Aimee and Rebecca's SMV Wine Tasting Tour Continues

Well, last week we started our tour of the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country. Because the Bistro is in the heart of the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country we feel a strong connection between our place and the wineries that make having a local wine list possible. We wanted to get back to connecting to the people that make it happen whether the winemaker pouring his own wine or a glance at the vineyard manager looking over his grapes or a chat with the tasting room personnel all of it makes the wine come alive in the glass.

Aimee and I have designated Friday afternoon as our time to do this winery tour. So our first visit last week was Cottonwood Canyon where Victoria welcomed us and poured all the wines that Norm produces. Norm's philosophy is to produces Chardonnay and Pinot that are worthy of aging and in fact demonstrates this philosphy by holding onto his wines for at least 5 years before releasing them to taste. His wines are ageworthy and distintive, and that is more than just his tag line on his business cards. We purchased the 2001 Pinot and the 2000 Chardonnay and included these two wines in our Monday, Wine Education night, a focus on the SMV. Moving on the Cambria next we were taken care of by Jan. As happens quite often on Fridays in the SMV tasting rooms there were just 2 other people when we walked in and had Jan's attention all to ourselves and then within 5 minutes the entire concrete bar filled up with eager tasters. Many of the tasters come from Orange County and LA but we also met a few from the Bay area. We were able to pull double duty and invite them for a meal at the WCB. John and Sharon actually left Cambria and went to the WCB where Jen was able to serve them. They were so excited to find a gem, hidden in the heart of the SMV winecountry. At Cambria Aimee picked out the Pinot Gris to share at our tasting and as it turned out it was the favorite of all our selections. On to Ken Volk Vineyards at the base of the Tepesquet Mountain. Lori tasted us on some of the unique wines that Ken is making these days like the Negrette, a black grape which originated in the South of France. Very few winemakers make a full Negrette but OH, what a great wine. This was my choice to share at our tasting and was definately the most interesting and the Red Wine fav. That was all we had time for this day but now it brings us to today, August 31.

We visited our Old Orcutt neighbor at the Loading Dock, Karrie Farro who is now looking past the loading dock and is selling wine, now that the LD has changed ownership. She tasted us on John Paul's wines from Paso Robles. He has a solid Sangiovese and is Sangio, Cab, Merlot blend was outstanding. I will be visiting his winery in person next week and we may be bringing some of his wine down for a wine education in the near future. Next we visited our other neighbor, Addamo Estate Vineyards on Clark Ave and were taken care of by the new tasting room manager herself, Lindsey. We absolutely loved the White Reisling and the Big Boy Syrah both of which has garnished multiple awards over the past year. Addamo tasting room itself has always won awards from the Sun for best tasting room. The is pretty good considering it is new to the SMV wine trail, only being open for a couple of years.

Now to our last winery for the day, Rancho Sisquoc. There is not a more beautiful setting in all the Valley better than the grounds at Ranch Sisquoc. The lineup of wines was amazing also. The Red wines at RS are out of this world. After tasting through the wines we settled on the Meritage (Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc) and the Reserve Merlot. The Merlot was a tad expensive but it was worth it. Sometimes I wish people would just taste a Merlot without a label or expectation and taste it for what it is, a wonderful, full bodied, supple and lush red wine that has put up with a lot of CRAP but doesn't deserve it. I predict that the are will get over its infatuation with Pinot and discover, again, how versital the Merlot grape can be. This is Alice and Becky that took care of us in the RS tasting room. On our way back to the Bistro we tried to stop by the newest tasting room on the trail, Riverbench, but it wasn't open yet. I think in December it will be opened. Take our word for it, spending time in your own back yard is so refreshing. Be proud of where you live and the great wine country you live in. Tell you friends, not the ones from OC that just drink wine, the ones that truly love the quality of the wines we produce and will taste them with the goal of choosing a great bottle of wine to share with friends. Remember Tuesday at the WCB is NO CORKAGE so bring some of your SMV wines and pop the cork with a great plate of food.

Thanks for reading the tour,

Rebecca & Aimee

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In the life of any restaurant the owners/managers have to take a step back and ask what sort of tweeks are necessary to gain an even greater hold of the market.

And so, we appeal to you, our loyal customers, friends and supporters. What "tweeks" could the wine cottage bistro do to make an even greater impact on the culinary scene here on the Central Coast?

You can comment on this blog. Come on, let's start the dialog that will lead to an even better Wine Cottage Bistro.

Thanks for your support,
Rebecca & Aimee