Food, Wine, Sand and Sun = Santa Barbara

A trip to southern California wouldn't be complete without a stop in Santa Barbara, home of many things beautiful including amazing Pinot Noir and incredible food.

With just a day in Santa Barbara, J and I wanted to make the most of our time once we arrived but we didn't know where to begin. We decided to start at the only place we knew in Santa Barbara, The Shoreline Beach Cafe, right on the water.

The Shoreline Beach Cafe is the only restaurant in all of Santa Barbara that you can actually dine with your feet in the sand and that's just what we did. We started off with one of our favorite warm weather drinks, a michelada. A michelada is like a bloody mary with beer instead of vodka and it is incredibly refreshing. It's salty, spicy, and very fresh. It's basically some tomato juice, some worcestershire sauce, some maggi or soy sauce, a dash of hot sauce, and squeeze of lime with a good light Mexican beer like Corona or Tecate. A peppered rim gives the drink a nice little kick.

And what's better with a fine Mexican cocktail than fish tacos? If you've been reading One Food Guy for a while then you know I love tacos, so when I saw these catch-of-the-day fish tacos my ordering decision was a no-brainer. Soft corn tortillas stuffed with freshly fried fish covered in fresh cabbage and cilantro with a side of pico, smokey, spicy black beans and a slightly spicy sauce. With the sun setting in front of us (we got a late start on the day,) an ice cold michelada in hand, delicious fish tacos in my stomach and a big ass pelican staring at us - what a perfect beginning to our day.

Our next stop in Santa Barbara took a little work. We were in Pinot country and wanted to taste some wines so I fired up Google Maps on my Crlackberry and before long we found ourselves at Carr Winery in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. They produce some seriously good pinot noir as well as syrah, grenache, pinto gris and cabernet franc. Tastings are available for $10 from 11am to 5pm everyday and Friday nights from 5pm to 11pm in the barrel room they have live music to go along with wines by the glass and bottle service. This place is worth checking out, trust me! If you like pinot noir you will really enjoy the pinot that Carr produces. J and I brought a few bottles home with us and are looking forward to uncorking them soon.

We made a couple more stops around Santa Barbara before heading to dinner. One at the Santa Barbara Winery, nice enough folks and decent wines but this place had TOURIST written all over it. It reminded me of the Newport Vineyards tasting room in Newport, RI where busloads of people are dropped off for tours and tastings - no thanks!!

Our last stop before dinner was at The Brewhouse, home of some fantastic Belgian style ales and an outstanding Habanero Pilsner! Yes, it's HOT but also very clean and crisp and well balanced. All this drinking certainly loosened us up and prepared us for a great dinner. Not only did my friend Gina tell us about Elements but the nice people at Carr Winery also recommended it, so that's we were headed. Stay tuned for my review of Elements Restaurant and Bar.

A Beaujolais Bust

I've become a big fan of great wines over the last few years and I'm willing to spend a little money for a great bottle of wine. With that in mind, I am still always looking for a good to great bottle of wine at an affordable price; one that I could consider an every day drinker. When I find a bottle under $10 that drinks like a bottle worth $20 or $30, I'll buy it all up. I've had this kind of success at Trader Joe's a few times over the last several years.

I also like try each year's release of Beaujolais Nouveau since it's priced under $10 and can be pretty good some years.

What is Beaujolais Nouveau?
Beaujolais Nouveau is a wine that's produced annually in the Beaujolais region of France. The new vintage is release on the third Thursday of November each year, regardless of when harvest took place.

The only grape used in Beaujolais Nouveau is the Gamay grape (Gamay noir Jus Blanc) and it must be handpicked; Champagne is the only other region that mandates handpicking of grapes.

The wine is produced using a process called carbonic maceration, or whole berry fermentation. This process results in a very easy drinking wine; one that is fresh and fruity and lacks the bitter tannins coming from the grape skins during a conventional crush. In the case of Beaujolais Nouveau, the time between picking and bottling can be as short as six weeks. Since the wine lacks the complexity and tannins of other more traditionally produced wines that can last for years in the cellar, Beaujolais Nouveau should be enjoyed during the first six months following it's release.

Some years the Beaujolais Nouveau is good, some years it's great, and other years, it's just plain crap. Lot's of factors determine how good a vintage might with the weather being one of the most influential. I'm not prepared to give you weather specifics from this region in France, but I was told at the market where I picked up the bottle a couple weeks ago that there were no serious weather issues that would have adversely affected the grapes.

On to the tasting - In my humble opinion, the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau falls into the swill category. I finally got around to opening the bottle over this past weekend. Expecting that it would be at least drinkable, I figured that for under $10 it could be a good enough drink for nights when I don't want to open something from my cellar. I couldn't have been more disappointed. This years wine lacks that fruityness which we all love in a Beaujolais Nouveau. It was juicy, like a young wine lacking tannins should be, but there was a metallic flavor that I couldn't get past.

I don't think I'll even cook with the wine left in the bottle - never cook with wine you wouldn't drink. If your looking for a fresh, fruity young wine, which Beaujolais Nouveau sometimes is, don't waste your time with this 2007 offering. I found it undrinkable. I'll give it a go again next year, but I'm done with the 2007 vintage.

Cheers,
One Food Guy

Virtual Wine Tasting @ Tastoria

Ever heard of DailyCandy? They describe themselves as "a free daily e-mail newsletter and website... the ultimate insider’s guide to what’s hot, new, and undiscovered — from fashion and style to gadgets and travel," as well as food and wine! They publish articles for eleven U.S. cities including Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They also have London edition.

Today's Boston Edition of the DailyCandy features a company called Tastoria. Tastoria is a wine media company that produces and broadcasts Virtual Wine Tasting Events over the Internet. If you live in the Boston area, several retailers provide the six wines that will be tasted during each event. The DailyCandy email says you can have the wine shipped to your door, but I haven't found any information about that on the Tastoria web site.

Anyway, very cool idea. DailyCandy is a great source of information and Tastoria seems like a great way to try new wines and have fun with some friends. Once you get over the geek factor of participating in a wine tasting event over the Internet, I'm sure you'll have a great time. And if nothing else, you'll have tried six new wines and depending on how many friends you invited over to share, you might be drunk too. Happy Tasting!