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This year at the Celebration of Harvest it was warm and sunny, with a light cool breeze.
Thank goodness it was time for Santa Barbara County’s Celebration of Harvest, the annual fall vintner’s festival! It is my favorite way to restock. When is shopping more fun than when strolling from booth to booth, savoring the afterglow of a mouthful of earthy Pinot Noir or fruity Chardonnay and listening to live music on a sunny afternoon?
I make a list of my favorites that lasts me all year, so that I won’t have to stand in front of a bottle of wine in the market reading the little card in front of it and wondering what the Wine Spectator really meant when it gave it an 89.
You can’t purchase wine at the festival, but many of the wineries have order forms or special offers available to those who attend, and it is a great way to taste wines you might not otherwise run across.
Tasters at the Trattoria Uliveto booth
enjoying the festivities.
Harvest is well underway, and picking will continue through November. Since Father Junipero Serra brought grapevine cuttings from Mexico to the California Missions in 1782 the number of vineyards has exploded to over 100 wineries planting close to 20,000 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Rhône, Italian and Spanish varietals. More than 65 varieties of grapes are grown locally.
The orientation of the mountains and proximity to the ocean make part of our area one of the coolest in California for growing wine grapes. Slower growth gives the grapes extra time hanging on the vine, allowing them to develop the wonderful flavors, acids and tannins that give a wine its richness and individual character. The more interior parts of Santa Barbara County tend to be hotter and to have the type of soil that produces the best Cabernet grapes.
So on October 8th I headed up Foxen Canyon Road, past the straight rows of leafy vines, shady ancient oaks, and cross-fenced horse ranches to the Santa Barbara Vintner’s Association annual Celebration of Harvest at historic Rancho Sisquoc. The midst of harvest is an exciting time to explore the latest offerings from our local wineries, each with their distinctive terroir.
Celebration of Harvest is a great chance to savor the diverse complexity of flavors born of the valley’s many micro-climates.
It was wonderfully festive, strolling through the food and wine booths, munching on tasty delicacies and experiencing an astonishing variety of wines, from crisp young whites to time mellowed reds brought out of hiding for the occasion. Several of the wineries pull special reserve bottles out of their libraries, and I’ve had some sublime surprises.
Treats from the area’s finest restaurants, caterers and specialty food purveyors were a satisfying complement to the wines. This year there was everything from pasta to steak, veggie kabobs, flatbread pizza and a marvelous shrimp with avocado hummus on toast, all from our best local eateries. The tasty sampling of local bounty always amazes me with its quality and creativity, alerting me to new possibilities the next time I go out or entertain.
