On Saturday morning I ran a quick 7 miles at 6 am, came home, and told my girlfriend to get ready for an adventure. We packed the truck and headed for wine country (photos). The President’s Day traffic was brutal so it took us almost 3 hours to go what should have only taken an hour and a half. We had a terrific time, though. The Santa Barbara vineyards — of Sideways fame — are just as much fun as going to Napa and they’re only a short drive from Los Angeles. First we hit the Firestone Winery and its sister vineyard, Curtis Winery. Tastings are rough for me because I don’t like any reds, but Firestone had some wonderful whites. I bought a delicious chardonnay and two awesome sauvignon blancs for less than $50 total.
At Firestone we met a nice couple of locals, Mindy and Robbie, and they guided us for the rest of the afternoon. We headed to Fess Parker next. (Fess played Davy Crockett in the 50s and 60s television show and movies and then opened a winery. It was pretty funny to do a tasting surrounded by coonskin caps.) Then we finished our day by closing down Kalyra. We shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio with Mindy and Robbie and the Kalyra dogs on the porch and watched the sunset.
Tricia and I had dinner at the Los Olivos Cafe & Wine Merchant in downtown Los Olivos and then drove back to Los Angeles. It was just an all-around great day.
