Escape to Santa Maria Wine Country
An escape to Santa Maria wine country is truly relaxing, still relatively undiscovered and uncrowded, with easy access to beach towns and wine tasting rooms. An easy drive from Los Angeles, Santa Maria offers something for everyone, whether it’s exploring the beach dunes of Guadalupe or touring the wine caves of Cottonwood Canyon winery. Increasingly well known for wine and Santa Maria-style barbecue, there are a lot of hidden pleasures tucked among the bucolic vineyard landscapes. Agriculturally diverse, Santa Maria is at its heart a farming community, but the burgeoning wine scene adds more cosmopolitan choices, without sacrificing its rural roots.
Santa Maria Valley, the northernmost AVA in Santa Barbara County, is Burgundy West, with diverse microclimates perfectly suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Surprisingly, it’s the second oldest appellation in California, right behind the more glamorous Napa Valley. Even though it’s further inland from the coast, geography dealt this region the trump card, with east-west valleys funneling Pacific Ocean breezes across the vineyards, keeping the vines cool under the bright afternoon sun. Basking in this Goldilocks moment, Pinot Noir channels its own signature Santa Maria Valley style, a wilted rose petal and Chinese five spice profile, that sets it apart from the other notable Pinot Noir AVAs in Santa Barbara County. Chardonnay is expressed as Meyer lemon curd on toasted croissant, becoming more mineral on the Western edges or riper on the warmer Eastern side of the valley, both with a saline accent. Santa Maria Valley is having its moment in the sun, getting noticed for the many fine wines produced here.
There are over two dozen wine tasting rooms in the Santa Maria Valley area, most on site at the vineyards, others clustered along the rustic streets of Old Town Orcutt, Los Alamos, and Los Olivos. Today’s success was a long time in coming. Over 50 years ago, Uriel Nielson planted assorted wine grapes on the eastern side of the Valley, what is now Byron Winery, ignoring conventional wisdom that Santa Maria was too cold to ripen wine grapes. And it was true, for every varietal he originally planted, except Chardonnay, which became the inspiration for growing cool-climate grapes. Two other legendary vineyards followed, Tepusquet and Bien Nacido, and the race was on, experimenting with soils and grape varietals, and Pinot Noir became the darling of the region.
Santa Maria is the perfect launching spot for a weekend wine touring jaunt. Recently, I spent a couple of days exploring the area with the LA Wine Writers, impressed with the wine, the food and the friendly people. Here are highlights from that trip:
The Radisson Hotel Santa Maria, just a couple of miles west of US-101, is a convenient and comfortable place to stay, with 184 rooms and suites to call home. Loads of amenities, from free Wi-Fi, in-room refrigerator and coffee maker, 37-inch flat screen TV, and complimentary breakfast at the Atrium Bistro for Business Class (no continental buffet here, lots of choices), to name a few of the delights found here. In fact, the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, including my own home, is here, I almost wanted to extend my stay another night just to luxuriate in the plump pillows and cool linens of that bed! The Vintner’s Grill provides a modern, eclectic dining option, along with an extensive wine list of the local Santa Barbara County wines, accompanied by views of planes taking off and landing from nearby Santa Maria Public Airport. The staff was so helpful and friendly, truly a home away from home.
First day of wine touring was a stop at Riverbench Vineyard & Winery. Planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1973, Riverbench started as a wine grape grower and for thirty years, they sold all their fruit to other wineries. But in 2004, they started taking back 10% of the harvest, making a limited amount of wines under their own label, all expressions of their exceptional soils and moderate climate. Today, the estate farms almost 200 acres of vineyards, from which seven Pinot Noirs, four Chardonnays, two Rieslings (one dry, one sweet), a Rosé, and four sparkling wines are made, a total of 6000 cases. The sparklers, all festive and distinct, come in brut rosé, blanc de blancs (brut and demi-sec), and blanc de noir. Starting next year, Riverbench will start adding Pinot Meunier, planted in 2015, to their sparkling wines, for a classic Champagne style blend.
Winemaker Clarissa Nagy, at the helm since 2012, loves the “pioneering spirit” of Santa Maria Valley. Coming from a food science background, Clarissa worked her way up in the local wine industry, with a fortuitous stint at Byron. Here, mentored by innovative winemaker Ken Brown, she met her future husband, Jonathan Nagy, and fell in love with winemaking, feeling it was a perfect fit, where she can use her “sensory passion”. Clarissa brings her own style to Riverbench wines, elegant and sophisticated, with a playful spin. This is mirrored in the tasting room, where fun wine pourers, in the shape of an eagle or a ram, also aerate the wines. The Bedrock Chardonnay, fresh and textured, offered a fascinating counterpoint to the Estate wine, oaky and buttery, with good acidity, products of stainless steel vs oak barrel aging. The Estate Pinot Noir was juicy and spicy, with Riverbench’s signature smoke and clove notes, while the Mesa Pinot was more red fruit and earth. Sipping wine and lingering over a Far Western Tavern catered lunch under the trees and among the vines, life was good!
Clarissa also makes wine for her own label, C Nagy Wines. Her tasting room in quaint Old Town Orcutt is a fun spot, with two vine trunk cordons, wrapped in twinkling purple lights, on the wall behind the bar, and a basketweave oak stave wooden wall accent. Over a decade ago, Clarissa, inspired by the Pinot Noir fruit that came from Garey Ranch, took the plunge, and started her own passion project. Sourcing fruit from three vineyards, Clarissa crafts beautiful wines, elegant and distinctive. The Pinot Blanc from Bien Nacido Vineyard is a great example of Clarissa’s winemaking style. Aromatic and balanced, with great mouthfeel and a long persistent finish, the exotic citrus, apricot, and fig fruit, framed with mineral notes, blossoms in your mouth, it’s a fabulous wine! Clarissa also makes a Viognier, Rosé, two Pinot Noirs, and Syrah, all equally delightful and delicious. A taste of the 2011 Garey Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir was a revelation. Delicate yet full-flavored, this is a stunning wine, with great acidity and a very long finish, really something special.
That night’s dinner was at Shaw’s Famous Steakhouse & Tavern, one of the many Santa Maria restaurants that specialize in Santa Maria-style barbecue. Seasoned beef, barbecued over an open red oak fire, is so flavorful, hearty and smoky, it’s addictive! Traditionally served with fresh salsa, grilled French bread, a green salad, and slow-cooked pinquito beans (a small pink bean only found in the Santa Maria Valley), Shaw's adds a choice of baked potato or macaroni and cheese to the mix. Lots of happy carnivores come here for the huge plates of steaks, tri-tip, ribs, and Linguica sausages. An old school vegetable relish tray starts off the dinner, and cocktails, beer, and wine fuel the boisterous ambience. Traditionally, the juicy and flavorful strawberries of the valley provide a perfect finish but our table split a crispy bread pudding with rocky road and vanilla ice cream for dessert, sinfully delicious. Shaw’s is extremely popular with locals, and is quite crowded during dinner, don’t be in a rush to enjoy your barbecue experience!
Day Two of our Santa Maria Valley wine escape brought us to Byron Winery, ground zero for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir revolution that transformed Santa Maria Valley. Today, Jackson Family Wines owns the iconic vineyards, following in the footsteps of Ken Brown, who started the winery, and Robert Mondavi, whose experimental vineyard plantings laid the groundwork for the newly burnished Byron brand. Winemaker Jonathan Nagy (yes, he’s Clarissa’s husband!) knows these vineyards well, making wine for Byron since 2001. Today’s focus is on single vineyard designate Pinot Noir wines from Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills. Ten Pinot Noir and two Chardonnay wines are produced, from renowned vineyards, that reflect the detail and care that Jonathan uses in the winemaking process, designed to showcase the different Pinot personalities. Gentle handling of the fruit, temperature-controlled fermentation, and aging in French oak barrels spotlights the individual site’s expression, all done in an impressive state of the art facility at the vineyard.
Jonathan finds that Santa Maria Valley wines are more Burgundian in style, savory, silky, and complex, mirroring a traditional Gevrey-Chambertin, while the Sta. Rita Hills wines directly correlate to the soil differences. The 2013 Nielson Vineyard Pinot proved his point, a subtle, graceful, and beautiful wine, whereas the Rita’s Crown is more structured and mineral. Byron’s new releases of the 2014 wines aren’t yet available, but will surely sell out quickly, with only 8000 cases produced. For more on Jonathan and Byron Winery, read my upcoming Byron Winery article.
Our sneak preview of these very special wines accompanied lunch catered by local legend Chef Rick Manson. Funky and fabulous food, with a menu that accommodated individual food allergies in our group, it was a feast, who knew that gluten and dairy free could taste so good?! Scallop tostadas, coconut shrimp, Louisiana blackened prime rib sliders, wild salmon watercress salad, a watermelon, heirloom tomato and burrata salad, and for the finale, a white peach blueberry crisp dessert, holy smokes!
Another way to sample local wines outside of a vineyard or tasting room is at Wine & Design in Orcutt. An art studio that encourages you to “get your art buzz on”, they offer a wide variety of activities, from parties, classes, showers, date nights, and other individualized special events. A fun afternoon, our group of wine writers struggled to express their personalities on canvas, guided by our enthusiastic instructor, Angelina. Each work station has a white canvas, with lightly sketched guidelines, on an easel, with paints and brushes ready to go. Order a glass of wine from Tolosa, Core, or Opolo, and start painting your individual masterpiece along with your instructor, the inspiration, a finished painting that everyone tries to duplicate, with their own personal touch. It’s a chance to chat, laugh, and bring home a souvenir from your wine country escape.
A break with Santa Maria tradition, sushi and sake were on that night’s menu. The bustling Niya Restaurant in Old Town Orcutt serves modern Asian fusion cuisine and creative sushi, along with cocktails, sake, beer, and wine. LA Wine Writers learned a lot about sake, our server, Lucia, guided us through a tasting of three different types, Junmai, Ginjo, and Daiginjo, with the higher quality sake a direct result of how much the rice is milled or polished. Sashimi, seaweed salad, sushi rolls, and poke, beautifully presented, came to our table, extremely fresh and delicious. Niya also offers cooked dishes, such as teriyaki and yakitori, grilled fish specials, and bento boxes, with a combination of raw and cooked dishes. Dessert was scoops of green tea, red bean, and black sesame ice cream, with a fried slice of poundcake. Since locals flock here for dinner, early reservations are recommended.
Santa Maria is starting to come into its own, for those who want a more relaxed pace of wine tasting, or wish to be centrally located to the other wine areas of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Great food abounds, and many outdoor activities are at your fingertips, from birdwatching to bicycling. Here, small town hospitality is rolled out in a big way. Santa Maria wine country is a hidden gem, an easy escape from big city pressures.
An escape to Santa Maria wine country is truly relaxing, still relatively undiscovered and uncrowded, with easy access to beach towns and wine tasting rooms. An easy drive from Los Angeles, Santa Maria offers something for everyone, whether it’s exploring the beach dunes of Guadalupe or touring the wine caves of Cottonwood Canyon winery. Increasingly well known for wine and Santa Maria-style barbecue, there are a lot of hidden pleasures tucked among the bucolic vineyard landscapes. Agriculturally diverse, Santa Maria is at its heart a farming community, but the burgeoning wine scene adds more cosmopolitan choices, without sacrificing its rural roots.
Santa Maria Valley, the northernmost AVA in Santa Barbara County, is Burgundy West, with diverse microclimates perfectly suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Surprisingly, it’s the second oldest appellation in California, right behind the more glamorous Napa Valley. Even though it’s further inland from the coast, geography dealt this region the trump card, with east-west valleys funneling Pacific Ocean breezes across the vineyards, keeping the vines cool under the bright afternoon sun. Basking in this Goldilocks moment, Pinot Noir channels its own signature Santa Maria Valley style, a wilted rose petal and Chinese five spice profile, that sets it apart from the other notable Pinot Noir AVAs in Santa Barbara County. Chardonnay is expressed as Meyer lemon curd on toasted croissant, becoming more mineral on the Western edges or riper on the warmer Eastern side of the valley, both with a saline accent. Santa Maria Valley is having its moment in the sun, getting noticed for the many fine wines produced here.
There are over two dozen wine tasting rooms in the Santa Maria Valley area, most on site at the vineyards, others clustered along the rustic streets of Old Town Orcutt, Los Alamos, and Los Olivos. Today’s success was a long time in coming. Over 50 years ago, Uriel Nielson planted assorted wine grapes on the eastern side of the Valley, what is now Byron Winery, ignoring conventional wisdom that Santa Maria was too cold to ripen wine grapes. And it was true, for every varietal he originally planted, except Chardonnay, which became the inspiration for growing cool-climate grapes. Two other legendary vineyards followed, Tepusquet and Bien Nacido, and the race was on, experimenting with soils and grape varietals, and Pinot Noir became the darling of the region.
Santa Maria is the perfect launching spot for a weekend wine touring jaunt. Recently, I spent a couple of days exploring the area with the LA Wine Writers, impressed with the wine, the food and the friendly people. Here are highlights from that trip:
The Radisson Hotel Santa Maria, just a couple of miles west of US-101, is a convenient and comfortable place to stay, with 184 rooms and suites to call home. Loads of amenities, from free Wi-Fi, in-room refrigerator and coffee maker, 37-inch flat screen TV, and complimentary breakfast at the Atrium Bistro for Business Class (no continental buffet here, lots of choices), to name a few of the delights found here. In fact, the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, including my own home, is here, I almost wanted to extend my stay another night just to luxuriate in the plump pillows and cool linens of that bed! The Vintner’s Grill provides a modern, eclectic dining option, along with an extensive wine list of the local Santa Barbara County wines, accompanied by views of planes taking off and landing from nearby Santa Maria Public Airport. The staff was so helpful and friendly, truly a home away from home.
First day of wine touring was a stop at Riverbench Vineyard & Winery. Planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1973, Riverbench started as a wine grape grower and for thirty years, they sold all their fruit to other wineries. But in 2004, they started taking back 10% of the harvest, making a limited amount of wines under their own label, all expressions of their exceptional soils and moderate climate. Today, the estate farms almost 200 acres of vineyards, from which seven Pinot Noirs, four Chardonnays, two Rieslings (one dry, one sweet), a Rosé, and four sparkling wines are made, a total of 6000 cases. The sparklers, all festive and distinct, come in brut rosé, blanc de blancs (brut and demi-sec), and blanc de noir. Starting next year, Riverbench will start adding Pinot Meunier, planted in 2015, to their sparkling wines, for a classic Champagne style blend.
Winemaker Clarissa Nagy, at the helm since 2012, loves the “pioneering spirit” of Santa Maria Valley. Coming from a food science background, Clarissa worked her way up in the local wine industry, with a fortuitous stint at Byron. Here, mentored by innovative winemaker Ken Brown, she met her future husband, Jonathan Nagy, and fell in love with winemaking, feeling it was a perfect fit, where she can use her “sensory passion”. Clarissa brings her own style to Riverbench wines, elegant and sophisticated, with a playful spin. This is mirrored in the tasting room, where fun wine pourers, in the shape of an eagle or a ram, also aerate the wines. The Bedrock Chardonnay, fresh and textured, offered a fascinating counterpoint to the Estate wine, oaky and buttery, with good acidity, products of stainless steel vs oak barrel aging. The Estate Pinot Noir was juicy and spicy, with Riverbench’s signature smoke and clove notes, while the Mesa Pinot was more red fruit and earth. Sipping wine and lingering over a Far Western Tavern catered lunch under the trees and among the vines, life was good!
Clarissa also makes wine for her own label, C Nagy Wines. Her tasting room in quaint Old Town Orcutt is a fun spot, with two vine trunk cordons, wrapped in twinkling purple lights, on the wall behind the bar, and a basketweave oak stave wooden wall accent. Over a decade ago, Clarissa, inspired by the Pinot Noir fruit that came from Garey Ranch, took the plunge, and started her own passion project. Sourcing fruit from three vineyards, Clarissa crafts beautiful wines, elegant and distinctive. The Pinot Blanc from Bien Nacido Vineyard is a great example of Clarissa’s winemaking style. Aromatic and balanced, with great mouthfeel and a long persistent finish, the exotic citrus, apricot, and fig fruit, framed with mineral notes, blossoms in your mouth, it’s a fabulous wine! Clarissa also makes a Viognier, Rosé, two Pinot Noirs, and Syrah, all equally delightful and delicious. A taste of the 2011 Garey Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir was a revelation. Delicate yet full-flavored, this is a stunning wine, with great acidity and a very long finish, really something special.
That night’s dinner was at Shaw’s Famous Steakhouse & Tavern, one of the many Santa Maria restaurants that specialize in Santa Maria-style barbecue. Seasoned beef, barbecued over an open red oak fire, is so flavorful, hearty and smoky, it’s addictive! Traditionally served with fresh salsa, grilled French bread, a green salad, and slow-cooked pinquito beans (a small pink bean only found in the Santa Maria Valley), Shaw's adds a choice of baked potato or macaroni and cheese to the mix. Lots of happy carnivores come here for the huge plates of steaks, tri-tip, ribs, and Linguica sausages. An old school vegetable relish tray starts off the dinner, and cocktails, beer, and wine fuel the boisterous ambience. Traditionally, the juicy and flavorful strawberries of the valley provide a perfect finish but our table split a crispy bread pudding with rocky road and vanilla ice cream for dessert, sinfully delicious. Shaw’s is extremely popular with locals, and is quite crowded during dinner, don’t be in a rush to enjoy your barbecue experience!
Day Two of our Santa Maria Valley wine escape brought us to Byron Winery, ground zero for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir revolution that transformed Santa Maria Valley. Today, Jackson Family Wines owns the iconic vineyards, following in the footsteps of Ken Brown, who started the winery, and Robert Mondavi, whose experimental vineyard plantings laid the groundwork for the newly burnished Byron brand. Winemaker Jonathan Nagy (yes, he’s Clarissa’s husband!) knows these vineyards well, making wine for Byron since 2001. Today’s focus is on single vineyard designate Pinot Noir wines from Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills. Ten Pinot Noir and two Chardonnay wines are produced, from renowned vineyards, that reflect the detail and care that Jonathan uses in the winemaking process, designed to showcase the different Pinot personalities. Gentle handling of the fruit, temperature-controlled fermentation, and aging in French oak barrels spotlights the individual site’s expression, all done in an impressive state of the art facility at the vineyard.
Jonathan finds that Santa Maria Valley wines are more Burgundian in style, savory, silky, and complex, mirroring a traditional Gevrey-Chambertin, while the Sta. Rita Hills wines directly correlate to the soil differences. The 2013 Nielson Vineyard Pinot proved his point, a subtle, graceful, and beautiful wine, whereas the Rita’s Crown is more structured and mineral. Byron’s new releases of the 2014 wines aren’t yet available, but will surely sell out quickly, with only 8000 cases produced. For more on Jonathan and Byron Winery, read my upcoming Byron Winery article.
Our sneak preview of these very special wines accompanied lunch catered by local legend Chef Rick Manson. Funky and fabulous food, with a menu that accommodated individual food allergies in our group, it was a feast, who knew that gluten and dairy free could taste so good?! Scallop tostadas, coconut shrimp, Louisiana blackened prime rib sliders, wild salmon watercress salad, a watermelon, heirloom tomato and burrata salad, and for the finale, a white peach blueberry crisp dessert, holy smokes!
Another way to sample local wines outside of a vineyard or tasting room is at Wine & Design in Orcutt. An art studio that encourages you to “get your art buzz on”, they offer a wide variety of activities, from parties, classes, showers, date nights, and other individualized special events. A fun afternoon, our group of wine writers struggled to express their personalities on canvas, guided by our enthusiastic instructor, Angelina. Each work station has a white canvas, with lightly sketched guidelines, on an easel, with paints and brushes ready to go. Order a glass of wine from Tolosa, Core, or Opolo, and start painting your individual masterpiece along with your instructor, the inspiration, a finished painting that everyone tries to duplicate, with their own personal touch. It’s a chance to chat, laugh, and bring home a souvenir from your wine country escape.
A break with Santa Maria tradition, sushi and sake were on that night’s menu. The bustling Niya Restaurant in Old Town Orcutt serves modern Asian fusion cuisine and creative sushi, along with cocktails, sake, beer, and wine. LA Wine Writers learned a lot about sake, our server, Lucia, guided us through a tasting of three different types, Junmai, Ginjo, and Daiginjo, with the higher quality sake a direct result of how much the rice is milled or polished. Sashimi, seaweed salad, sushi rolls, and poke, beautifully presented, came to our table, extremely fresh and delicious. Niya also offers cooked dishes, such as teriyaki and yakitori, grilled fish specials, and bento boxes, with a combination of raw and cooked dishes. Dessert was scoops of green tea, red bean, and black sesame ice cream, with a fried slice of poundcake. Since locals flock here for dinner, early reservations are recommended.
Santa Maria is starting to come into its own, for those who want a more relaxed pace of wine tasting, or wish to be centrally located to the other wine areas of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Great food abounds, and many outdoor activities are at your fingertips, from birdwatching to bicycling. Here, small town hospitality is rolled out in a big way. Santa Maria wine country is a hidden gem, an easy escape from big city pressures.