Jersey Girls Road Trip - A Story by the Chauffeur
Solvang, CA
Tasted Friday, April 27, 2012 - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 by brigcampbell with 1,441 views
Introduction
It's been a long time since Cathy last visited Chris and Kim in California so this trip was long overdue. Let's just say flying is not Cathy's strong suit but she rallied with the promise of song and wine awaiting. It started with tickets to the Springsteen show at the LA Sports Arena on Thursday night and based on the set list from the other shows I was more than a little worried we'd be fed a good dose of the new album. Gary and Rolando met us in the parking lot for a tailgater of snacks and a few beers. My concerns regarding the set list were completely unfounded, this was probably the best Springsteen show I've seen, as Bruce seemed very much at home and there was no shortage of energy and enthusiasm. Here's the Set List:
Badlands
We Take Care Of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
The Ties That Bind
Death To My Hometown (with Tom Morello)
My City Of Ruins
The E Street Shuffle
Jack Of All Trades (with Tom Morello)
Something in the Night
Candy's Room
She's The One
Easy Money
Waiting On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Apollo Medley (The Way You Do The Things You Do/634-5789)
The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Tom Morello)
The Rising
Lonesome Day
We Are Alive
Land Of Hope And Dreams
Rocky Ground (with Michelle Moore)
California Sun
Born To Run
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (with Tom Morello)
We decided to stay in a hotel Thursday night after the show as a head start to our trip north to wine country. Well, we didn't arrive at the hotel until 1am thanks to the department of transportation and ramp closures on both the 110 and 405 freeways. The morning came quickly and we were on our way to Santa Barbara for lunch and a quick tour of downtown and the pier before the final destination of Solvang, the Danish village in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. Initially I was told Friday was "My Day", I would decide the activities but I quickly realized that it wasn't really "My Day" and I would learn later that there probably wasn't going to be a "My Day". Three friends of 35 years who haven't seen each other in 12 years, it's their day everyday, the way it should be. I was the chauffeur and when I came to accept this fact, I found inner peace.
The pier in Santa Barbara 
The beauty of the valley
Flight 1 - Hitching Post II (2 Notes)
Our first time dining at this restaurant and even though we had 5:45pm reservations the joint was already crowded and people leaving who had just finished their dinner. The food is pretty good, not great, but it's reasonably priced and it does get nostalgia points for playing a supporting role in the movie Sideways. By the time we left, the line was out the door, business is good at the HPII.
My Duck Breast
Chris' Halibut
Flight 2 - Tastes of the Valleys (9 Notes)
This place is always on the list for an evening of tasting and talking. It just has a great vibe and wines are fairly interesting, although I will say the change in the format is not for the better. Gone are the flights and I'm assuming they're just pouring what's opened during the day. Mayapple, who is always entertaining, wasn't working this Friday night but we didn't miss a beat with Phil the Math Teacher. A very nice guy from the local school district that moonlights in the wine bar.
I believe it was at this point we had a discussion about the history of Solvang, a Danish village, and pondered our understanding of world geography. I'm not exactly clear who made the comment that Danish people are from "Daneland" but it became our battle cry for the weekend. Cathy was quickly appointed Queen of Daneland and later she bestowed me with the title Prince of Daneland at which point I viewed all tourist as my royal subjects. Funny things happen when you drink wine all day long.
Flight 3 - Foxen - Party at the Shack (7 Notes)
First stop is all the way up the Foxen trail but what a beautiful drive though the rolling hills, farmland, cattle ranches and finally vineyards as neared our destination. Rustic is how I would describe the landscape, like something out of a western movie but because of the time of the year it is especially enchanting with knee high bright green grass swaying in the persistent winds and wild flowers in full bloom from the recent rains. The attraction of the Shack, as it fondly referred too, is a polar opposite experience to so many other corporate or new money wineries, this place is all about the wine. No imported granite bars, high tech lighting, or faux old world chateau architecture. Just rusty aluminum siding, concrete floors, and rickety wooden framing straight out of an episode of Little House on the Prairie.
Flight 4 - Zaca Mesa (6 Notes)
Just down the road from Foxen is Zaca Mesa which has a nice tasting room and winery building surrounded by the estate vineyards. It's also a good place to picnic with quite a few large tables on the grass covered courtyard if anyone is interested. The wines are decent here, especially if you're not afraid of big full throttled syrah which they're probably most known for although they cover many of the Rhone varieties. Oddly enough, we had an '09 viognier only two nights early with grilled salmon which was terrific. The salmon and the wine! And fortunately the winery was tasting the viognier on this day; Cathy bought two bottles of which only one made it back to New Jersey in the luggage. I'll carefully guard the other...
Flight 5 - Firestone - Lunch Stop (3 Notes)
Chris read nice things about Firestone as a lunch stop, not really a place on my bucket list for wine though. I really didn't enjoy much about this place, the wine, the service, or the location for lunch. I lost interest when a tour bus rolled in followed by a bachelorette party, we skipped two of the wines in the flight because it became a circus. Mediocre at best in all categories but we did have a nice lunch of meats, cheeses, crackers, and other goodies. We needed something in our bellies before the next stop...
Flight 6 - Tercero - Red Carpet Treatment by Larry the Winemaker (11 Notes)
Larry is the owner and winemaker at Tercero in Los Olivos. Previously he was the winemaker for Fess Parker. I've met Larry a few times at different events and always found him to be a wealth of knowledge and enjoyable personality. I contacted him a few weeks before the trip to see if we might set an appointment and spend some quality time with Larry, I figured the girls would enjoy asking questions directly of the winemaker and Larry is very engaging anyway. Fortunately for us Larry was able to free up for about an hour and we met him at his tasting room where he opened every bottle in the place plus 3 barrel samples and new project with Cabot.
The Tasting Room - Playing to a full house
Left this gift for Larry on his chalkboard
Flight 7 - Grappolo - Dinner in Santa Ynez (1 Note)
This is a great place, probably my favorite restaurant in the area. The wine list is interesting, the food is excellent and it has a nice vibe. We decided to eat on the front porch while a 3 piece country band played tunes next door at Maverick's. There is something special about fresh made pasta, nothing taste better, and Grappolo makes excellent fresh pasta. Kim started off by ordering the margarita pizza which tasted like it came straight from the old country Two really tasty desserts at the recommendation of our waiter were fantastic. Good Call.
Really good Naples style pizza
Stuffed Calamari, I had to order another... Amazing
This pear tart... umm...
It taste better than it looks!
Quick stop inside Maverick's for Kim to stick a dollar bill on the ceiling.
Flight 8 - Valley Vino
This used to be Kris Curran's place in town but now it's owned by somebody else. They server a few Curran/Badge wines along with a bunch of other stuff now and it has a nice look to it. We decided to pop in on our way back to the hotel after dinner for a nightcap.
Flight 9 - Lafond (5 Notes)
First stop of the morning Sunday. The west side is typically much less crowded and this was no exception, just us in the tasting room and a family with obnoxious children running around screaming. Never really understood why there isn't more traffic over here, it's beautiful rolling hills and we're in the heart of pinot noir country.
Flight 10 - Sanford (9 Notes)
Last stop before heading home but we'll spend a good 1 1/2 hours tasting the wine and eating our picnic lunch. What's really great about Sanford is it's completely surrounded by vineyards and a number of the wines we tasted were grown only 10 yards away from the bench we sat upon. It is a peaceful place, hawks soaring overhead and the constant breeze from the ocean wondering up the valley.
Closing
The drive home is never much fun, partly because you know the weekend is over and because if you've done it right, you're exhausted from the early mornings and late nights touring the sights and sounds of wine country. I think Cathy had a good time on her first trip to wine county, she didn't say much as she stared out the car window as we winded our way along the coast heading south but there were lots of memories, I'm sure.
2009 Iron Horse Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay
USA, California, Sonoma County, Green Valley of Russian River Valley
(4/28/2012)
Ordered with the mussels appetizer and everyone really enjoyed this bottle. The unoaked style is the way to go for chardonnay, there is a brightness and a razor edge not typically in oaken California chardonnays. Lighter in color, full fruit aroma with medium/+ mineral presence. Nice clip at the ending.
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2006 Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills
(4/28/2012)
Was debating between this and a Bergstom on the menu at Hitching Post II so I decided to asked the waiter for a little advice. He thought this was a better bottle so I pulled the trigger.
Garnet colored; slight touch of earth and dark fruit with baking spice. Palate was very similar, this is excellent and very reasonably priced on the wine list.
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