Michael,
Would love to host you and help out any way that I can. Contact me at larry@tercerowines.com
I sent you an email a couple weeks ago, Larry. Didn’t get a response, so figured I gave you too much info…
I do have a day scheduled to swing by your place, as well as some of your neighbors (Oct 2).
Sorry about that - will double check and reply.
Cheers
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Just to follow up, we hit the following:
Ellie’s Tap & Vine - We really joyed it, especially Kathryn’s Filet au Poivre, which beat out the duck for dish of the night.
Nella’s - The pinsas were the star here, especially the special of sausage, mushroom and black truffle. So good we went twice for lunch.
Bar Le Cote - We managed to hit them on their opening week, but everything was stellar including food and service. The halibut wrapped in jamon was delicious. We brought a '10 Jobard Meursault En La Barre, and it was singing with the seafood dishes.
Gathering Table - The food here was good, but not special, and we had one of the most awkward, weird servers we’ve ever had. We heard rumors that the place is for sale, and maybe that explains the service and general malaise of the staff? One of a few restaurants where the staff seemed to have little knowledge of the local wines on the list.
Opal - Had a very nice meal here, focused on the wide variety of appetizers, especially loved the phyllo-wrapped shrimp and duck confit ravioli. Excellent service as well.
Jane - Good, but more like a good home-cooked meal without any special flavors or flourishes. Another place that wasn’t very helpful with the wine list.
Loquita - Very nice Spanish food here, and good cocktails. Wine isn’t their focus, but the apps and paella were all really good, although they could use more socarrat on the paella. One of a few places with lovely outdoor dining.
Bouchon - An excellent meal here for our anniversary, with every dish high quality, especially the duck. Great service as well, and a true sommelier who knows the list and steered us towards a '17 Chanin Bien Nacido Pinot that I had never heard of but really enjoyed with the meal. Always a favorite.
Toma - Another favorite of ours, it didn’t disappoint, with the squash blossoms and pastas all being standouts. Service is also top-notch here and the outdoor dining is set up very nicely.
We visited a few tasting rooms in Los Olivos and Santa Barbara, also:
Holus Polus - Super nice people and we liked all of the wines, but especially the Roussanne and Chardonnay.
Tercero - Very good across the board, but we really liked the roses, Verbiage Blanc, and the Gewurztraminer, which is dry, pretty and with good balance. Larry wasn’t in the day we were there so we stopped by to meet him on Sunday, and enjoyed his honest and fun insights on wine.
Storm - Good wines, but nothing special, the Sauv Blancs were our favorites.
Solminer - Same story here…nothing really exciting although the Gruner was pretty tasty.
Dreamcote - Weird wines…older roses that aren’t fresh, and some carbonic wines that should have been sold a few years ago. Carbonic seems to be a recent trend in the area, but many of the ones we tried at the various places were a bit thin and not really delicious. I don’t know if this is just a trend, but it wasn’t successful for most of the wines we tried.
Samsara - A good lineup, with the Chards and rose being our favorite.
Liquid Farm - I’d heard of this winery, but hadn’t tried anything. All the wines we tried were delicious, unique and balanced. I wish they were cheaper, but they are really nice.
Stolpman - They squeezed us in on what turned out to be their club tasting weekend, and we happened to be seated near Tom Stolpman, and it was so cool to hear him talk about the history of the winery and his interest in wine and give his insight on his wines. Always a good visit and we really liked the Chenin, Sangiovese and the Great Places Syrah, which was deep and delicious.
Folded Hills - Might be promising with time, as they are shooting for a balanced style, but the vines are really young and the wines all seemed a bit lacking in depth and finish at this point.
Kunin - Really nice across the board here, but especially loved the Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and the Pape Star Blanc.
Margerum - Sauv Blanc is always solid, as is the rose, but the others just seemed a bit boring.
All in all we had a wonderful trip and made some new discoveries. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions!
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