Tag: wine tasting

Going Sideways In Santa Barbara and Solvang

After two days in the searing heat of Paso Robles, our journey of the absurd took us approximately two hours south via US 101 into Santa Barbara; a trip that offers numerous ocean and mountain vistas.  Santa Barbara is a coastal town right on the ocean.   Unlike the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific tends to cool things down with prevailing onshore breezes.

Golf

Santa Barbara has a few options, but opting for a “taste of what you can’t get back home (always a preferred option when on the road)” I opted for the pricey yet scenic Sandpiper Golf Club, located just north of Santa Barbara (approximately 15-20 minutes north of downtown via car).  Check-in was fairly perfunctory, but unlike most tracks, there’s no slip or bakery ticket to hand to the starter…the young man in the pro shop sent me on my way to an equally young starter who appeared to be young enough to be my offspring (if such a thing had happened).  Range balls are included with your green fee (honestly when you’re paying $100 plus this should be automatic), and to their credit, the range was actual green grass, and not mats.  So after a dozen or so swings to get the body warmed up (on a morning where the famous marine layer was in full effect), it was off to the first tee.

 

 

The course isn’t cheap, so saying Sandpiper is a value proposition would be a bit foolish, but much like in real estate, it’s all about location.  An opening straight-forward par 5 offers a straight hitter a chance at a birdie; holes 2 and 3 are relatively benign.  It’s not until 5 and 6 (4 and 5) that you start to sense where you’re at, when the Pacific Ocean vistas you’re paying for come into play.

5th hole @ Sandpiper

5th hole @ Sandpiper

You’re started with an uphill par 5 that ends at the very edge of a cliff, followed by a short par 3 that punishes any leftward shots with a trip to a watery grave.  Can’t imagine anyone who’d be dumb enough to hit a big ole hook into the Pacific Ocean.  Surely you’d want to miss short or right…

 

Sandpiper #6. Note hazard left (closest point of relief is Catalina)

Sandpiper #6. Note hazard left (closest point of relief is Catalina)

The back nine goes right into visual golf porn mode; the tenth is one of those holes where pulling out the camera is completely within reason; the ocean framing the short dogleg par 4.

From 10th Fairway @ Sandpiper

From 10th Fairway @ Sandpiper

dogleg par 4 while 11 offers a downhill par 3 to a green that fronts the ocean.

Sandpiper #11. Avoid the guy sunbathing.

Sandpiper #11. Avoid the guy sunbathing.

On a clear day (the day I played the marine layer was in full effect) you can see forever.  A few more holes lead you to the finisher; a par 3 that requires a full carry over a lake.

18th hole @ Sandpiper. Over a lake.

18th hole @ Sandpiper. Over a lake.

There are other options; you could drive approximately 30-40 minutes up to Solvang/Buellton/Lompoc and play courses up there.  While these tracks are lighter on your wallet, you won’t get the dramatic vistas on offer at Sandpiper.  All in all I enjoyed my round (it definitely had a Torrey Pines feel to it in terms of design, layout, and the native flora) but would I put in on a must play list?  Not so sure about that one.  The clubhouse and pro shop aren’t exactly opulent, and other than the holes that front the ocean, there’s a lot of fairly boring holes of similar yardages.  Did I have fun?  Yes, but when I return to the area I’ll probably look for something in the Santa Ynez valley area just for a change of pace.

One minor quibble…they were punching greens the day I played.   Their website had no notice of this.  I am now convinced that there is a wild pack of crazy green-punchers who show up and punch greens at random courses.  These people must be stopped.

Wine

Since SWIRIC enjoys the occasional tipple, the après golf activity of choice was wine tasting.  If you like Pinot Noir, you’re in what is arguably the Pinot Noir capital of the US (people in the Williamette Valley part of Oregon might justifiably want a say on this but both regions are doing the good work).  Options number in the hundreds.  My list is by no means comprehensive nor definitive, but we hit Foxen (two different tasting rooms) and were met with incredibly fun and knowledgeable folks.  After Foxen we hit Babcock, Melville, and Sanford.  My wine palette pales in comparison to SWIRIC, but if you go, Sanford would be at the top of the list if you’re into Pinot Noir.  If you’re really into the film ‘Sideways’ you can find an app that has all of the places in the area that they filmed at/were at (if you really want to nerd out Sanford was one of the locations).

One other pro tip- in Lompoc there’s a Wine Ghetto that’s only open on Sundays.  We missed out, and while I made a stream of jokes about doing tastings of Mad Dog 20/20 and Thunderbird (why yes, the 2014 Thunderbird has delightful notes of high fructose corn syrup, urine, flop sweat, and just a hint of stale beer farts), it’s a real thing, and well worth your time.

Food

While no trip to Buellton would be complete with a trip to the Hitching Post II (the steaks are really good and the 2011 Highliner was a great wine once it opened up), there are other and less expensive options in Solvang (warning- the entire Solvang/Buellton area isn’t known for late nights so plan on making it an early night).  The Solvang Brewing Company has good pub fare (and a selection of fine beers).

However, the real honest-to-god-if-you-ruin-this-place-I’ll-beat-you-with-a-bag-of-hammers culinary find was Los Agaves in Santa Barbara. Honestly I don’t know where to start.  It’s casual.  It’s packed.  Parking can be a nightmare.  You wait in line and order at a counter and grab a seat and they bring you your food.  They have bottled beers if that’s your thing…plus fountain sodas.  First, some tortilla chips, so go ahead and get a few samples of their many salsas (seriously they have about 8); SWIRIC was ready to steal whatever Salsa Aguacate (an avocado-based salsa) they had left, and that was before her shrimp and halibut enchiladas in chipotle cream pepper sauce (sounds funky but it’s oh-so-good).  The shrimp tacos I had were easily the best tacos I’ve ever had (and let’s just say I’ve had a few).  Topped with a mango salsa and cabbage slaw that normally I wouldn’t like…but this…oh, me likey.  This place will never be on a concierge’s list of recommended hot spots, and the area isn’t exactly upscale.  Their beer selection is the usual- Corona, Dos Equis, Carta Blanca, Tecate, etc.  It’s just damn good Mexican food, done right.  The crowd was about 98% locals, which is all you need to know.  I may or may not have frightened the manager when I begged him to open an East Coast outpost.

All in all, Santa Barbara/Buellton/Solvang is a great place to visit if you like golf and wine.  Just go easy on the tasting (one trick we found that worked was sharing a single tasting- we got to taste everything and no sobriety issues).

Paso Robles-Do Golf and Wine Mix?

Paso Robles-is it just about the wine or can golf and grape get along?

Being someone who understands that the key to life is compromise, it was in that vein that She Who Is Really In Charge (SWIRIC) suggested that we add a trip to Paso Robles during our annual vacation/family visit trip to California.  SWIRIC is a fan of wine…on several fronts but mostly the enjoyment of a really good glass or two of wine.

Paso Robles is approximately two hours’ due north of Santa Barbara via US-101.  The drive is a bit of everything; ocean views start the drive before an inland turn, followed by another quick hit of coastal views before heading further inland until coming upon this town.  When I used to drive between San Francisco and Orange County, Paso Robles was a town on the way back to San Francisco…I’d never so much as stopped for gas.

We got in on a busy holiday Sunday evening; tired from a long day of travel and approximately four hours driving.  The summer months mean one thing- heat and lots of it.  After some aimless searching, we stopped for wine at Artisan, a great restaurant in their central business district (a 3-4 block area of shops and restaurants).  It was over a couple glasses of wine that we began to relax.

Dinner was at Firestone Walker, a brew-pub amid hundreds of wineries.  We both enjoyed pizzas that were outstanding; SWIRIC enjoyed the Portobello mushroom pie while I opted for the barbecue chicken pizza.  Both were outstanding.  We didn’t imbibe in any of their brews, but if wine’s not your thing, they have beer tasting tours as well.

If you go to Paso Robles and you like wine, then you’re in luck.  There are hundreds of wineries in the area; several locals touted their area as “the new Napa” which might be a bit of a stretch, but while I’m not the wine lover in the family, my admittedly less-than-perfect taste buds know a good wine when they taste it.

This is a golf blog…with limited time I only played one of the two area courses- Hunter Ranch (considered the tougher and more upscale of the two).  At just over 6700 yards from the tips and just under 6300 yards from the middle tees, I found the middle tees offered plenty of challenge.  The starter in the pro shop was friendly, affable, and sent me on my way.  I took a cart as is my style, but I saw a few people with pull carts so I reckon it’s walkable (having said that several holes have lengthy distances between them).

Hunter Ranch #3

The course may not look that menacing on the scorecard, but the one characteristic that came true is that in order to score you have to not just be in the fairway but on the correct side/position.  It’s not true target style golf, but is definitely in the vein of rewarding positioning and punishing wayward shots.  Several holes abut into vineyards (on the front nine the third and fourth holes vineyards are in view but unlikely to come into play unless you get completely wild).  Bermuda greens rolled very fast and true.  Wayward shots are punished with hardpan dirt and scrub after a small area of rough (given the water issues that plague the area I suppose it’s understandable).   Playing it a second time rather than a pedestrian Paso Robles Golf Club may be a bit heavier on the wallet but their refusal to allow a single golfer to make a tee time made it a non-starter.  I suppose if you’re with a group or have a partner who plays you could play both tracks.  One thing- the afternoons tend to get breezy so keep that in mind when making plans.

IMG_20140526_092449_547

Two courses aren’t exactly becoming of it being a true golf destination, but you could do worse than playing Hunter Ranch.  Both courses are close to most of the hotels in the area.  Without knowing or caring about details I know water use is an ongoing area of controversy and it’s possible that this might be limiting future courses from coming in.

After my fairly quick morning 18 before it got too hot (temperature swings of 40-50 degrees are not uncommon so if you go, plan and dress accordingly), we set out for a day of wine-tasting.  There are literally hundreds of wineries in the area so use my list for what it is- indicative of one day’s tasting while insisting on driving relatively sober and not wanting to break any traffic laws.  We started at Hope Family Wines; we had enjoyed one of their wines the night before and wanted to get a better sampling.  We were met by some really friendly folks and some very good wines (they were easily the friendliest group we ran into).

One surprise that we encountered was the quality of rose wines…I admit to associating rose wines with the giant 1.5 liter jugs of sugar-sweetened swill that people drank.  The rose wines we drank were not sugary-sweet, but were blended wines that tasted like…well, adult wines that you’d serve at a summer cookout and not be ashamed to uncork.

Our next trip was to Zenaida where another group of friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable staff answered questions and were generous with their pours.  A trip to Jada offered a tasty wine and cheese pairing tasting; while their wines were fine, it was their cheeses that were, in my opinion, the real treat.

Inspired by a rather interesting scene from the book “Vertical” (a very readable sequel to the book “Sideways” which was made into the seminal movie by the same name) that took place at Justin Winery, our day of wine took us to the palatial offerings of Justin.  Their restaurant wasn’t open, however their staff pointed us in the direction of some charcuterie and cheese offerings.  Their wines were more than worth the drive; the Savant (a blended wine mainly of petite syrah) and the Isoscoles (another blend) are the pick of a very good group of offerings.

IMG_20140526_144047_918 Justin Winery

After a stop for a late lunch, we headed to Tobin James; a cacophonous building selling Tommy Bahama shirts amid a crowd that looked like they belonged at Margaritaville; I half expected to see Jimmy Buffett break out into song or at least a guzzling of the spit bucket take place.  I’ll admit to being put off by a large number of children- my deal has always been that I’ll stay out of Chuck E. Cheese and the kids leave places like wineries to me.  It was a bit much, but if that sort of thing is to your liking, then have at it.   Maybe Tobin James is a good starting point; by the end of the day when fatigue sets in you’re just not prepared for TGI McWinery.

All in all, SWIRIC and your humble blogger had a great time in Paso Robles.