News Archive-April 2004 to Present

Gabes View by Gabe Saglie, November 2009   Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards 2007 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay Santa Barbara County, CA – While discovering new wineries is terrific, I like to balance that with a look at releases from producers that I have found to be reliable over a period of time. Lucas & Lewellen is one such Winery. I became aware of them a few years ago when some selections from their sister label Mandolina were featured over at woot.com. I’ve come to like not only their wines but also the value they represent. Today I’ll look at one of their current releases of Chardonnay. This fruit for the 2007 Lucas & Lewellen Chardonnay is sourced from their Goodchild and Los Alamos Vineyards. Both of these are located within the Santa Barbara County AVA. This selection is 100% Chardonnay. Fermentation was accomplished in stainless steel. 1,002 cases of this wine were produced and the suggested retail price is $16. A combination of orchard and stone fruit aromas waft from the nose of this Chardonnay. Both pear and apple intermingle throughout the palate, with the pear notes leading the way. Hints of lemon pudding kick in about midway through and carry through the finish which is lengthy and also features baker’s spice and a hint of white pepper. This wine has excellent acidity and will pair well with a variety of foods. A cheese and fruit plate would be a particularly excellent match. If you’ve read this site for any length of time you’ve probably gotten the drift that over-oaked Chardonnay is something I have particular disdain for. I don’t mind some oak, but I’m always wary when approaching a Chardonnay. No need for concern here as this offering is made in Stainless Steel. The fruit here is so fresh, so gloriously sumptuous that I’m glad there was nothing in the way to detract from those wonderful flavors. This is another excellent value from Lucas & Lewellen, once again they over deliver on price point.     Santa Maria Times, Autumn 2008   Vine Damage Hit-and-Miss from Early Frost, by Mike Hodgson, Associate Editor Santa Barbara County, CA –  An unexpectedly early frost as the grape harvest heads into the final stretch has resulted in hit-and-miss damage, with vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley apparently suffering more than those in the Santa Maria Valley. Temperatures on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights dipped into the 40s in many places, 30s in a few, and even as low as 26 in isolated areas of the Santa Ynez Valley, with the coldest readings occurring on different nights in different locations. But the short duration of the unseasonably cold weather probably limited the damage, said Guy Tingos, deputy commissioner with the Santa Barbara County Agriculture Commissioner’s Office.  “Usually, brief temperatures going down around 30 or so don’t hurt,” Tingos said.  “Most of the grapes are harvested anyway.” Some growers said they are done or nearly finished harvesting, especially the white varietals, although some such as sauvignon blanc are still being picked.  But a lot of red varietals – especially the Italians – are still on the vines, and while the potential for damaged grapes has some growers scrambling to get frost-burned fruit off of the vines, a few are waiting to see if they suffered damage. “Some winegrapes were damaged, but we pretty much just finished up, although there are a few blocks we’re still harvesting,” Greg Phelan, manager of Solomon Hills Vineyards and Winery, said Monday afternoon. Phelan said the worst cold hit his vineyards early Sunday morning. “Some places certainly got burned by the frost,” said Kevin Merrill, vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management in Santa Maria.  “I know if you did have damage, you want to get the grapes off (the vines) in three or four days.” Merrill said most of the damage likely occurred in the Santa Ynez Valley, which is usually “the cold spot.” “Certainly around Santa Maria, I don’t think they were hurt too much,” he said. Louis Lucas of Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards in Solvang said some of his vineyards were hit pretty hard, although the Solvang fields seemed to have the fewest problems.  “We got burned at all the ranches,” he said Monday, noting the temperature at some of the fields dropped down to the 26-29 degree range Saturday night. But he said he picked some petit syrah Monday morning that was “absolutely perfect.” “I don’t think we’ll lose any more grapes,” he added.  “But you can’t tell (how much they were damaged) until a few days after the frost.  You can see a deterioration in the fruit, and the stems go limp.  You can pick the fruit, and you pick as fast as you can.” He noted that if the frost had struck two weeks ago, a lot of the grapes would not have been ripe enough to pick. “If you’re going out and picking grapes that are green and not ready – you can pick them, but they don’t make very good wine.” Lucas said an early fall frost is a complicated issue that goes beyond just damage to the grapes that have yet to be picked, extending to the foliage and the vines themselves. “When you lose the foliage, you lose the mechanism that gets the grapes ripe,” he said.  “But you need a frost in the fall to clean up the wood.  You need the foliage to fall off so you can trim back the vines. But with a frost the second week in October, it’s not good for the vines because they go dormant too early,” he added.  It’s not very much help.” Lucas said protecting the vineyards from frost at this point in the harvest is also difficult.  “Usually, in the spring, you use water – a lot of water,” he explained.  “but now you’ve got grapes on the vine, so you can’t use water.  The grapes will rot if they get too wet too often.  And if you use a lot of water, the ground soaks it up and dilutes the grapes.  “And who keeps his reservoir full at today’s energy costs when you don’t expect to water?” he said.   He also said netting placed over the vines to protect the grapes covers the sprinklers as well, preventing them from rotating even if growers try to use water to protect against the frost. “So it’s a complicated issue,” Lucas said.  “It’s not just a matter of ‘Oh, you got frost, so your grapes are damaged.”   Touring and Tasting Magazine, Summer 2008     Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, Touring and Tasting's Featured Winery Santa Barbara County, CA – Originally from the Central Valley of California, Louis Lucas is one of California’s premier grape growers. He literally grew up in the business. His father, the son of Croation immigrants, was a leading table grape grower in California before him. Today, Louis is recognized as an innovator and master at utilizing a variety of sustainable growing practices and techniques. His vast knowledge and viticulture experience span over 35 years, making him a sought-after speaker, consultant, and advisor. Royce Lewellen, who spent his career as a highly-respected Superior Court Judge, embarked on his latest venture in 1996 when he teamed up with Louis Lucas. With their long-time love of wine, Louis and Royce set out to produce the finest wines in Santa Barbara County. Since joining forces the duo has acquired premium wine-producing properties and catapulted themselves into the wine business, now boasting their eighth vintage year. Their vineyards are located in the three principal wine grape regions of Santa Barbara County: the Santa Maria Valley, the Los Alamos Valley, and the Santa Ynez Valley, which allows the team to utilize three different climate zones unique to Santa Barbara County’s coastal weather patterns. “Since the winemaking process starts in the vineyard, all of our grapes are estate grown, hand-picked, and hand-selected,” notes Louis. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay anchor the varietals, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot. Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Malvasia Bianca, and cool climate Viognier round out the collection. Louis and Royce Lewellen Knowing that Italian varietal grapes make great wine, Lucas & Lewellen created the Mandolina label specifically for their Italian varieties, including Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, and Muscat. “The Italian varietals are the most exciting thing we’ve done in 30 years,” says Louis. With the growing popularity of their “Cal-Itals” (short for California-Italian), Lucas & Lewellen opened the Mandolina tasting room in Solvang, just a short block away from the Lucas & Lewellen tasting room. Mandolina’s Cal-Ital vineyards are located in the moderate climate of Los Alamos in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country, where a Lucas & Lewellen winery may someday be found. Grown by Louis and expertly crafted by Megan McGrath, these Santa Barbara grown, Italian variety wines are worthy of their distinguished heritage. “Most consumers are not as familiar with the Italian varietals as they are with those from France,” adds Royce. “The Mandolina brand is our way of helping the consumer to become acquainted with these world-class wines.” With two tasting rooms and a state-of-the-art winery, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards is enjoying the fruits of its labor. The winery is making changes in the vineyard to enhance the Pinot Noir program, focusing on limited lots to highlight the purest characteristics of the varietal, while also concentrating on Bordeaux varietals. Recently, Lucas & Lewellen has welcomed Winemaker Megan McGrath and Cellar Master Drew Horton to the team to apply their talents and experience in crafting 27 unique estate grape varietals into the exceptional wines of Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards. The Lucas & Lewellen tasting rooms promise visitors a memorable wine tasting experience right in the heart of Solvang.

The Valley Journal's Valley Scene, November 16, 2007

Lucas & Lewellen's 4th Annual Harvest Party
By Leanne Cooper-Elliott

Buellton, CA – Lucas and Lewellen rang in the fall grape harvest on Nov. 10 with the 4th anniversary Wine Club Harvest Party at their wine-making facility in Buellton.  

Lompoc, CA – One day in the late 1990s, when Santa Barbara County was evolving into the world-class wine region it is today, two longtime friends had lunch in Santa Maria.

The men had first met in 1976 as members of the Santa Maria Rotary, when one, grape grower Louis Lucas, presented a program on European wines to the club.
 
The other, then newly appointed Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Royce Lewellen, to this day remembers Lucas' presentation and his enthusiasm for grapes, as well as the science of growing them.

Lucas is a pioneering grower; his grandfather, mother and aunts all were grape growers, mostly of table grapes in California's Central Valley.

“Louis had been growing grapes all these years, while I was a judge and an attorney,” Lewellen said during a recent interview.

Lewellen said his first contact with the local wine industry came when he represented the Firestone family as it opened the county's first winery. He also collected wine.

“I had a lot of red Bordeauxs and a lot of cabernet sauvignons from Napa and Sonoma counties,” Lewellen said.

Over the years, Lucas and Lewellen and their respective families shared more than a few bottles of good wine, and, as the years passed, more of that good wine came from vineyards in Santa Barbara County.

Flash forward to that lunch date in Santa Maria in 1996. Lewellen had been formally retired from the bench since September 1990 but continued to work on various court assignments in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, he said.

Over a meal at Chef Rick's, Lucas made Lewellen an offer the former judge couldn't refuse, and “when lunch was over, I was half-owner of 88 acres in Los Alamos and 100 acres of the Goodchild Vineyard,” Lewellen recalled with a wide smile.

The rest, one could say, has been history, as Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards has grown into one of Santa Barbara County's top wineries, with more than 60 employees, two Solvang tasting rooms, more than 10 varietals of wine and multiple awards - both for its wines and the grapes it sells to other winemakers and wineries up and down California.

Some of those local wineries are McKeon-Phillips, Rusack, Sunstone, Rideau, Brophy Clarke, Dan Gehrs and Shoestring, Lucas said.

“We sell half the grapes we grow and keep the other half,” he said.

Sources of the grapes

Lucas & Lewellen wines come from three vineyards: Valley View in Solvang, Goodchild, near Sisquoc, and Los Alamos.

The latter, having since grown to about 300 acres of vines, is the owners' largest site; it is where they grow the Italian varietals that comprise Mandolina Wines, Lucas & Lewellen's second label. Mandolina has 12 varietals.

The former owner of the Los Alamos vineyard brought cuttings of high-end varietals from Italy and planted them there, along with various vegetables, Lewellen said.

He and Lucas, believing Italian varietals would eventually gain a strong foothold on the Central Coast, kept the Italian theme in the Los Alamos vineyard, and it's paid off.

Pinot grigio is one of the hottest wines on the market today, thanks to Italians having marketed it heavily, Lucas said, adding that another Mandolina white, malvasia bianca, is also very popular with consumers.

At a Lucas & Lewellen winemaker dinner in April, Lucas told participants the Mandolina line “gives people the Italian experience. The wines, particularly pinot grigio, are very food-friendly, and one can see that the Italian wines can be accepted into the mainstream.”

That evening, every course of the meal was paired with Mandolina wines.

Where it all starts

Having grown up with grapes, studied soils and plants across Europe and California and supervised vineyards for more than three decades, Lucas knows how winemaking starts in the vineyard.

During the course of one afternoon with Lucas, one can learn about many of the factors that make a vineyard grow award-winning grapes.

Lucas detailed how critical irrigation is for the warmer Central Coast vineyards; the day of the interview was during the season's first heat spell.

This year is an extremely dry year, and in order to keep the bloom uniform, irrigation will be a key element in the current crop, he said.

So will the vines' leaf and shoot removal, timed so that each plant on any row gets the same amount of sunshine at the same point on any given day.

“It's all about, in order, climate, soil and the care of the grapes,” Lucas explained.

Back in the 1960s, Lucas made a lot of bulk wine and “shipped it on to other winemakers. I wanted to encourage this area's growth.”

Some of those winemakers included ZD, a label that was one of the first helping to make a name for Santa Barbara County grapes, he said.

Another to use Lucas-grown grapes was Jed Steele, whom Lewellen called the first winemaker for Kendall Jackson. Steele was the first to use a vineyard-designated chardonnay, Lewellen explained, and those grapes came from Lucas & Lewellen's Goodchild vineyard.

In those early years, “we here in Santa Barbara County had to begin to prove ourselves by variety,” Lucas said. “The Santa Maria Valley, for example, became known for its chardonnay and, of course, its pinot noir.''

At that time, Santa Barbara County wasn't particularly known for cabernet sauvignon, Lucas noted; in general, it simply wasn't hot enough here for the grape to thrive.

But as the years passed, growers learned that if the Santa Maria Valley was indeed too cool for cabernet sauvignon, vineyards in warmer areas, namely Sisquoc, Westerly and Happy Canyon, were quite suitable.

At the time Lucas purchased the Valley View vineyard, part of it contained cabernet sauvignon. Rather than assuming it would fail, Lucas took a chance on the varietal.

The 1997 Lucas & Lewellen Valley View Cabernet Sauvigon was the partners' first release.

“That Valley View cabernet sauvignon turned out to be quite good!” Lewellen said, noting the wine still drinks well 10 years later.

Another early release was the 1999 Lucas & Lewellen Dolcetto from Los Alamos and a chardonnay from the Goodchild vineyard, Lewellen noted.

In those first years, Lewellen recalled, when the price and demand for grapes wildly fluctuated from year to year, “we had to be prepared to make our own wine if we couldn't continue to sell all of our grapes.”

Finding a home

Early on, Lucas & Lewellen made its wine at facilities owned by Arthur Earl, Bridlewood and Rusack. But eventually, the need for more space and the partners' desire for more control over the final product necessitated more expansive quarters, Lewellen explained.

“In 2001 and 2002, we were making our wine at Arthur Earl's facilities, and we overwhelmed them with our crop,” he said.

It was time to relocate.

In 2002, the same year Lucas & Lewellen opened its tasting room and offices on Copenhagen Drive in Solvang, the company relocated production to a 20,000-square-foot site in Buellton, and 2003 was the first vintage produced at the new facility.

“We wanted to consolidate, and the stainless steel tanks and (access to) barrels for topping off make the necessary constant monitoring” of the fermenting and aging wines much easier, Lucas said.

In 1999, Daniel Gehrs joined Lucas & Lewellen as winemaker and remains onboard today as a consultant, Lewellen said.

In 2006, Lucas & Lewellen hired Megan McGrath as assistant winemaker. McGrath, a graduate of Midland School, Cal Poly and the University of California, Davis, has returned to her roots.

Reflecting on his current role at the company, Lewellen, a resident of Santa Ynez with his wife, Ann Foxworthy, former president of Allan Hancock College, grinned.

“The most fun for me is driving around in the vineyards with Louis and sitting down with Dan, Megan and Louis to taste the wines,” he said.

Ten years after they started, the goal of Lucas & Lewellen's proprietors remains the same.

“Making small lots of wine is our goal, still. That involves lots of tasting, sampling and comparison of a lot of wines,'' Lewellen noted.

Both men emphasize how far Santa Barbara County wines have come in the decade they've been vintners.

“All around us, there's a lot of good wine. And Santa Barbara County is right up there,'' Lewellen said.

Lucas, who by his own admission spends many hours in the vineyards studying the vines and the soils in which they grow, said the result of all that hands-on work “is nice and affordable wines. Our goal is to make wines that people enjoy.”
 

Santa Barbara's Wine and Dine Magazine, Summer, 2007

Gabe Saglie

Santa Barbara, CA – I'm rolling up my sleeves and flexing my biceps as I write about this wine.  You haven't seen the words "petit verdot" written on all that many wine labels.  One of the classic five Bordeaux varieties (along with its less-rare counterparts merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and malbec), this is usually a blending grape; it's densely rich colors and flavors are, too often, too much to earn a bottling all its own.  Until, that is, famed grape grower Louis Lucas took a sip of this wine as it was prepped for blending.  "I couldn't believe how good it was on its own," he says.  And from that serendipitous sip came a very limited bottling of a burly, brawny wine that still manages to offer up delicious flavors of black stone fruits, dark berries, toasted caramel and fresh spice.  This wine's generous yet elegant tannis do require you give this wine some air (decanting suggested).  Medium-rare Porterhouse steak anyone?

Santa Barbara Wine & Dine: Andrew Moore for Gabe Saglie, Spring, 2007

A Sparkling Wine Primer, Beauty in Bubbles
By Andy Moore

Solvang, CA – Ah, Champagne.  As Napolean once said, "In victory, one deserves it.  In defeat, one needs it!" 

What we in the U.S. call "sparkling wine" cannot really be called "Champagne," unless it is produced in the Champagne region of France.  The process, Methode Champenoise, is almost like an exact science: after the primary fermentation used for creating still wine has taken place, a small amount of sugar and yeast is added to the wine in the bottle.  A cap temporarily seals the bottle and a second fermentation takes place, resulting in the trapping of carbon dioxide in the liquid; and so those famed bubbles come to life.  During this period, the bottles are turned, or "riddled," by hand or machine daily, eventually finishing in a virtually upside-down position.  Sediment collects underneath the temporary cap, which is then "disgorged" from the bottle to fit the permanent cork.  Voila!  Vous avez le Champagne!

At last count, the Wine Institute found that Californians each consume 1.4 bottles of sparkling wine or Champagne each year, which one must assume is driven by birthday parties, New Year's Eve celebrations, weddings, and occasions for romance.  Back in medieval times, this type of wine was used as a celebratory beverage, beginning with the completion of the cathedral in the town of Reims, in France's Champagne region, when the wine became known as "the royal wine" after it was taken up by the king's court.  Historically, one lucky monk by the name of Dom Perignon is credited with the accidental discovery of bubbles in wine.  He was the cellar master in charge of making sacramental wines for the Benedictine Monastery near Reims.  Legend has it that upon this discovery, he exclaimed, "Come brothers, I'm tasting stars!"

Sparkling wines can be found in varying degrees of sweetness, ranging from very dry (natural), dry (brut), and slightly sweet (extra dry), to sweet (sec and demi-sec).  Methode Champenoise demands they be made using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes in varying combinations.  "Blanc de Blancs" is made from white grapes (Chardonnay) and "Blanc de Noir" is made from red grapes (Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier).

Sparklers out of Santa Barbara County are far and few between; it's an arduous process that demands expensive equipment.  But we at Lucas & Lewellen have taken on the challenge a few times over the years.  Our latest release, the 2004 vintage, is made from 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir from our Los Alamos vineyards.  As is customary, these grapes were picked at a slightly lower sugar level than if we were picking them for a still wine (at around 18 degrees Brix).  The challenge of making our sparkling wine was met by Eileen Crane, winemaker at Domaine Carneros in Napa, who saw our grapes arrive by truck.  The wine was released just in time for Christmas 2006 and continues to be a big hit even with purist Champagne drinkers at our tasting room in Solvang.  They tell us delightedly that it has just the right amount of tiny bubbles!

Andy Moore is the tasting room manager at Lucas & Lewellen's stellar locale in Solvang.  One of the first people to teach this magazine's editor the basics of Santa Barbara wine many years ago, he's easily recognizable behind the tasting bar thanks to his dapper English accent and dependable cheer.  Editor's Note: A Lucas & Lewellen sparkling wine was teh bubbly of choice at my wedding, and to much acclaim.  Since sparkling wines from this producer (and from Santa Barbara County as a whole, for that matter) rarely come along, their 2004 Brut Sparkling Wine is sure to be a sellout.  Buy it for $28 at www.LLWine.com or through the Lucas & Lewellen Tasting Room, 1645 Copenhagen Dr. in Solvang.  805.686.9336.

The Beachwood Voice: Rona Edwards, Spring, 2007

Santa Ynez Valley - A Few Hours Away and you're on Vacation!

To begin, book two nights at the Wine Valley Inn. This hotel is the best deal in town with fifty-six guestrooms and six cottages. Managed by Sandra Hallmann, who has won awards for customer service, and located off the main drag in Solvang, it offers packages that make it almost unbeatable in affordability. Try the Dinner and Welcome Package, which includes a basket of goodies, a bottle of wine, along with a dinner voucher for two at Angelica’s restaurant. All rooms include a continental breakfast. The prices vary with Sunday through Thursday offering exceptional deals. With these packages, you have a choice of a fireplace deluxe room or a Chateau loft suite. In all, the Wine Valley Inn offers ten diverse packages. The cottages, however, with their Old-World appeal, have fireplaces and small kitchens, some with outdoor private Jacuzzis. If you can upgrade to the cottages with their private gardens and a Koi pond at your front door, I would strongly suggest it. Once your lodgings are set, plan what wineries to visit.

"Wine, like a painting, requires a little mystery…" —Edgar Degas

Wine is passion, friendship and good times. Open a bottle of wine and it transforms from the first taste to the last drop hours later; some wines are valued by their age, while others need to be imbibed young. Grapes are delicate and go through a long cultivation before that bottle arrives at your table. With nearly 100 wineries to choose from, log on to the Santa Barbara Vintner’s Association’s website which lists an in-depth description of all of them in the region. It’s interesting to note that many of the wineries in this area produce Pinot Noirs, fullbodied Syrahs, Chardonnays and Viogniers (a favorite of mine). Most offer a flight of wines from $5 - $10 and you keep your glass as a souvenir. Plot your journey according to regions, which are all very close to each other.

For example, drive through Foxen Canyon, a real country escape. Start at the end, with a visit to Rancho Sisquoc—an out-of-the way rustic winery—work backwards to Foxen and dip into their Jerry Garcia-style tasting room. Foxen Canyon has eighteen wineries on its picturesque route. Head to Los Olivos, a quaint town with an abundance of wine tasting rooms from some twenty wineries. Have lunch at the Los Olivos Café, by far one of the best restaurants in the area that serves wine-friendly food in a jovial atmosphere. After eating, walk down the country-western promenade; stop by the different tasting rooms including Carina Cellars for its iconoclastic Viognier.

Another day, head over to historic Santa Ynez, a charming town of western wear and tsotchke shops. Try the Chicken Parmigiana Pannini at Volare’s. Chef Oronzo Rosato is excited to share his food and expertise, revealing that he imports a number of items from his Italian homeland. Stop by Artiste, billed as an impressionist winery and tasting room with unique gift items and equally unique blends of artisanal wines. We loved First Dance, along with the beautifully painted wine label by artist Daniel Baylis, one of six artists that inspire second-generation winemaker Bion Rice to produce his inventive impressionist cuvee wines.

On your last day, tour Solvang. Check out Mandolina, a tasting room owned by Lucas & Lewellen whose winemaker Daniel Gehr creates Italian-style wines. Their Dolcetto is a full-bodied zesty red wine that will warm you down to your toes, and their tasting room, reminiscent of Italian hospitality, offers unique gifts. A number of wineries offer their club members (free to join with a commitment to buy wine shipments) events throughout the year. We experienced Lucas & Lewellen’s Valentine Wine Dinner, held amid the barrels at the winery where a fivecourse gourmet meal, paired with their fabulous wines, made the evening very special. We sat next to Royce Lewellen, a former Santa Barbara County judge, now partnered with Louis Lucas in 400 acres of vineyards in Santa Barbara County. Royce and his lovely wife Ann took us on a tour of some of those vineyards and explained how the valley has grown to be one of the premier places for growing grapes. Royce’s partner, Louis, who tirelessly checks the vines, always looking for ways to improve them, joined us at the tasting room, pouring us some delectable Chardonnays and a remarkable Cabernet Franc. It becomes apparent how passionate they are about their wine, which consistently wins awards, striving to make each season surpass the last.

Lastly, drive towards the Santa Rita Hills. Melville winery, with its Tuscan-style tasting room, has beautiful scenic views and mouthwatering Chardonnays, and though famed vintner Richard Sanford lost his namesake Sanford Wines, you won’t be disappointed with his latest creation, Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyard where Pinot Noir is king!

Hungry? Aside from what’s already mentioned, don’t miss the famous Hitching Post where meat is the name of the game. Santa Maria BBQ—known for its savory red oak flavour—is what makes their prime beef taste so scrumptious. Owned by Frank Ostini, the wines—especially the Pinot Noir Highliner—are a highlight. Chef Brad brought us an appetizer plate of Grilled Artichoke, Quail and Yucatan Sweet Potatoes. Our main dish was Lobster Tail cooked over the red oak with a Filet Mignon seasoned with their "magic dust." Extremely tasty! With so many eateries and only so much space, feel free to email me at the Beachwood Voice for any other suggestions or check out my blog www.oursideoftown.wordpress.com. Santa Ynez Valley is also home to Mission Santa Ynez, wine festivals and events all through the year. From June to October, enjoy the Solvang Theaterfest under the stars. You’ll never be bored. But the best part about vacationing here is you can plan a lot or just a little and still feel content. Driving home, we were satiated, rested and our minds were clear, ready to get back into the city, knowing that we had a three day respite of food, wine and country roads.

Solvang, CA – Lucas & Lewellen 2004 Vintage Brut, $28: The "peppery" and "savory" Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape blend was a big hit.  The wine had the color of "polished silver" and I liked the apricot smell and effusive bubbles.  Others found it "citrus-y, with a consistent and lingering taste" and "Champagne-like - mild and medium".  Of Note: While the grapes are grown on the Central Coast, they're then sent to a northern neighbor, Napa, to be transformed into the sell-out Vintage Brut.  According to co-owner Royce Lewellen, "Producing a good sparkling wine in an expensive and involved process...but a good bubbly is worth the hassle!"

The Croation Chronicle: Chronicle Focus, Dec. 16, 2006

Meet the Earthly Creator of the Drink of the Gods

By Mary Bumbak

Solvang, CA – Nestled in a picturesque Danish city on Copenhagen Drive are two lovely wine tasting rooms, Lucas & Lewellen and Mandolina. Both are co-owned by a Croatian-American, Louis Lucas, a sought-after speaker, consultant and advisor because of his vast knowledge and viticulture expertise which spans over 35 years. Lucas has sold wine grapes to many wineries over the years including Sebastiani, Korbel, Chateau Montelena, ZD, Wente Brothers, Ridge, Callaway, Bargetto, Kendall-Jackson, Robert Mondavi, Steele, Rusack, Fess Parker, Sunstone, Dan Gehrs, Austin Cellars, Foxen, Sanford, Viansa, Fiddlehead, McKeon-Phillips, Rideau and Bonny Doon.

Louis Lucas (original family name Kukuruzović) was born in Fresno, California to Croatian-American parents, with an ethnic background from Lika, Vis, and Dol. His family later moved to Delano, California, which is a well-known farming area populated by many Croatians. A typical Croatian-American growing up, Louis celebrated Saint’s Days, went to the Croatian social club and spent Sundays with his family at his grandparents' home.

In Delano, where Lucas' father was a leading table grape grower in California for decades, Lucas' love for grapes flourished. Since then Lucas has been away from viticulture for only a short time when he attended college at Notre Dame where he received a degree in finance and business economics in 1963. It was there that he received the nickname, Dirtman,which still sticks to this day.  According to Lucas it was given to him by his friends because he is a “man of the dirt.”  Several years after returning from college, Lucas decided to leave Delano and seek cooler climates where wine grapes flourished. In 1970 he formed Tepusquet Vineyards with his brother George and partner Alfred Gagnon to become one of the first commercial wine grape growers in the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. It was during this period that he decided to conduct extensive research by traveling abroad for two summers, studying the best 27 vineyards in Europe. His research, along with what he had learned from his father, led him to go against conventional wisdom ”by planting more vines per acre, adapting trellis systems to fit specific varieties, and instituting suckering, hedging, thinning and leaf removal programs.” It was,” claims Lucas, ”the best decision” he ever made in the early 70's.

As the 1980's approached, a shift began to take place in the wine industry as a whole. Chardonnay was on its way to replacing Johannesburg Riesling and Lucas adjusted to this shift by converting most of his vineyards from Cabernet, Merlot, and Gamay Beaujolais to Chardonnay (keeping only the Pinot Noir). He also planted another vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley of Santa Barbara County, where he instituted the ‛Geneva Double Curtain’ trellis system for his Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. Geneva Double Curtain, which can be found throughout Dalmatia, is the idea of elevating the vine off the ground with a large open canopy.

Lucas' current venture, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, has once again placed him at the top of his class. In 1996 he joined forces with retired Superior Court Judge Royce Lewellen from Santa Ynez.  With two of Lucas' existing vineyards, together they acquired several premium wine producing properties. According to Royce Lewellen,”I could not have gone into this business with a better man than Louis Lucas. I don't have time in my life to do anything that is not first class or to deal with people I don't trust. I trust Louis.”

Now with over 400 acres and 24 varieties of grapes in three different climate zones of Santa Barbara County – the Santa Maria Valley, the Los Alamos Valley and the Santa Ynez Valley - Lucas & Lewellen are winning many prestigious awards and moving full steam ahead with future endeavours in the works. Lucas & Lewellen plans to use their grapes to produce 500 to 600 cases of sparkling wine and to produce a Croatian Chardonnay in a couple of years.

Whatever their endeavours, Lucas has a simple philosophy - he hand picks selected grapes to “make very nice wines at a somewhat reasonable price.  ”That is why it is no surprise to see visitors at the Lucas & Lewellen and Mandolina tasting rooms on any given day buying wine by the cases. Along with the high quality wine, visitors are treated to two different ambiances in the tasting rooms which are located on one of the most popular tourist streets in California.

Featuring rich and full-bodied reds and fine white wines, the Lucas & Lewellen tasting room, voted “The best tasting room in the Santa Ynez Valley” by readers of the The Santa Ynez Valley News, features landscape paintings on the wall and a picture of Lucas with his great-uncle in the vineyards on Vis, and welcomes visitors with a homey feeling. The Mandolina tasting room on the other hand provides a warm, intimate Tuscan ambiance, in which it showcases estate grown Italian varietals including Pinot Grigio, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Moscato, Sangiovese, and the ever-popular super-Tuscan blends of Bordeaux and Italian varietals.  Both rooms also feature a variety of gourmet foods, lovely gifts and unique wine related items.

As modest as they come, Lucas is a really down-to-earth individual who obviously loves what he does. Which brings us to his other passion: race horses. Lucas and his brother race their horses in Los Alamitos, California. According to Lucas their passion comes from their grandfather who was from Lika.  Never too far from what he loves doing, Lucas can be frequently seen in his tasting rooms talking to visitors or carrying cases to customers' cars. A vast majority of his time is also spent giving lectures or consultations on grapes, since he is known throughout the Santa Barbara region as a guru when it comes to grapes, although he would never admit to that.

For more information about Lucas & Lewellen vineyards or to purchase their wine please visit www.llwine.com.

The 2003 Toccata is an elegant marriage of varietals in a wine with classical styling. Bordelaise nose and a distinctively Tuscan palate distinguish this blend. This soft wine's density evolves over the course of the bottle. Expected to soften a bit more over the course of the next five years or so, but very good right now. Recommended with hearty and savory dishes or barbecue.

A blend of 35% Sangiovese, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Freisa, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, the component wines were aged for 18 months in new French oak, blended and aged another four months in new French oak.

The 2003 year was marked by climatic trials and tribulations in some regions. Some growers reported early bud break (January), rain during fruit set and August heat. At harvest time, temperatures became moderate. Despite the ups and downs, the resulting crop was one of particularly dense and flavorful fruit.

Lucas & Lewellen sources the fruit for this Super Tuscan from their Los Alamos Valley Vineyard. Over a mile long, and running along Highway 101 south of Los Alamos, this vineyard is planted with Rhône, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Italian varieties. Some of the vines, originating from cuttings brought over from Europe, are 25 over years old. The fruit from this vineyards is highly sought-after by many winemakers. Lucas & Lewellen also grow Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in the lower elevations of the south-facing Valley View Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA. Total Lucas & Lewellen acreage in Santa Barbara County exceeds 400 acres.

Daniel Gehrs is the wine maker for Lucas & Lewellen. He has over 30 years of experience making wine in Northern and Central California. In 1997, he departed from his position as winemaker at Zaca Mesa and resumed his consulting practice in Santa Barbara County while continuing his own label. It is his understanding of the importance of careful vineyard practices in the production of fine wines that made Louis Lucas seek out Gehrs for the position of winemaker. He has been on board since 1999.
 

Santa Barbara News-Press by Elizabeth Werhane

"Pruning Event a Hands-On Experience for Wine Lovers"  Good wine is a reward, not an entitlement.  This philosophy served me well at my first pruning party. Lucas & LewellenVineyards and Winery debuted “Prune a Row with the Dirtman” at Valley View Vineyard on Jan. 28th, taking agritourism to the next level.  The Dirtman, winery co-owner Louis Lucas, played teacher, simplifying his 58 years of pruning experience.  Five other Lucas & Lewellen staff members were on hand to see if the experiment would be a success. Mr. Lucas himself is a lesson in making the most out of your real estate.  When he purchased the 38-acre Valley View Vineyard, it had 15,000 vines on it.  Today it has 44,000. Some pruners were armed with their personal shears and gloves, ready to tackle the tangle of vines.  Others were tentative such as Brianne Cassetta, who admitted, “I’m kind of intimidated.”  But the University of Southern California student, who had made the drive to do research for her senior thesis, was making bold cuts before long with the help of vineyard foreman, Dan Iness. I was shy with my shears.  I grew up with a garden, but I feared even watering wrong.  And a bad experience with some children’s safety scissors and my own bangs had already taught me what Mr. Lucas pointed out: “Once you cut it off, you can’t grow it back.” “I was a judge for 20 years, making decisions every day,” co-owner Royce Lewellen said.  “But these guys are making decisions every five seconds.” The process was a reminder of how many variables ultimately contribute to the quality of the grapes before they ever reach a winery.  For example, Mr. Lucas considers how much fruit each vine should support and how the pruning will affect the vine the following year.  “We have to think about the crop that we want or need,” Mr. Lucas said.  An experienced pruner probably spends about four minutes per vine, he explained.  Remember: Valley View Vineyard, Lucas & Lewellen’s smallest vineyard, has 44,000 vines.  Tasting Room manager Andrew Moore, Assistant Tasting Room Manager Lisa Petersen, and Wine Club Manager Anjie Park executed the event. They passed out the shears and then rewarded the workers with glasses of wine postpruning. They broke the wine club mold of winemaker dinners and bimonthly shipments of wine.  The wine industry is a pairing of agriculture and hospitality, and the Lucas & Lewellen team made the combination quite palatable. After deciding which canes and spurs would make the cut, the paying guest indulged in a catered lunch in the vineyard.  I think wine tastes even better when you’re sitting on a hay bale among the vines you just worked on. Most of the participating pruners were wine club members, and many were valley residents.  Jim and Patti Atwater are members of five valley wine clubs.  They receive regular shipments from Foley Estates, Gainey Vineyard, Andrew Murray Vineyards, Babcock Vineyards, and Lucas & Lewellen. Not to be outdone, valley residents Peter and Tenley Fohl reported six memberships: Sunstone Vineyards & Winery, Foley, Buttonwood Farm Winery, Foxen Vineyard, Rusack Vineyards, and Lucas & Lewellen.  The couple, who met and got engaged at Foxen, said the pruning event was unique to their wine club experience.  “Not many events do you get to see the guts of it,” Mr. Fohl said. Mr. and Mr.s. Fohl adopted a vine, which they named “Cheerfohl,” as part of the winery’s innovative new program. For $75, participants could select and name the vine they wanted to adopt.  Mr. Lucas told them when it was planted and what type of grape it was – all of which was included on an adoption certificate.  The adoption fee also covered a bottle of wine, two tickets to next year’s pruning event, a phot of the new parents with the vine and quarterly growth charts, among other benefits.  Eleven vines were adopted.

Santa Barbara News-Press by Michael O'Shea

"Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards' 'Super Tuscan' to the rescue" The good wines of Lucas & Lewellen as well as their Mandolina brand just keep on coming.  The current releases are no exception, and I’m especially impressed by the Mandolina Toccata Riserva, 2002 ($32).  This is what’s called a “Super Tuscan” – a blend of Italian and French Bordeaux varietals.  In this case, it’s a marriage of Sangiovese, Freisa, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  Sangiovese (the classic varietal of Italy’s Chianti) and Cabernet Sauvignon are the primary players in this blend.  The wine displays a deep, rich burgundy color, and its palate impressions are of dark plum, tea, truffle and earth.  Its surprisingly bright acidity contributes to its very clean and “Energizer Bunny”-like finish that keeps going and going.  A key reason for the impressive portfolio of Mandolina and Lucas & Lewellen wines is winemaker Daniel Gehrs.  He’s producing his own namesake line of wines as well, and I’m looking forward to sampling his latest releases soon.

Santa Barbara News-Press "Legal Eagle Turns Attention to Wine"

By Frank Nelson Amid relentless media coverage of the Michael Jackson child molestation court case, many stories mentioned that the trial was taking place in Santa Maria’s Royce R. Lewellen Justice Center. The connection is not one that Mr. Lewellen, now a retired Superior Court judge, particularly relishes, though having something as permanent as a building named after him does underline his contribution to the North County legal profession. But as well-known and respected as he is in legal circles, since his retirement Mr. Lewellen has carved a second career that seems likely to guarantee him even greater name recognition. In 1996 he joined forces with pioneer wine grape grower Louis Lucas. Today they have three vineyards – on Foxen Canyon Road in the Santa Maria Valley, Hill Haven Road in Solvang and alongside Highway 101 south of Los Alamos. Lucas & Lewellen also operates two tasting rooms a few doors apart on Copenhagen Drive in Solvang, while the names of its founders are blazoned side by side on around 30,000 bottles of premium wine each year. Descended from a long line of grape growers, Mr. Lucas and his brother George bought 800 acres in the Santa Maria valley in 1970 and planted their first vineyard. For many years he trucked his crop north to major winemakers such as Mondavi, Beringer and Kendall Jackson who were turning Santa Barbara grapes into gold medal-winning wines. Just a year or two after Mr. Lucas started, Mr. Lewellen, then a lawyer based in Solvang, had his first brush with the county’s fledgling wine industry when he represented one of the early purpose-built wineries, Firestone, before the planning authorities. "I remember being very impressed by the passion of the people in the wine business," he recalls. A few years later he met Mr. Lucas in Santa Maria, and the two became friends. Over lunch with Mr. Lucas one day in February 1996, Mr. Lewellen agreed to pay between $300,000 and $400,000 to become half owner in two vineyard blocks – 88 acres in Los Alamos and 100 acres on Foxen Canyon Road. He says the money came from a truckline company started by his father in their home state of Missouri. He and his brother-in-law had continued with the business until Mr. Lewellen sold his share to jump into grapes. Soon his investment was going into more land, fresh vine plantings and, in 1998, the first Lucas & Lewellen-made wine. It was an unexpected career choice for Mr. Lewellen, born 74 years ago in St. Louis. He grew up in Missouri, where he distinguished himself at high school in athletics and as a bassoon player, even being offered a music scholarship. The son of a lawyer, Royce Rutledge Lewellen says it was always accepted that he would follow the same path. However, he took an indirect route, graduating from the University of Missouri in 1952 and then, with the Korean War underway, serving two years with the Air Force based in the Mojave Desert. From there he went to UC Berkeley to study law, graduating in 1957 and coming to work for Arden Jensen for a year in Solvang. Later he had his own practice before becoming an associate with Zel Canter, now a Superior Court judge. While working in Solvang for nearly 20 years, Mr. Lewellen immersed himself in community affairs. He was president of the Solvang Business Association (now the Chamber of Commerce), president of Rotary, chaired the committee for building a new Presbyterian church, and was on the committee that built the Solvang Festival Theater in 1973. He helped start a foundation to support the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, based at Allan Hancock College’s Marian Theatre, and to bring PCPA performances to Solvang in the early 70’s. A longtime benefactor of the college, Mr. Lewellen – twice divorced and with three sons from his first marriage – married just-retired Hancock President Ann Foxworthy about a year ago. In 1968, while continuing as an attorney, he was appointed to the Solvang Justice Court, where he dealt with misdemeanors, traffic offences and other minor matters. Seven years later, when a vacancy occurred in Santa Maria, he was elevated to the Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown. Until his retirement almost 15 years later, he adjudicated pretty much everything, including several murders, rapes and a rash of child abuse cases. He had one death penalty case, and as far as he knows, the man is languishing on death row; another man, sentenced to 24 years in a sex abuse case, was later found to be innocent, freed after serving seven years and now lives in Buellton. Mr. Lewellen says he saw all kinds of people in court. "A few were innocent, most were guilty, but they were all human beings. For the most part they responded well to being treated with respect, courtesy and fairness. I think they are entitled to that." While delivering justice, he also tried to keep in mind the financial burden of the state. "Warehousing people in prisons is a horrible waste of money, a huge drain on resources," he says. "To sentence a 60-year-old man to life for petty theft is not in the best interests of taxpayers." Although he formally retired on his 60th birthday in 1990, he continued to hear cases for another seven years as a judge on assignment – filling in where needed all over the county and worked privately in arbitration and mediation. He left that life behind when he teamed with Mr. Lucas in a business that has expanded to almost 400 acres of vines, grows two dozen varieties of grapes and harvests around 1400 tons of fruit. They still sell roughly half that tonnage. The rest goes to make wine, some of which is sold in bulk while the remainder produces 25,000 cases of their own brand. "We make more Chardonnay than anything else but also Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc," says Mr. Lewellen. Lucas & Lewellen is also known for an unusual number of wines from Italian grape varieties. A year ago it opened a second tasting room in Solvang, this one exclusively showcasing the company’s Mandolina label Italian wines. The company’s entire range is exceptionally good, according to wine writer Michael O’Shea. "I’ve never met a Lucas & Lewellen wine I didn’t like," he says. "They have earned a certain reputation in the wine industry and among consumers as consistent and dependable. That is, consistently and dependably very good. The value for money in many Lucas & Lewellen wines is about as good as it gets." Mr. Lewellen, who describes Mr. Lucas as a "grower without peer" and heaps praise on winemaker Dan Gehrs, says he has become more actively involved in the wine business than he ever intended. "I keep doing things that fall between the cracks," he says, citing everything from administration and regulatory matters, to brochures, labels and the winery web site. Oh, and Mr. Jackson? Although he did not attend any of the Jackson trial, Mr. Lewellen was impressed by the way Judge Rodney Melville, and old friend, handled the case. "He did a wonderful job," says Mr. Lewellen. "I also thought the jury and (Santa Barbara County District Attorney) Tom Sneddon acquitted themselves well. The system worked."

The Santa Barbara News-Press by Michael O'Shea

The dirty little secret about Santa Rita Hills Not too long ago, Clos Pepe winemaker Wes Hagen told Atlantabased wine and food writer Jane Garvey, "The dirty little secret of Santa Rita Hills is that we’re still figuring out what we’re doing, but we’re making killer wines in the process. When we grow up, nothing’s gonna stop us. We’re still babies."    That kind of fresh, wide-eyed, youthful, optimistic, rock ’n’ roll outlook is what sets Santa Barbara’s wine industry apart. While Napa stagnates in its brass-buttoned blue blazers, our guys (and girls) are having a blast in blue jeans and T-shirts — preferably red wine-stained and worn for a week or two in the cellar. No stagnation here! If fermentation is an evolutionary process, then fermentation in our valley reaches beyond the tanks and barrels and into the creative minds of industry professionals like Hagen and many others.    And that creativity, spontaneity and exuberance spills over to the valley’s food professionals, as well. Speaking of Napa, Patrick Rand, owner and executive chef of Patrick’s Side Street Café in Los Olivos, commented to Garvey about Santa Barbara’s wine industry, "I think it’s about to overtake Napa." Wouldn’t it be nice if the reputation and respect could rival Napa’s, while that region’s traffic, commerciality, stuffiness and arrogance stay 400 miles north?     • • •    Did I say that? This past Sunday, in a story about retired Judge Royce Lewellen, half of the Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards ownership team, News-Press writer Frank Nelson quoted me as stating: "I’ve never met a Lucas & Lewellen wine I didn’t like. They have earned a certain reputation in the wine industry and among consumers as consistent and dependable. That is, consistently and dependably very good. The value for money in many Lucas & Lewellen wines is about as good as it gets."     That might be the first time I’ve been quoted accurately and, indeed, verbatim by a fellow journalist. Frank hails from "across the pond," as they say, and seems to be a straight-shooting journalist. (Must be an inborn quality, and one that keeps me listening to BBC news regularly.)    I must say I put myself, and Lucas & Lewellen, on the spot a bit with my strong endorsement. That’s why I was a bit nervous this week as I tasted the three new wine samples I received from Colleen Thompson, the winery’s public relations and marketing whiz. Would they pass muster? Yes, indeed.    The Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, Viognier, 2004 ($19), would be equally at home on a hayride or by the fireside. It reminded me of Kathy Buffington, a junior high sweetheart who combined a mellifluous come-hitherness with class and intellect. I agree with winemaker Dan Gehrs’ description of this wine as showing a palate profile of apricot, honey and grapefruit. Its spicy, lively yet rich character yields to a very clean and flavorful finish.    Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, Syrah, Santa Barbara County, 2002 ($22), offers rich, vibrant aromas of berry jam and spice balanced by a layer of oakiness. A lovely perfuminess resides in the layered flavors. Quite wellstructured, this Syrah should age nicely for several years.    Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, Petite Sirah, 2002 ($26), is a dark, rich, velvety wine exuding dark plum and dark berry jam aromas joined by a hint of tobacco. The flavors of dark berry, pipe tobacco and leather are deep, textured and succulent.

Wine Institute's "Sustainable Winegrowing Practices", Spring 2005

California Vintners Share Notes on Adopting Sustainable Practices: Managing Soil at Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards Louis Lucas is a viticultural pioneer in Santa Barbara County and a third-generation grape grower who has been farming grapes for 40 years. Vintners statewide have sought out his grapes for award-winning wines, so in 1996, Lucas and his partner Judge Royce Lewellen started Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards. They grow 25 varieties on 400 acres with nine different trellis systems. Though the estate was already using most of the best practices in the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing workbook, Lucas found reviewing the book to be useful. "It's an all-inclusive, well thought out book that stimulates thinking," says Lucas. "The workbook is a reminder of things that we should be doing. It shows how winegrowers have been the leaders in sustainability." The workbook's soil management chapter resonated the most for Lucas, as it reflects what he is doing with his vineyards including: attention to proper PH; adding amendments such as limestone, gypsum, potassium, copper, zinc, borum, and phosphorus; use of green manures and green waste compost; growing a cover crop of natural clovers and weeds instead of the barley and vetch that he once used for erosion control. Lucas also adds nutrients in the drip irrigation system and uses foliar nutrients sprays. He gathers information to learn about the soil's water-holding capacity and erosion potential. He applies a pesticide to the vines only when he has to, but he uses pesticides containing natural compunds that won't leave chemical traces. "Soil is only as good as its weakest point. Fertility is critical for healthy vines, which are more resistant to pests, diseases, and drought," says Lucas. Winegrowers are quality minded, he explains, because their products have brands, often with their names on the labels.

The San Diego-based road trip flick, "Sideways," was somewhere in the back of my mind as Amy and I headed up the 5 toward the Central Coast area, with its small waterfront towns and gazillion wineries.The plan was to find some quiet place, sip wine and mull life's meaning. Then, we'd drive the coast to Morro Bay, view "the rock," eat fresh ocean goodies, and maybe hop up to Hearst Castle.Highest on our schedule were meandering afternoon walks and lazy sunsets. Here's how it went.

Wineries and more

The Santa Ynez Valley is a Sunday driver's dream. Quiet roads stretch through rolling hills laced with white-fenced horse farms and thousands of acres of grape vines. At times, the view opens to bright blue fields of lavender.Several small villages bunched together in the valley are flush with hotels and restaurants. Solvang, Danish in architecture, food and traditions, is the most popular stay-over choice, and Los Olivos is a get-away-from-it-all haven. We followed the movie script and stayed in Buellton, a town of maybe 3,500 people.

Wine tasting is easiest in Solvang and Los Olivos. Because vineyards are spread throughout the valley, wineries conveniently locate their tasting rooms in these towns. Los Olivos, with high-facaded wood-framed shops, is right out of the Old West. You know you are in horse country when you see a beautifully groomed sorrel, of the kind usually seen in shows, pulling a tourist surrey.

Davy Crockett (aka Fess Parker) likes this place so much that he built his four-diamond Wine Country Inn smack-dab in the middle of town. Parker's inn is top-drawer for a stay-over and certainly not a bad place to eat: Its Vintage Room Restaurant has received the Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for the last two years. Another restaurant regarded among the best in the valley is the Los Olivos Cafe. This is a particularly good place to try wine from small local wineries.

But the reason to visit Los Olivos goes beyond food and drink. The town is five miles from the freeway and a universe away from modern hubbub. Stroll down the main street, and you walk back years into simpler times. Not a soul is hurrying anywhere. The horse and buggy looks perfectly in place on the quiet main street. This is a place where you can leave the scurrying world behind without having to resort to a tent and Coleman.

Solvang is a bit more bustling. Amy went ga-ga over the shops: antique shops, curio shops, souvenir shops, pastry shops, shop shops ---- and what do you know, a new battalion of wine-tasting rooms. Thank heaven the tastes are small.

We were in Solvang on Wednesday ---- farmer's day ---- and purchased fresh-picked Satsumas and navel oranges at the street market. We visited the Lucas and Lewellen storefront and tasted a very nice petite syrah reserve. Then, we moseyed over to the Mandolina tasting room, and there in this Danish-inspired town, we sampled Italian wines and listened to Norma, with her lilting Irish accent, tell stories about her journey from Limerick to New York, then California. I think it was Norma who mentioned that there was an Indian casino five minutes down the road.

The evening

Wined and relaxed during the day, we found the Chumash Casino to be a nice evening wake-up. This large casino, with its four-diamond resort hotel, features 24/7 gambling on a 90,000-plus-square-foot gaming floor. There's free live music and, for the price of a ticket, some big-name entertainers. We chose to spend a pleasant few hours sliding quarters into video poker machines as we made our donation to the Chumash tribe.

Later in Buellton, we visited the Hitching Post II, the restaurant/wine bar locale that supplied many of the key scenes for "Sideways." We sat where star Paul Giamatti sat when he declined a modest proposal made by pretty Virginia Madsen. Stupid man.

Good conversation goes with good wine, and the Hitching Post II is the place for both. Restaurant owner Frank Ostini, barkeep that night, was a friendly and knowing guide as we wended our way through the wine list, then settled on a local varietal. The buzz about Central Coast pinot noir coaxed us to sample the fare. It was more than fare, it was very good. We tried the restaurant's own Hartley-Ostini wine, and my taste buds, geared to $8 a bottle stuff, were in vineyard heaven.

We asked Frank about the movie. He said a guy who used to visit the restaurant-bar announced he was writing a story, and the bar and a waitress were in it. The manuscript became a movie and the Hitching Post II became a film location. To prepare for her role as the waitress, Virginia Madsen would prowl the kitchen and serving area to learn the setup. Frank, true gentleman that he is, took her and co-star Sandra Oh for a tour of his winery. Later, he was invited to New York for the movie premiere. I've talked to bar owners before and never particularly envied their work, and then I met Frank Ostini.

Morro Bay and 'the rock'

Like many of the places we visited on this trip, Morro Bay is definitely not into 21st-century stuff, and that's what makes it charming. This is a town with a one-movie cinema and a small line out front for the afternoon show. We were drawn to the small shops and restaurants that rim the bay. Rose's Landing, overlooking the water, offered avocado egg rolls and a salmon burrito that we had to try. The wine here was a pleasing syrah from the Edna Valley Vineyard, about 15 miles up the road.

Food and drink came after we had strolled the downtown and harbor, seen the signs offering deep-sea fishing trips, and watched local commercial fishermen dock their boats. We'd also hiked along the foot of "the rock," Morro Rock, a giant half-egg mountain of stone that looks as if it were sprung full-blown from the mind of Dr. Seuss. Sitting dockside at Rose's, I kept looking out at this 576-foot-high piece of stone that looms over the harbor, wondering how it got there, whether it was for real, or whether it might be some alien, ready to lift up on crab legs and start moving toward me. About that time that I switched my drink from wine to iced tea.

Hearst Castle

Our nice hotelier made us early-morning reservations for Hearst Castle, giving us the freedom to spend most of the day there. If you live in this state and haven't been to the castle, go. If you have been, read "Citizen Hearst" by W.A. Swanberg, then go again. Just the final 20-minute ride from the sea-level visitor's center 1,600 feet up to the castle is worth the trip. The views of the ocean and mountains are unbelievable.

William Randolph Hearst, the Rupert Murdoch of his day, spared no expense in building his castle. And "castle" is the right word, even though Hearst called it his "ranch." Ranch houses, from what I know, aren't usually 165-room, 90,000-square-foot edifices with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. For a ranch house, you don't usually import ancient Egyptian sculpture or ancient Greek vases or the finest Carrara marble for Greek-revival statuary or what seems like half of a medieval church to furnish the dining hall and billiard room.

Ranch houses don't have inlaid gold leaf on their ceilings, door frames, floors and everywhere else. And ranchers don't usually have their own private airport and 250,000 acres of land (50 miles of which were coastline) where imported elk, ostriches, zebras and who knows what else still roam. I could go on, but really, you have to see it.

This three-day road trip was to be our down time. We were counting on afternoon wine, leisurely walks and lingering sunsets. We got that and much, much more with time in the valley, time on the coast and time in an opulent castle. All we needed to do was go "Sideways" from San Diego.

This is shaping up to be a busy weekend indeed for local wineries, restaurants and caterers. Today through Sunday, winery members of the Foxen Canyon wine Trail will be holding their popular “Christmas on the Trail,” while tomorrow and Sunday the Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country Association wineries will be celebrating “Holiday in wine country.”
Each group promises that its $25 “passport” will reward participants with wine tasting, gnoshing, schmoozing with winemakers, discounts on wine and gifts, and logo glasses.

The impressive list of participating wineries includes Andrew Murray, Bedford Thompson, Byron, Cambria, Chimere, Cottonwood Canyon, Curtis, Fess Parker, Firestone, Zaca Mesa, Arthur Earl, Artiste, Bridlewood, Buttonwood Farms, Daniel Gehrs, Kahn, Kalyra, Los Olivos Vintners, Lucas & Lewellen, Mandolina, Morovino, Presidio, Rideau, Royal Oaks, Rusack, Stolpman and Sunstone.

Just the other day, for example, I could have sworn a bottle of Mandolina Toccata Riserva, Santa Barbara County, 2001 ($32), sent this thought: “Try me now, Michael.” I had sampled the wine nearly seven months ago and found it to be rather one-dimensional and hot, though I noted at the time that it opened in the glass and, perhaps, needed time to mature.

Without gloating on my perceptive observation, I’ll just say that the Toccata Riserva is now a lovely wine indeed. Vivid ruby in the glass, it displays equally vivid aromas of cherry, chocolate, pepper and wet granite. In the mouth, it’s fresh and sensuous, rewarding with flavors of luscious black cherry, faint oak vanillin, stone and spice that linger into a lengthy, clean finish.

This is a “Super Tuscan” –style wine, having been blended from both traditional Italian and French Bordeaux varietals. In this case, the composition includes 45 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 35 percent Sangiovese, with a little Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Freisa thrown in for good measure.
Apparently responding to the same telepathic command as our wine columnist, tipplers enjoy the “Super Tuscan” offerings at Mandolina.
Now, if only our world’s heads of state could be as genuinely compatible and congenial as their respective countries’ wine varietals….
Visit: http://newspress.com

“We just hit the ground running,” said Colleen Thompson, the operations manager for Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, describing how she helped grow the business from the ground up. “It’s pretty amazing where we got to in four years,” she said.
The latest step was 0pening Mandolina, the winery’s newest tasting room at 1665 Copenhagen Drive.
The establishment serves as a classy gathering place for locals to visit, chat with the friendly staff, and relax. And of course the same holds true for visiting wine fans.
“The social aspect is why so many people want to be part of the wine culture,” says Thompson.
She attributes the business’s success not only to the quality of the wine, but to the personalities of its staff, who are “people our customers like to come in and have fun with.”
Norma Leahy, assistant tasting room manager, is a good example, charming customers with her Irish brogue and chipper attitude. The former airline hostess settled in the Valley after many trips from Northern California to sample the region’s wine offerings with her husband.
“We must be the only Dublin Vikings in Danish Solvang,” Leahy says with a laugh. Leahy busies herself helping customers who perch on straw-seated wrought-iron chairs cozied up to the handsome custom-made scorched copper bar.
Part of the bar’s charm is its Tuscan style. “It gets a lot of attention; people love it,” notes Thompson, pointing out that “Tuscan styles are very much in.”
The afternoon light streams in the west-facing window, casting a glow on the tasting-room walls, apple-green above, and below, faux-painted to resemble ancient stone from a Tuscany villa.
And the items stocked also strongly reflect the Tuscany area: In addition to wine glasses and fancy corks and corkscrews, wine baskets and bags, the shop also offers kitchen items, cookbooks, biscotti and biscotti containers, garden ornaments, plenty of items for visitors and locals to choose from. The arrangements are set with space enough to allow buyers and browsers through without knocking anything over, including the orchid filled vases.
Mandolina celebrated its Grand Opening in July. Putting a tasting room “right up the street” from Lucas & Lewellen’s other tasting room “is unheard of,” said Thompson. But there was a need for the daring move, since the first one is so popular, she said. A wine-tasting room in Solvang was a novelty when Lucas & Lewellen went in, now Mandolina is one of eight such establishments.
It works out well for local businesses too, said Thompson, who sits on the chamber of commerce board. “One of the fun things we do is have a walking tour of Solvang,” she said, where some of the nicer restaurants provide hors d’ oeuvres to complement the local vintages. The quarterly event is “always sold out,” said Thompson, serving about 250 people. And, she’s happy to report, most of them are from the Valley. “Locals usually avoid Solvang,” Thompson said. But that has changed. “The wine culture has really drawn the locals back to town.”
A wine tasting and wine-related business in a Danish community might seem incongruous, but Solvang is surrounded by some 70 wineries, and thousands of acres of premium vineyards. With so many local wineries, it’s a natural.

With that oh-so California combination of ocean spray and mountain ranges, scenic Santa Barbara County wine country hits its stride.
If there’s anything the vintners of Santa Barbara County can agree on, it’s what makes their region special: the vast Pacific Ocean spreading along the county’s coast.
But even a casual visitor can see that the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges also have a lot to do with making Santa Barbara grapes unique.
“ The two ranges run east and west,” notes award-winning local winemaker Jim Clendenen. Clendenen — who owns Au Bon Climat winery and has an avid following in Atlanta — traces his personal history in Santa Barbara winemaking back to the 1970s.
He adds that the valleys formed by these ranges act as conduits to the cool ocean air, balancing out the warm days and making for ideal slow-ripening conditions. Louis Lucas of Santa Barbara winemakers Lucas & Lewellen agrees, but says it’s still the ocean that does the heavy lifting. The county really is a peninsula, he says, and its 50-mile shoreline is the longest east-west shoreline between Alaska and Cape Horn. Both Lucas and Clendenen were here when the wine industry first started booming in Santa Barbara— and both have learned a lot since then.

The Heartland
Santa Barbara boasts four main growing areas, three of which are recognized American Viticultural Areas: Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Rita Hills. The fourth area, Los Alamos, is not yet officially recognized.
Santa Maria Valley is home to the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard, once a large land grant to the Ontiveros family. Bob Miller, who with his brother, Steve, owns the remaining 2,700 acres and has 800 acres planted to grapes.
Miller, whose family has owned the property since the 1970s, echoes Lucas when he recalls,“ We didn’t have a clue as to what would grow or what the market was looking for.”
But by the early 1980s, Bien Nacido was turning out good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Now the vineyard also has Pinot Blanc, Merlot and small blocks of Barbera, Tocai Friulano and Viognier. Winemakers who purchase grapes from Bien Nacido often proudly include specific block information on the labels.
Down In The Valley
Much warmer than Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley is home to a variety of recognized wineries, including Beckman, Fess Parker, Gainey, Verdad, Zaca Mesa, Firestone and its sister winery, Curtis — all currently or soon to be available most metro areas in the South.
Occupying a breathtaking spot overlooking the valley, Firestone now employs the winemaking talents of Kevin Willenborg. “It’s like middle Napa Valley,” says Willenborg, who worked in Napa Valley for 14 years. “But it changes. The north end of Santa Ynez Valley has trapped heat. Closer to the river, there are pockets of cooler air.” Santa Ynez is down to the 70s by evening, he says, while central Napa is still hot.
Heat-seeking Cabernet Sauvignon doesn’t usually work in this region, with one distinct exception — Happy Canyon. Bill Wathen, winemaker at Foxen Vineyards, thinks Happy Canyon (locally called Happy Valley) in the east end of Santa Ynez Valley is ideal for Cabernet. The 2001 Vogelzang Cabernet Sauvignon makes his point. Unfiltered and unfined, it’s a big, full-bodied wine that has lots of appeal, delicious fruit and some serious tannins. Whereas the rest of Santa Ynez runs between 70 and 90 degrees during the growing season, Happy Canyon can hit the mid-90s, he says.
Lovely Rita
Santa Rita Hills actually is a sub-appellation of Santa Ynez Valley, but soils and climate separate it from the east side. Its vintners include both established wineries, such as Sanford, and up-and-coming vintners, such as Clos Pepe. The latter, under the enthusiastic winemaking direction of Wes Hagen, points the way to the region’s future, with stellar Chardonnays (especially the Hommage à Chablis) and Pinot Noirs. He also produces excellent Syrahs.
“ The dirty little secret of Santa Rita Hills,” says Hagen, “is that we’re still figuring out what we’re doing, but we’re making killer wines in the process. When we grow up, nothing’s gonna stop us. We’re still babies.”
That statement sounds exactly like what the region’s pioneers went through back in the 1970s. Hagen notes that the 2002 vintage “took us to a place we didn’t quite deserve yet, but we were getting great prices per ton for the fruit.”
Lying between Santa Maria and Santa Ynez valleys is as-yet-undeclared Los Alamos, where Kendall-Jackson and Beringer have located their Santa Barbara vineyards. Home mostly to growers, Los Alamos is also becoming known for some excellent grapes.
Working Together
Santa Barbara also offers excellent dining and lodging facilities. Most restaurateurs focus on regional bounty and make special efforts to plan their wine lists around the region’s viticulture.
Patrick Rand, owner and executive chef of Patrick’s Side Street Café in Los Olivos, draws his wine list from his favorite producers in the county. His hanger-style steak with chimichurri (a thick Argentinean herb sauce) and grilled bok choy was perfect with the 2001 Russell Syrah from Santa Ynez Valley. Rand is nothing if not exuberant about Santa Barbara wines. “I think it’s about to take over Napa,” he exults, adding quickly that of course Napa has great wines, but the varieties planted are limited.
“ This wine makes my menu,” he says. “The passion [of Santa Barbara winemakers] drives my passion.” He acknowledges that he cooks for the wines rather than the other way around. “Recipes roll when I taste a wine and think, ‘What would I like to eat with this?’”
With its next generation of vintners emerging, and its innkeepers and restaurateurs eager to serve visitors, Santa Barbara County may be poised to give the folks in Napa a run for their money.
Jane F. Garvey is an Atlanta-based freelance writer devoted to the finer things in life, including food and wine.
Visit: http://www.winesimple.com

Just before Halloween, I ran into winegrower Louis Lucas over at Café Quackenbush in Los Alamos.
We talked about the 2004 harvest over Jesper’s tomato dill soup and fresh tuna salad sandwich.
“The fact it was an early season gave the grapes a chance to get ripe.” Louis told me. “There’s two ways to ripen the fruit,” Louis added, “the sun or the vine.” The vines got a “wake-up call” in March of this year with an early hot spell.
The summer months were even and reasonably cool until we got the heat spell Labor Day weekend.
Because the season was early, the fruit ripened pretty naturally on the vine, and a lot of fruit was ripe and ready to pick by Labor Day.
The early season in 2004 gave sufficient “hang time” for the fruit to ripen on the vine.
This harvest, crop sizes were not larger, and the clusters tended to be smaller, Louis told me, adding that the yields were “pretty much decent.”
Summarizing, Louis told me the 2004 harvest will be good; some wines will be affected by the Labor Day heat, and when I asked him to rate the vintage on a scale of one to 10, he gave it a rating of seven.
An early harvest, Louis said: “It’s Halloween, and I’m through. Usually we’re picking ‘til (Nov.) 15.”
Louis Lucas is one of the grape-growing pioneers of Santa Barbara County. He planted his first vines out at Tepusquet east of Santa Maria back in 1970.
My first experience with his fruit came in the form of chardonnay for the 1975, 1976 and 1978 vintages. Louis grew the fruit; the wines were made by ZD in northern California.
Legendary wines as I recall, and this Santa Barbara County fruit received more acclaim from drinkers and enthusiasts than the northern California fruit from Sonoma and Napa!
Lucas & Lewellen own about 400 acres with Goodchild Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, Valley View-the old vineyard owned by George Ott, east of Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley-and the old Carrari Vineyard just east of Los Alamos.
“These properties represent three distinct vineyards in the county,” Louis told me.
Goodchild, in the Santa Maria Valley, is in a cool region, where varieties like chardonnay and pinot noir excel.
“Valley View, where it’s warmer, produces terrific cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc,” he added. Then there’s the old Carrari vineyard with a plethora of Italian varietals.
Lucas & Lewellen have two tasting rooms in Solvang, The Lucas & Lewellen Tasting Room at 1645 Copenhagen Drive and their Mandolina Tasting Room at 1665 Copenhagen Drive.
Mandolina is their label for their Italian varietal wines.
Both tasting rooms are open daily from 11am to 6pm and Friday nights until 9pm.

Bon appetit!
*Wine lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the bucolic Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium. Los Alamos is home to two fine eating establishments-Cafe Quackenbush and American Flatbread.

Michael O’Shea welcomes your suggestions of comments. Mail your correspondence to PO Box 91623, Santa Barbara 93190, or email: writetomichael@hotmail.com

Andrew Moore can tell when Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards’ grapes are ripening by looking to the sky. When the telephone wires are heavy with birds, the vines are heavy with fruit.
Vineyard owners and managers know that when the grapes arrive, the starlings arrive – sometimes in groups as large as 1,000. Growers invest thousands of dollars on bird deterrents such as netting, noisemakers, traps and even falconers to protect their grapes through about two months when the fruit is ripe.
“They can eat every grape on your vine.” Said Jeff Frey, president and owner of Santa Maria-based Frey Farming. “I’ve seen that happen.”
Rob Murray, owner of Reserve Vineyard management in Arroyo Grande, said he’s seen birds ruin up to 1.5 tons of grapes per acre, which translates into a loss of up to $1,800 per acre.
Jonathan Nagy, director of winemaking at Santa Maria’s Byron vineyard & Winery, said the losses aren’t just the grapes that the birds eat. “The grapes are either totally pecked, or else even when there’s a little bit of bird damage, you can get secondary stuff like mildew.” He said.
The juices that trickle onto other grapes during a bird’s messy meal add unwelcome moisture. Frey said that reduces the quality of the grapes, sometimes causing vinegar rot and altering the grapes’ flavors.
Moore, tasting room manager for Solvang-based Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards, said some vineyards have lost 30 percent of their fruit to birds. His company’s grapes are protected with netting, which cuts off the birds’ access to the vines.
Netting can cost between $450 and $700 per acre, Moore said. Some netting can be reused for up to 10 years, but it also requires an initial investment of between $5,000 and $10,000 for a machine that helps install the netting each harvest season.
Many growers rely on fear tactics, hoping that startling starlings will keep them away. Techniques can be as low-tech as tin foil that makes noise when it moves in the wind or shiny ribbons of tape that reflect light in unusual patterns and confuse the birds. Some use propane canons that make booming noises, or balloons, kites and inflatable owls.
“A lot of times guys will just drive around on ATVs and scare the birds away.” Moore said.
The methods can also be high-tech, relying on inventions such as the Bird Gard, which issues digitally recorded bird calls through a sound system, or the Scarecrow, which banks on a system of cameras and robots that move over the vineyards on wires, producing bird distress calls.
Murray, however, fights fire with fire-or feathers with feathers, that is. He calls on falconer Tom Savory, owner of Fort Jones-based Avian Abatement Technology, and his Lanner Falcons to protect about 800 acres of the vineyards he manages.
“Falcons are a natural enemy,” Savory said. “What we do is intimidate the big groups of starlings.” Savory and on falcon can work 350 acres at once. The falcon spots a group of starlings and chases it until the birds have been scared about a mile away from the vineyard; Savory then calls the falcon to return to him.
“Not only is it economic, but our neighbors like it,” Murray said, explaining that noisy scare tactics can annoy neighboring residents. “We probably save 99.9 percent of the grapes.”
The falcon can see a bird on the ground from a mile away, Savory said, and the raptor’s natural instinct is to hunt. Sometimes the falcon will catch a starling, but Savory said he never takes the prey away. “I want to stay their friend, so they get to eat it.” He said.
Savory charges hourly, so the value can vary depending on the size of the vineyard. Savory said one of his nine vineyard clients reported that the cost averaged $9 per acre. Murray said his vineyards pay about $40 per acre for Savory’s services.
Other vineyards also try using the food chain to their advantage. Some post red-tailed hawk perches or owl boxes on the property to encourage the natural predators to keep nests at bay. But both species are more likely to prey on the freeloaders from the ground – such as squirrels, wild pigs and gophers-than on starlings.
Frey encourages natural methods to reduce the ground squirrel population. “It’s tough to keep those little boogers out,” he said.