It’s been almost two years since my last blog post and I’m excited to say I’m moving off the free Wordpress site onto here. I originally started blogging when I lived in Virginia and covered the amazing wines made in the state. I’m back in my birth state, only in the southern part, which is completely new to me. I know and love San Francisco but am having so much fun exploring LA. 

A few weekends  ago was the second trip to Los Olivos to pick up wine club shipments and taste what was new. It was also a goal to taste at another winery as Los Olivos is a small town full of tasting rooms. The first trip to this beautiful town was last Thanksgiving and not only did I get to finally visit Andrew Murray’s tasting room but Blair Fox Cellars was discovered. Every wine tasted at Blair Fox Cellars was delicious and unique. It’s rare I love whites as I am partial to full bodied reds but Blair Fox is a gem of a find and joining the wine club was a no brainer. 

I started this trip at Andrew Murray who I’ve been a wine club member of for the past two years. I love his reds and this time I was super excited to try the recent release of his Rosé. This is a cute tasting room and it’s always busy and full of people. I met other wine club members and it was so much fun tasting and talking. The tasting started with the 2012 RGB, which is a white blend of Rousanne and Grenach Blanc. This was light and crisp with a floral nose and honeysuckle on the palate. I loved how refreshing it was as well as clean and a great summer sipping wine. We moved onto the new release of the 2013 Viognier and I am always curious to try this varietal following living in Virginia where this grape grows well. This was lighter in body with peaches and honey on the nose. I was thrilled to find it drier with a nice balance of citrus and acidity than what the nose led me to think. This wine was fermented in stainless steel barrels with the grapes coming from the Santa Maria Valley. I’d buy a bottle of this quickly as it won’t last and I saw members equally as happy with it. Next came the Rosé and it’s the perfect dry, crisp refreshing wine I hoped it would be with a slight hint of strawberries on the palate. For a long time I wasn't a fan of Rosé but lately I’m finding more wineries producing Rosé and creating some truly unique and delicious ones. Before this turns into a book, I will sum up this tasting by saying the reds are all delicious and I took home more than what came in my wine club pickup. What’s even more exciting as a club member is learning about the new facility where events for wine club members will take place. It’s wonderful to be in California now and able to attend them. 

I visited Byron next and for the longest time I’ve wanted to taste the pinot noir from here. It’s a beautiful tasting room complete with Bird, an adorable terrier who will do her best to look irresistible and cute when asking for some crackers. The tasting is $10 but that fee is waived with the purchase of two bottles. We tasted two chardonnays and four pinot noirs. There’s a reason Byron is known for its pinot and I will be back to this tasting room for more wine. I also took home information on the wine club. As someone who is not a Chardonnay fan, both were really well done and had a nice balance of oak and fruit. I met some really great people while tasting and the customer service here is stellar. 

The last stop was Blair Fox to pick up the club wines and taste anything new. As I discovered the first time, everything I tasted was amazing. I am so happy we found this place and can’t imagine not having their wines stocked in my wine fridge. I truly loved everything I tasted. My favorites are the Ambush and Petite Sirah. Hopefully the photo of the tasting menu lets you see some of what was tasted. I always meet the nicest people when I come here and the tasting room associates are passionate about the winery and very knowledgeable. This trip I met the artist who drew the label for Ambush.

 I learned during the first trip to bring my own gluten free crackers to taste as it's a challenge with wine to find gluten free anything although cheese falls into that category. I'm only sensitive to it so in minimum amounts I am ok but it's something I am watching as I am back to blogging and as gluten free grows in popularity I will be curious on how it's handled. 

I ended up leaving my cell phone, charging at Blair Fox Cellars, and when I went back to grab it picked up the latest Santa Barbara wine map. Looking at it,  I can't wait to get back up here.No doubt there are a lot of wines to taste and discover in this area of California.