Sanford Winery - Santa Barbara California

In Sideways, Sanford is where Miles goes immediately on entering Santa Barbara. He praises this winery as having the best pinot noir in the area, and explains how the cool fogs help the pinot noir to grow well.

This is one of the more quiet wineries in the region - off the beaten path, surrounded by vines and hills, very rustic. If you go mid week, it's the perfect place to hang out on the porch, sip your wine, and enjoy the quiet of nature.

In the movie the owner was on hand, with his cowboy hat, to pour the wines. In real life, the tasting room is manned by quite friendly and helpful assistants.

We began with the 2004 Pinot Grigio. This had a nice aroma, with a crisp, citrus flavor and a hint of peach. It's all done in stainless steel, and you can taste that in the wine, with its fresh flavors. $17.

The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc was lovely with fresh herbs and a nice flavor. This would go nicely with Asian style spices. $13.

The 2003 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay had gentle, soft fruit flavors, with good balance and crisp finish. $17.50.

Of course, we were really waiting to see how the pinot noir was. We began with the 2004 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir - a blend from their 3 vineyards. This had great flavors of black cherry, plum, clove, and gentle tannins with a soft finish. Quite lovely and complex. $26.

The final wine is the 2002 Pinot Noir from the singel vineyard of Sanford & benedict. This is the oldest vineyard here, planted back in the early 70s. It had great flavors of cherry, raspberry, oregano, and sage with a delicious finish. It could even age for another 5 years or so to develop further. This was well worthy of Miles' praise! $43.

Steve Fennell is taking over as winemaker here, having come from 12 years in Napa Valley. It'll be interesting to see how the wines change under his guidance!

Sanford Winery Website
Sideways movie review

Santa Barbara California Wineries
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