Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Winetasting in the Sunken Gardens

Published on July 29, 2009 in Lafond Winery and Santa Barbara Winery. 0 Comments

The 4th Annual Winetasting in the Sunken Gardens, presented by Elements Restaurant, will take place on Saturday, August 15 2009 from 4-7pm (the weekend following Fiesta).

Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond Winery will be in attendance with wines meant to pair with a wide assortment of foods from our local region. The festivities take place in open air tents in the picturesque Courthouse Sunken Gardens.

A portion of the proceeds of the event will benefit Old Spanish Days.

Tickets are $45 per person in advance, $60 per person on the day of the event, and can be purchased at www.elementsrestaurantandbar.com, www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org, www.ticketmaster.com, and Arlington Ticket Agency, 963-4408. Tickets may also be purchased at any of the five local Albertson’s stores, sponsors of this year’s Fiesta celebration.

Hope to see you there!

Joanie Hudson, Director National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Netting the Pinot Noir at Lafond Vineyards

Published on July 28, 2009 in Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The Pinot Noir has reached 50% veraison, that is, half have turned from green to purple and will begin to sweeten. This will, of course, attract ravenous birds who can very quickly decimate your crop and Pinot Noir attracts them more than any other variety.

Vineyards have tried all sorts of things to discourage or frighten away birds. Canons, propelled by natural gas that make loud noises, not particularly appreciated by neighbors. Bright metal strips, tied to the vines, that flutter in the wind and more recently falcons. The first two, canons and metal strips, are an insult to the birds intelligence, they soon become accustomed and after initially staying away return with a vengeance.

The falcons will scare the birds away but require a handler 24/7 which makes ti very expensive and justifiable only in larger vineyards. The method we use is to cover the vineyard with nets, this is the gold standard, but it requires a lot of man-hours to install and remove.

New Release Santa Barbara Winery

Published on July 27, 2009 in Wine News. 0 Comments

2008 ZCS

Our first ZCS was created in 1998 when Winemaker Bruce McGuire called the staff together to taste red wine blends centered around a Zinfandel from vines that were more than 40 years old. Everyone’s favorite was a blend of that Zinfandel with a Carignane and a Sangiovese.

Bruce fine tuned the percentages and released 800 cases of this new wine in 1999 for sale in Santa Barbara. Soon, we were receiving calls from all over the country looking for this obscure blend; a happy occurence that has led to this tenth vintage of ZCS.

In this synergistic blend, the Zinfandel from 50 year old vines lends the jammy fruit quality to the wine, the Carignane adds density and finish, and the Sangiovese shows off the cherry aromatics and flavors. Bruce purchased all of the fruit for this vintage from Wild Rose Vineyard in Lodi, which farms to his standards.

A small crop led to intense concentration and full flavors in the finished wine. Oak aging takes place in neutral puncheons so as not to disturb the full fruit quality of ZCS. This is a very versatile, food friendly wine made to match a wide range of occasions and meals.
Suggested Retail: 13.00/750ml
To Order: Santa Barbara Winery

Weed Abatement Lafond Vineyards

Published on July 25, 2009 in Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Weeds miraculously grow even when there is no rain. You can disc the rows but in between the vines it is more difficult. There are three ways to control the weeds. You can hoe by hand, which is incredibly expensive, and we sometimes have to resort to this if the weeds are large and out of control. The second is herbicide, similar to what many people use on their lawns, but you can only do it when plants are dormant, and it is not in keeping with our goal of sustainable farming.

The third is mechanical. The photo shows a new machine, we are testing, which consists of blades on both sides which shear the weeds just below ground and retract when passing a vine. Many of the machines we have tried and used in the past took out the weeds but they also took out the vine. This machine looks very promising and we plan on using it next spring.

The driver is working a Chardonnay block we planted last year. Weeds are always more difficult the first two years because of the need to water more frequently, as the plant matures and develops its root system there is much less need to irrigate.

Véraison at Lafond Vineyards

Published on July 25, 2009 in Wine News. 0 Comments

 Véraison is defined by Wikipedia as

Véraison is a French term, but has been adopted into the English literature on viticulture. The official definition of véraison is “change of color of the grape berries.” Véraison represents the transition from berry growth to berry ripening, and many changes in berry development occur at véraison.

The image of our Pinot Noir was taken July 24, 2009. According to Winemaker, Bruce McGuire, when 50% of the grapes have changed color the harvest is six weeks away. This is a selected vine and one of the most advanced, the rest of the vineyard has some catching up to do.

We will probably reach the 50% threshold by August 1 and by that time we will need to cover the vines with netting to protect them from our local bird population who seem to prefer Pinot Noir above all other varieties.

SBWinery on Twitter

Published on July 22, 2009 in Lafond Winery, Wine and Food Pairing and Winery News. 0 Comments

We’re twittering! Or is it tweeting? tweets? twit?

My tongue is twisted already…

Follow us on Twitter
twitter.com/SBWinery

Updates will include upcoming events, new releases, almost sold out wines, travel updates, food pairings, praise for our peers, and links to interesting articles..

Customer feedback is so important to us.

Annual Wine Club BBQ at Lafond Vineyard

Published on July 20, 2009 in Lafond Winery and Wine Club. 0 Comments

Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond wine club members are invited to join us for one of our favorite and heavily attended events of the year on Saturday August 1 from 1-4pm. Our Annual Wine Club BBQ will be held at Lafond Vineyard, and we will enjoy fabulous food, music and wine (including barrel samples and the new release of the Lafond Pommard Clone Pinot Noir from Lafond Vineyard). Winemaker Bruce McGuire will be there to answer questions about the wines and this year’s harvest, which is shaping up to be a bountiful one. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy the vineyard, the summer sunshine, and meet fellow club members and winery staff.

Saturday August 1, 1-4pm
45.00 per person
For reservations call the Santa Barbara Winery at 805-963-3633
or Lafond Vineyards at 805-688-7921

Lafond Vineyard (located in the Sta. Rita Hills between Buellton and Lompoc)
6855 Santa Rosa Rd.
Buellton, CA 93427

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater LA

Published on July 15, 2009 in Lafond Winery. 0 Comments

Lafond Winery will pour at this year’s 16th Annual Wine Tasting and Auction benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at the Bel Air Bay Club.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. The Wine Tasting and Auction is the largest annual fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. The event is attended by approximately 1000 guests and continues to grow in both size and popularity. Recognized as one of the premiere Wine Tasting events in Los Angeles County, featuring fine LA restaurants and California wineries. Guests enjoy a wide-range of food and wine while pursuing live and silent auction items.

For more information on the event, please visit Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles

Joanie Hudson, Director National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

SB News Press Article – Rieslings

Published on July 9, 2009 in Riesling and Santa Barbara Winery. 0 Comments

Today’s Santa Barbara News Press features Santa Barbara Winery Riesling, written by Gabe Saglie.

Great descriptions on each of our three currently released Rieslings:

Santa Barbara Winery Riesling Dry 2007, 20.00
“The driest of the winery’s three Rieslings is indeed bone dry and very crisp. It has a delicious lip-smacking quality, with bright citrus-inspired aromas and flavors and a clean, mineral, wet stone quality on the palate. Apple flavors upfront give way to a super-dry finish. This is the wine you sip while you’re lounging by the pool on a lazy, sunny afternoon, or while you’re leisurely manning the grill. It’ll pair perfectly with teeth-plucked grapes off the stem, light, crubly cheese with crackers or those little quiche appetizers. This wine was aged for nine months in neutral oak. Act fast, since only 93 cases were produced.”

Santa Barbara Winery Riesling 1.7 2007, 18.00
“As the moniker on the label implies, this wine enjoys 1.7 percent residual sugar. Think of it as the middle-of-the-road Riesling, delivering some of the same fruit-intense flavors and lean palate feel of the “Dry” but with a magnified honey streak. It’s more viscous and supple on the tongue, but with a clean finish that exhibits soft flavors of butterscotch. This is definitely a meal wine; once you’ve left the chaise lounge, you pop the cork on this wine to enjoy the bounty on the table. This is the most popular and widely produced of the three Rieslings, accounting for a production of 737 cases.”

Santa Barbara Winery Riesling 7.3 2007, 20.00
“This one’s the sweet darling of the bunch, with 7.3 percent residual sugar. The nose is so beautiful with a cavalcade of apricot and nectarine in its bouquet, with clean pear and apple flavors that follow. Don’t be fooled: This wine’s buxom feel in the mouth is wonderfully balanced by an intense acidity, thereby making this wine just as food-friendly as the others. Good with an especially spicy dish? Yes. Or stark cheeses, even. But this could also be the wine you bring out of the fridge upon the meal’s close as dusk’s descent becomes imminent and the one you love brings out a generous scoop of peach cobbler. I loved the long finish of this wine since I didn’t want the flavors to disappear anytime soon. Aged entirely in stainless steel, 152 cases were made.”

The rest of the article appears in the Food Section of June 9, 2009 Santa Barbara News Press.