard Canyon AVA.   100% Syrah. Dark fruit, lush, supple, soft. Great example of what Syrah can be from this are. Angeli is named after Marilyn Stolpman’s side of the family.

If you check out the Stolpman Vineyards website, you’ll see that they make a lot of different wines. They do have a tasting room in Los Olivos, if you can’t make it out to the vineyard. But, if you get the chance to visit the property, you definitely should. We appreciate the time that Nicole spent with us and her expertise in picking some shining examples of Stolpman Vineyards wines for us to try, as well as showing us around the beautiful vineyard. Rye was a little lacking in the expertise department, but made up for it with her exuberance; she really is a very good girl.

Stolpman Vineyards

www.stolpmanvineyards.com

Tasting room: 2434 Alamo Pintado Ave, Los Olivos CA 93441

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Vega Vineyard and Farm

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With the refrain of 1970s Peter Allen song “Everything Old Is New Again” seemingly ringing in our ears, we were looking forward to visiting some of our old favorites in Santa Barbara County from the 1980s and 1990s while also exploring some new-to-us wineries. It turned out that our first stop was a little bit of both.

Mosby Winery and Vineyards was founded in 1977 by Bill Mosby in what is now known as the Santa Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara Country, just south of the Highway 101 exit to Buellton, with a focus on Italian varietals. When the Mosbys acquired the property, it carried the name of Rancho de la Vega, named as such in 1853 by its then owners Dr. Roman de la Cuesta and his wife Michaela Cota. The Mosbys originally kept the name Vega Vineyards but eventually changed it to Mosby Winery. Bill Mosby passed away in June 2020.

The property was acquired in 2022 by Karen and Jimmy Loizides, who had already made a name for themselves in the area with restaurants such as Sear Steakhouse and Maverick Saloon as well as K’Syrah Catering. They renamed the property Vega Vineyard and Farm, hearkening back to its original name and rich history. Bringing in acclaimed winemaker Steve Clifton, whose name you may recognize not only from Brewer Clifton but also as owner/winemaker of Italian varietal focused Palmina winery, was a great move. Note that Palmina has merged into Vega Vineyard and Farm.

We had the pleasure of sitting on the tasting patio and enjoying several of the wines that Steve Clifton made that are now under the Vega label.

2021 Albarino – Santa Maria Valley AVA. This 100% Albarino spent time in stainless steel and neutral oak. Citrus on the nose with peach and apricot notes.  Lovely fruit finish and medium to full mouth feel.

2021 Pinot Grigio – Santa Barbara Country. This 100% Pinot Grigio was very crisp, lively and clean with grapefruit notes. Effervescent on the finish.  This wine really presents as serious, unlike some other PGs out there.

2021 Bianco White Wine Blend – Santa Barbara County. This slightly untraditional Italian blend of Albarino, Vermentino and Marsanne spent time in neutral oak. It had nice acidity and was well balanced with a big mouth feel. 

2021 Viognier – Santa Maria Valley AVA. This 100% Viognier only spent time in stainless steel.  White flower on the nose with Meyer Lemon notes.  A lovely mouth feel and very round and smooth.  

2021 Vermentino – Los Olivos District AVA. Aged in neutral oak, the wine showed fruit such as Bosc pear notes. Medium acidity and a touch of minerality.  Very pleasant mouth feel and finish. 

2021 Pinot Noir – Sta. Rita Hills AVA.  From Our Lady of Guadalupe vineyard, on the western end the AVA near Lompoc. Big plummy red fruit on nose.  Cinnamon and clove notes with a medium mouth feel and finish.

2021 Barbera – Santa Ynez Valley AVA.  Bing cherry notes, excellent food wine and paired perfectly with the delicious Bacon and Caramelized Fennel Flatbread we had ordered.  Low acidity and medium tannins with medium-to-full mouth feel and finish.

2019 Nebbiolo – Santa Barbara County. Raspberry and cranberry notes.  Nice big tannins and a long, supple finish.

2020 Syrah – Ballard Canyon AVA.  A warmer climate.  Big black berry aromas with white pepper notes.  Luscious mouth feel and finish.

We did not spend as much time as we wanted to explore the property; it is huge. They have a full kitchen for your dining pleasure as well as a petting zoo. Lunch options are available every day. A marketplace is in the works which will have picnic items, olive oil, candy, toys, etc. This is a spot for the whole family. They are going to be host of the Santa Barbara Vintners Festival on October 14, 2023 and the place will be rocking!   Everyone in the family will have a great time; we sure did.

Vega Vineyard and Farm

www.vegavineyardandfarm.com

9496 Santa Rosa Road, Buellton CA 93427

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick ForFriends Inn And Village

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Very early in our wine journey, Santa Barbara Country was a focal point of our interest. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, there weren’t too many tasting options there yet. Memories can be hazy, but we have very fond ones, such as visiting The Brander Vineyard and tasting wines in the barn before the tasting room was even built.

As years went by, we expanded our domestic wine tasting horizons, venturing farther north to Paso Robles, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino and up to Washington. But, we had grown nostalgic for Santa Barbara County. Although we would visit occasionally, we recently decided that it was high time to pay more attention to the area.

When visiting a new wine region, or revisiting one after an extended hiatus, checking out the local vintners’ association is a good idea. The Santa Barbara Country Vintners’ Association (www.sbcountywines.com) is a great resource for member winery suggestions as well as lodging and dining. We really appreciate all of the help that SBCVA’s Director of Operations Philip Carpenter provided to us.

Our first order of business was deciding on lodging. We were looking for a place to stay a little removed from the bustle of Solvang and Los Olivos, but still with easy access to them as well as the surrounding wine regions. Close [but not too close] to the roundabout where Highways 154 and 246 meet, ForFriends Inn & Village fit this requirement perfectly, with the added benefit of being easy to get to the city of Santa Barbara if we wanted to explore the tasting rooms there.

But location was far from the only benefit of staying at FFI&V.

In 2012, two couples – Dave and Katie Pollock along with Jim and Debbie Campbell acquired the Edison Street Inn in Santa Ynez and turned it into the ForFriends Inn. The Campbells have since moved on, but the Pollocks have turned FFI into what felt to us like a home away from home; actually even better since we didn’t have to lift a finger. (By the way, Dave answered my unspoken question that the name was always For[not Four]Friends Inn, as the property was intended for all friends, new and old, to enjoy.)

But the Pollocks weren’t done.

Ten years later in 2022, ForFriends Village came online. Just a very short walk around the corner from the original Inn, the Village is made up of six “tiny inns” in their own little community. Greatly expanding capacity from the eight rooms at the Inn, these rooms can hold up to four occupants each, include a kitchenette and are ideal for those wanting additional privacy or for a larger traveling party. Indeed, all or parts of the entire property are available for large groups and even corporate retreats.

Your day can revolve around what FFI&V has to offer. Starting with a delicious breakfast, guests have an option of scrambled eggs with perfectly cooked bacon or a daily special, also served with bacon. On our visit, our choices included banana pancakes with homemade coffee whipped cream, tomato quiche and chorizo breakfast tacos. In addition to the main course, breakfast includes a fruit cup with yogurt and granola as a starter, along with coffee and an assortment of juices.  Rosemary popovers were also served.  For the record, one day it was sausage instead of bacon, but since the sausage was some of the best we’ve had, there were no complaints from us.  

But FFI&V doesn’t stop there. A Friendship Pass is provided to all guests, which enables them to take advantage of some great winery, shopping and dining discounts throughout the area. After a day of enjoying Santa Barbara County, don’t forget to come back to the Inn for the daily happy hour of charcuterie and local wine; if you’re lucky, you may even get to be entertained by Dave on his guitar.  Depending on the weather, you can enjoy your wine and hors d’oeuvres in the gardens at the front and back of the inn.  The front porch is convenient too. Your day with ForFriends isn’t done though – don’t forget to bring the Friendship Pass with you to dinner as some local restaurants participate in it as well. If you need something sweet before going to bed, FFI&V has cookies and dessert wine to enjoy. Then, you can finally retire to your luxurious room after a day well spent.  

The above all sounds pretty terrific, doesn’t it? But do you know what the best part of all this is? It’s the amazing team that the Pollocks have put together. We want to thank Dave and Katie, along with Kalin, Sandra, Vanessa, Ben and Spencer [who we didn’t meet but feel like we did] for making us feel like we were part of the ForFriends family.

ForFriends Inn & Village

www.forfriendsinn.com

1121 Edison Street, Santa Ynez, CA 93460

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick Little Beast

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Some time ago we had explored paying a visit to the restaurant Little Beast in Eagle Rock. Starting as a popup by Sean Lowenthal and Deborah Schwartz, it found its eventual permanent spot in 2013 in a historic craftsman home built in 1911.

Well, we never did make it over there. Then, we read last summer that the restaurant had new owners: Monique King and Paul Rosenbluh, who also own Fox’s in Altadena as well as Cindy’s which is just across the street from Little Beast. We remembered a long-ago wonderful dinner at their previous restaurant Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena and definitely planned to pay Little Beast a visit. Months slipped by though and what really got us off our butts to get over there was hearing from our friend Jason Zucker that he is now manager at Little Beast. Getting to see Jason again was the last little nudge we needed to drive down to Eagle Rock – okay, Jason also did tell Michael that they make a great burger!

Strolling to the entrance of Little Beast on the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Loleta Avenue, it felt like visiting a friend’s home for dinner. We enjoyed the ambiance of the patio, where it really did feel like we were at our own table at someone’s backyard dinner party.

If you check out the online menu [www.littlebeastrestaurant.com/menu], note that the in-person menu is a bit more extensive. Jason told us that the menu is seasonal and that the new owners are adding items regularly as they add their own touches while keeping customer favorites, such as the aforementioned Little Beast Burger, among others.

The wine list has some impressive offerings both by the glass and bottle, such as Carol Shelton Wines Wild Thing Viognier, Cass Winery Roussanne and Bedrock Old Vine Zinfandel, as well as Beer & Cider selections. Jason said that the wine list is being expanded as well. Corkage for you BYOBers is a very reasonable $18 per bottle. They also have a very interesting program of signature craft cocktails.

Now on to our meal… We started with the Chicken Liver mousse with “cherry-white port gelee, pickled shallots, crispy bacon, warm bread”, which was a terrine of creamy rich goodness. Karen ordered the Crispy Skin Striped Bass with “parsnip puree, black eyed pea salad, tomato oil, preserved lemon, charred kale’’.  She said it was cooked perfectly and along with a side of Little Beast Carrots with apple mustard BBQ and Fuji apples, she enjoyed the entrée immensely. Of course, Michael ordered, the Little Beast Burger [“dry aged prime beef, tomato onion jam, lettuce, rosemary 1,000 island, house pickles, aged cheddar served with organic greens or wedge potatoes”]. This made the short list of Michael’s favorite burgers, but he said he will need to have it a couple of more times to determine the exact ranking – hard work for sure. Dessert was the Butterscotch and Chocolate Pudding Duo, which was as good as it sounds.

Service manages to combine extreme professionalism and courtesy but zero level of stuffiness, preserving that feeling of visiting a friend’s home.

We are looking forward to visiting our new and old friends at Little Beast again very soon.  You know that the Perlises are into backyard dinners.

Little Beast

www.littlebeastrestaurant.com

1496 Colorado Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90041

Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.