Check out this video from Presqu’ile Winery. They have a very interesting story and are already developing a name for themselves. On July 31st, they poured their Chardonnay at The Chardonnay Symposium and received excellent reviews. Click here for a recap of the symposium as well as information about Presqu’ile’s Chardonnay.
Steve Loves California Chardonnay!
Steve Heimoff of Wine Enthusiast wrote a post on his blog today about The Chardonnay Symposium. We’re very grateful for the extra publicity and love hearing that Chardonnay is his favorite white California varietal.
Check it out:
http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/05/26/announcing-the-first-chardonnay-symposium/
My only comment is in response to his note about the lack of quality hotels in the area. Fortunately, accommodations in Santa Maria have greatly improved over the last year. First of all, there have been many multi-million dollar renovations (Radisson, the Historic Santa Maria Inn, Holiday Inn, Rodeway Inn). Second, there are two new hotels off Broadway. One of the most drastic renovations probably is the Rodeway Inn. From the outside it looks like a motel that might not be the ideal overnight stay for a wine connoisseur. However, take a look at the photos of the inside–it’s pretty amazing. I would like to stay there myself and I live here!
If you have a favorite chain of hotels (Radisson, Best Western, Holiday Inn, etc.) you can likely find it in Santa Maria. Check out our accomodations page on www.thechardonnaysymposium.com.
Kady Fleckenstein, Executive Director of the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country (smvwines.com) and owner of marketing/public relations company, kadydid.
In the Vineyard: April 2010
Vine growth has continued at slow to moderate pace with the cooler than normal weather and fairly frequent storms over the last 30 days. Both of these are nothing for us growers to worry about as we have needed the rainfall and with a week of warm weather the vines will easily get caught up.
The shoots in varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir range from 3 to 12 inches of growth and we can see the developing clusters emerging and separating at this stage. Cluster numbers look to be average or slightly better and we will be able to get our first yield estimate in the coming weeks. Unknown to us now through bloom and berry set is how many berries each cluster will have and how large they will be. Bloom-time weather in the Santa Maria Valley is generally good for good berry set (little shatter) so that is unlikely a problem for us. With the above normal rains we have had thus far and because we have had a good amount already in April there is a good possibility for larger than average berry size this year.
Already we can talk fruit quality when we look at weather and the possibility for larger berries. Generally, we like small berries which increases the skin to juice ratio in the fruit and therefore increases the phenolics of the juice and wine potential. Time will tell.
I hope you enjoyed this walk “in the vineyard.” Please send any comments or questions to me and I will respond as quickly as possible.
Jim Stollberg manages vineyards for Maverick Farming Company in the Santa Maria Valley. He can be reached at (805)310-9322 or jim@maverickfarming.com.
In the Vineyard: March 2010
Our earliest varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are beginning to emerge with new growth from their dormancy in mid November. The buds are between bud swell and rosette stages depending on their age, variety, and elevation.
We have been controlling weeds around the base of the vines and have begun trapping gophers. Both of these pests can do damage to the vines and compete for water and nutrients.
The last few months have been great to recharge our soils with rain water and I expect to see even, moderate growth from the vines over the next few months. This time of year is great because we get to see for the first time what the 2010 vintage may offer. As growth continues and shoots get to be about six inches long we will get our first glimpse of the clusters. Small, green and indistinguishable to most onlookers, they will emerge from the expanding tissue.
I hope everyone enjoys this time of year driving by the vineyards of the Santa Maria Valley. Mornings with overhead sprinklers running to protect from frost damage and the long vine rows with new bright green tips of growth. Enjoy the daylight hours stretching into to evening with one of our delicious Chardonnay or Pinot Noirs and we’ll keep an eye on the new fruit “in the vineyard.”
Jim Stollberg manages vineyards for Maverick Farming Company in the Santa Maria Valley. He can be reached at (805)310-9322 or <jim@maverickfarming.com.
Qupé Chardonnay on TODAY
Sommelier Aldo Sohm of Le Bernadin restaurant discusses affordable wines on The Today Show. One of the wines he recommends, and a favorite of the hosts, Kathy Lee and Hoda, is a Qupé Chardonnay from Bien Nacido Vineyards (with a nice mention of the Santa Maria Valley).
Cookie & Wine Pairing #4: Costa de Oro
Potato Chip Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350F. Cream shortening, butter, sugar and egg yolk. Add rest of the ingredients. Make into balls, flatten with a fork. Bake 12-14 minutes. Sprinkle sugar on top while hot.
This cookie goes very well with the Costa de Oro ’07 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay.
Submitted by Audra Vasquez (it was her grandmother’s recipe).
Top 10 Reasons Why We’re Thankful
We are thankful for so many things it’s hard to narrow down the list. Here are the top 10 things we’re thankful for this season:
1.) CHARDONNAY
Santa Maria Valley is known throughout the wine community as one of the top AVAs for premium Chardonnay. Whether you prefer Chardonnay aged in oak or stainless steel, you can find a Chardonnay that’s right for you. Our goal is to prove that during The Chardonnay Symposium, slated for July 2010. Follow our blog for the latest developments.
2.) PINOT NOIR
We can’t get enough of the balanced Pinots from the SMV. There are a variety of styles throughout the area but one quality is found throughout Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noirs; they are food friendly. For many wine drinkers, wine is a part of daily life and enjoyed with dinner. It’s for this very reason that we are so proud of our food friendly wines. Occasionally you’ll find a wine that should be enjoyed on its own but most of our Pinots are extremely complimentary of a variety of foods, especially Thanksgiving Turkey. Need more ideas for Thanksgiving food and wine pairings? Check out this post by food and wine expert Laura Mohseni.
3.) EXPERIMENTATION
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah may be the most popular varietals in Santa Maria but our winemakers love to experiment with many different varietals. Take Ken Volk, for example. It has been said that he works with as many as 60 different varietals. At any given time he can be selling wines made with 2 dozen different grapes. If you’re a big fan of obscure wines visit his tasting room and try wines such as the Cabernet Pfeffer.
4.) GROWTH
The Santa Maria Valley Wine Country is growing. We’re so happy to welcome CORE wine company’s new tasting room to the wine trail. Stay tuned throughout the year for news about Presqu’ile Winery off of Clark Ave (not yet open to the public). They have big plans for their future label and we can’t wait to try their wine. We’re also excited that Wine Country, the popular wine, beer and cigar tasting room from Los Olivos will be moving to Orcutt. Check this blog throughout the next year for news about all of the new wineries and tasting rooms in Santa Maria.
5.) HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS
The best discount of the season is probably the Wine Christmas Passport. Not only do you save up to 70% off of wine tasting fees but we’re giving away raffle tickets for every 2 bottles of wine that you purchase for the holidays (or for your wine cellar).
Another quick and affordable way to buy holiday gifts is to purchase a case of wine (and reap the reward of the case discounts offered by most wineries). Some wineries go beyond the average 10% discount and make a case discount impossible to pass up. Stop by Cottonwood Canyon on Black Friday and save 50% on case purchases of 2003 Bistro Zinfandel and Non-Vintage Bistro Chardonnay!
6.) COMMUNITY
One of the best reasons to live in Santa Maria, besides the great wine, is the community. Santa Marians support each other like one giant family. We are thankful for all of the support we have received from both businesses and individuals throughout the valley. In order to give back to our community, we have decided to give a portion of proceeds from our events (Wine Christmas Passport, The Chardonnay Symposium) to the Marian Foundation and the Blochman Union School District (the wine country’s school district).
7.) LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
The Santa Maria Valley is only one of two East-West transverse valley on the whole west coast of North and South America, making it one of the most unique AVAs in the world. The transverse orientation accentuates cooling maritime influences from the Pacific Ocean, creating an average temperature of 64 degrees, with high temperatures rarely reaching above 75. Because the Valley is situated at its particular southerly latitude, an extended growing season (125 days on average) allows Santa Maria Valley to produce intensely high quality fruit.
8.) EVENTS
Nearly every weekend there are a variety of winery events to attend. There are Friday Night Wine Downs at Costa de Oro and Cottonwood Canyon, special food and wine pairings at Riverbench, art shows at McKeon-Phillips, “Bring your own burger” nights at CORE wine company, farmer’s markets at Cambria and much, much more. For a complete list of events in the wine country visit the SMVWINES calendar.
9.) FRESH, LOCAL PRODUCE
There are numerous ways to pick up fresh produce for the holidays (or for any meal). There is a Farmer’s Market at Town Center West across from the Santa Maria Town Center Mall (Broadway near Main Street) on Wednesdays from 12:30-4:30pm and in Orcutt on Bradley and Clark on Tuesdays from 10am-1pm.
Did you know? Santa Maria produces 10 million boxes of strawberries annually, which are transported to supermarkets all across the United States.
For juicy Santa Maria strawberries check out Darren’s Berries on the corner of Stowell and Highway 101′s northbound exit. You can buy them by the flat or half-flat. Don’t wash them until you’re ready to eat them and keep them spread out in an airtight container. That way they’ll last at least a week (or more)–IF you can refrain from eating them all in two days. Better yet, make strawberry jam for the winter months!
Check out this blog post about Santa Maria Strawberries.
10.) SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media has allowed us to reach out to fans of SMV wines throughout the world. We love hearing from you and sharing what we’re learned with you. There are so many ways to be involved with wine online. We’re planning on starting monthly online wine tastings in 2010 (stay tuned) as a way to share our wines with those across the globe. You can also keep in touch with us through Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Flickr, Snooth, Open Wine Consortium, and many more wine websites. Just search each site for SMVWINES or click on the links above.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
Riverbench’s Halloween Candy + Wine Pairing Tasting
Halloween has come and gone but you still have that leftover bag of mixed Halloween candy in your cupboard. Want a great way to entertain guests without baking a dessert for the occasion? Why not use your leftover Halloween candy and pair it with wine for a truly memorable tasting? During the weeks before Halloween, Riverbench Vineyard and Winery created a candy-centric tasting menu with wine pairings in honor of Halloween. Try theirs or come up with some of your own:
2007 Bedrock Chardonnay + Lemon Starburst
The clean and refreshing tastes of the Bedrock Chardonnay brings out the crispness fruit flavor from the Starburst.
2007 Estate Chardonnay + Candy Corn
Candy corn, another seasonal treat, has a strong buttery vanilla taste and a creamy texture. The Estate Chardonnay pair well with the honey and vanilla flavors while its light oak doesn’t mask the candy corn goodness.
2006 Reserve Chardonnay + Twix or Reese’s
The rich creamy texture of the Reserve Chardonnay stands up nicely to the thick caramel or peanut butter and chocolate combo of Twix or Reese’s.
2006 Estate Pinot Noir + Caramels
If caramels are your Halloween weakness, our pairing choice for the toastiness of caramel and butterscotch is the Estate Pinot Noir. The acidity of white wines should stand up well to the sweetness of caramel.
2006 Reserve Pinot Noir + Assorted Hershey’s Miniatures or Snickers
The old standby of Halloween candy, the bag of Hershey’s miniatures, receives a fun new lease on life when it’s paired with the Reserve Pinot Noir. Because this wine is red, and thus has a slightly fuller body, it’s not overwhelmed by the chocolate, which can be difficult to pair because of its thick, mouth-coating texture. Best of all, it handles Special Dark and Krackel with equal aplomb.
In The Vineyard: October 2009
October 15, 2009: The 2009 harvest season has been full of interesting weather changes. September began with record breaking heat and for many growers got harvest off to a feverish start. Prior to the heat, Pinot Noir grapes were steadily maturing and we saw mixed vine response to the heat. At some vineyards, sugar accumulation in the fruit increased rapidly while corresponding decreases in acid levels were not seen. This gave us growers and winemakers an important decision to make; can the sugar/acid levels come back into balance in the days following the heat spike or do we need to harvest before sugar levels rise beyond standard quality parameters?
Winemaker discussions I have had can be summarized with mixed results. Overall, the Pinot Noir quality looks to be good and depending on vineyard, there is potential for some outstanding wine lots now in barrel.
Chardonnay in the Santa Maria Valley coped with the heat better in most accounts than did the Pinot Noir. I have only heard exciting reports about Chardonnay wine quality and this is no surprise seeing and tasting the fruit as it left the vineyard. The Chardonnay vines were in a better condition during and following the heat, allowing growers to hang the fruit for an extended period. The increased hang time brought the fruit back into phenologic balance, and subsequently the wines are showing great character.
The recent October rains were much more of an overall benefit than detriment to us growers because of the recent drought years and in my opinion marked the virtual end to harvest. We do still have late whites and reds in the field, but the changing weather has put all remaining varieties on the harvest list.
This exciting harvest season “in the vineyard” will most surely result in some of our most impressive and anticipated wines in the bottle.
Jim Stollberg manages vineyards for Hampton and Maverick Farming Companies in the Santa Maria Valley. He can be reached at (805)310-9322 or jim@maverickfarming.com.
Welcome to the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country
Search for any major city on the web and you will come across hundreds of blogs detailing the food and wines of that region. If you search for Santa Maria Valley wine you will discover mentions in many blogs but few blogs that focus specifically on wines from the region. The Santa Maria Valley is well known among certain circles as a premiere spot for wines such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Among other circles the area is best known as the home of “Santa Maria Style BBQ.”
Our goal is to provide a resource for the latest news about the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country including events, new restaurants and wineries, and the latest deals for the wine country traveller or local shopper. Just like any blog, we can use your help. If you have a great Santa Maria wine review, a terrific discount on wines, a local event to share, or if you just want to tell us about your favorite part of the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country; we’ll listen. Send your news to info (at) smvwines (dot) com. For more information about the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country you can visit www.smvwines.com.
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