We just returned from the Santa Barbara Vintners' Celebration of Harvest grand tasting. The event was held at the Mission Santa Ines in Solvang for the second year in a row. The event features many of the top wine producers in the Santa Barbara region. There are also local restaurants and specialty food companies sprinkled in among the wineries.
The Mission Stan Ines provides a beautiful backdrop for the festival. The large front lawn of the mission is set up with tents. Each large tent housed eight to ten wineries. The wineries were grouped by the local area where their winery is located. The groupings include major areas like the Santa Rita hills, Santa Ynez and Lompoc.
Each winery pours four or five of their current wines. This year there was a good combination of Rhone varietals, Rhone blends, and Pinot Noir. The food ranged from a roasted carrot salad to a bowl of chili. All the food was high quality as were the wines. The festival highlights how good Central Coast are.
Our Favorites from The Santa Barbara Vintners Harvest Celebration
The Hitching Post. This winery/restaurant is on the top of our list of Santa Barbara favorites. They continue to produce premium Pinot Noir. We really enjoyed their Rose at the event. This was the perfect setting for a chilled rose as temperatures reach the mid 90's. You can taste their wines at the bar in the Hitching Post restaurant.
The next winery we loved at the event is Rancho Sisquoc. This is the winery that used to host the annual Vintners Festival. They were pouring some excellent Bordeaux blends. This is a winery to watch. They have an excellent young winemaker.
Ferguson Crest was our next stop. This is an interesting winery. Fergie, of singing fame, runs this winery with her Dad. He has a local winemaker that he works with to produce a number of unique red blends. They don't have a tasting room. They are working to find a suitable location in the Los Olivos area.
Muni/ Potek winery. This is one of our favorite tasting rooms in Santa Barbara. The Muni label focuses on well priced and accessible wines. While the Potek brand offers slightly more refined vintages as a higher price point. They were pouring a very enjoyable Syrah from the Potek brand at the festival.
The vintners also offer a Spring event each year. We highly recommend attending if you are interested in Central Coast wines or just love Pinot Noir and Rhone wines.
