Bazin's on Church Showcases Santa Barbara's Foxen Winery and Vineyard

This autumn, Dick Doré, co-founder and co-owner of Foxen Winery and Vineyard, conducted an east coast blitz showcasing their Santa Barbara County Wines at various establishments such as Vienna's excellent restaurant Bazin's on Church. At this tasting event, we were able to chat with Mr. Doré about his wines, the grapes sourced from famed Bien Nacido Vineyards, and the effects two consecutive years of wildfires and mudslides. Regarding the last topic, tourism is slowly rebounding and the grapes show no effect as he predicts a stellar 2018 harvest.

Bill Wathen and Doré founded Foxen Winery in 1985 using a property purchased by Doré's great-great grandfather, Benjamin Foxen, in 1837. This property and most of the vineyards used by Foxen are located in the Santa Maria Valley AVA which is the most northern of Santa Barbara's six AVA's. This region receives the most rainfall, has sandy to clay soils, and is close to the ocean which provides cooling from winds and fog. Chardonnay dominates Santa Maria for whites; whereas Pinot Noir & Syrah dominate for reds. Here is the Foxen lineup we sampled that night.

2015 Foxen Old Vines Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Chenin Blanc ($26)
This vineyard was planted in 1966 by Doré's cousin Buddy Wickenden at lower elevations which block the coastal breezes and provides a warmer micro-climate. For Chenin Blanc this warmth allows the grapes to attain full ripeness producing wines with depth and finesse to complement the inherent acidity. Further complexity is provided by aging the wine seven months in neutral French oak barrels which doesn't overwhelm the creamy melon and stone flavors.

2016 Foxen Bien Nacido Vineyards Block UU Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay ($34 - Wine Club Exclusive)
As stated above Bien Nacido Vineyard is famed because it is the most widely bottled single vineyard designate wine in the world. That's impressive and Doré related how Foxen has been one of that vineyard's primary customer for years. And this Chardonnay helps explain why. Bien Nacido is composed of very sandy soils such that vines are own-rooted and do not need to be planting using root-stock resistant to the phylloxera louse. In this case, the original Block UU was planted in Riesling, but when that grapevine failed to mature as expected Chardonnay was grafted onto the Riesling roots. Quite unique -- both the vineyard management and the resulting wine -- which is barrel fermented and aged on its lees for eight months. It is a fantastic wine, full of that classic chardonnay flavor with brighter fruit balanced by juicy acids.

2014 Foxen Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir ($36)
The fruit for this wine is derived from throughout the county but don't discount this wine for its lack of single vineyard or AVA status.  It is medium bodied, but with intense fruit and complexity. Expect leather, smoke, slight black pepper and other spices with medium tannins and decent acidity. A solid wine.

2015 Foxen John Sebastiano Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir ($52)
The Sta. Rita Hills AVA was established 2001 as a sub-region within the larger Santa Ynez Valley AVA and is the closest AVA to the ocean; thus also the coolest within the SYV. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the favored grapes like this one from the John Sebastiano Vineyard -- which is located on the extreme Eastern edge of the AVA. Foxen participated in the original planting and was able to select the grape clones and vineyard blocks prior to planting.  This is a dense wine with raspberries overtaking cherry with spices and abundant acidity.

2014 Foxen Block 8 Bien Nacido Vineyards Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir ($64 - Wine Club Exclusive)
Bien Nacido is known for their Pinot Noir and this wine is terrific. After 17 months in 40% new French oak, it is deep and complex - dark fruit mingles with leather and spices. The power in this wine continues to the tail as the integrated tannins and acids lift to its conclusion.

2013 Foxen 7200 Vogelzang Vineyard Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara Cabernet Sauvignon ($60)
This AVA is the easternmost end of the Santa Ynez Valley and thus is a little warmer than the other SYV appellations. Bordeaux grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon are prevalent here and Vogelzang Vineyard provides the bulk of Foxen's 7200 wine program since 2000. This vineyard witnesses a large diurnal temperature swing - particularly in the summer where the temperature can drop 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit. This phenomenon matters as it helps grapes retain acidity. This wine was a complete surprise, my favorite of the tasting as it provides excellent fruit, depth, tannins, texture, chewy tannins, and uplifting acids. I Certainly wish east coast cabs could reach this level of quality.

#WBC14: The Terrior of Santa Barbara County

One of my favorite sessions at The 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference was Michael Larner's (Larner Vineyard & Winery) presentation on the Terrior of Santa Barbara County. Not only is Larner a winemaker, but also a trained geologist, so he was undoubtedly qualified to explain the geology, soil, and climate of Santa Barbara County.

He started by describing how the county was formed, specifically the land actually moved up from what is now San Diego. Then it was covered by deep marine sediment that moved east from the ocean. Wish I could locate his video that shows the movement of land. The final position created two significant geological results. First, a small notch of land sticks out into the ocean. Cold water from the north circles through on one side and warm water from the south circles around the other. The result is fog; daily fog.   Second, instead of running north-south, the two major mountain ranges run east-west, creating lanes for the fog to move into the valleys.  This fog helps generate a larger diurnal shift - allowing the grapes to mature over a longer period of time.

Larner then spoke about the five appellations within Santa Barbara County as well as the proposed Los Olivos District. The Santa Maria AVA is the northern most AVA and was established in 1981. This region receives the most rainfall, has sandy to clay soils, and is close to the ocean which provides cooling from winds and fog. The sandy soils in Santa Maria (from deep sea debris pushed west from moving plates) explains why Bien Nacido Vineyards could plant its original vines on their own rootstock. Chardonnay dominates the area for whites; whereas Pinot Noir & Syrah dominate for reds.

The Santa Ynez Valley AVA was established 1983 and has a Mediterranean climate but with distinct differences from east->west. This is why the SYV is sub-divided into three smaller AVA's plus the Los Olivos District.  The Sta. Rita Hills AVA was established 2001 and is the closest to the ocean; thus also the coolest within SYV. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the favored grapes with many popular wineries located in the Lompoc Guetto. For those questioning the spelling of the AVA, Chile's Santa Rita wine empire had an issue with the AVA's name and politely requested a name change.

Moving east, the Ballard Canyon AVA was pushed through in 2013 by Mr. Larner. The area has more diurnal shift than the western border and here Syrah dominates (over ½ of the vineyards planted are in Syrah) with GSM grapes as well as some Cabernet Franc. The AVA can be divided in half with the bottom portion composed of chalky soils and the northern area more limestone. The proposed Los Olivos District AVA is adjacent to the Ballard Canyon's eastern border and is home to Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. the district's eastern border is, itself, adjacent to the most eastern and warmest AVA, Happy Canyon. This AVA was created in 2009 and can count on summer temperatures in the mid 90's. Here, Bordeaux grapes flourish in the warm temps and red and yellow serpentine soils.

Looking forward to my next visit to Santa Barbara County. Click here to read about our bicycle tour of parts of the Ballard Canyon AVA from Buellton to Solvang.  Cheers.

Off to #WBC14 and @SBCWines & @PasoRobles #Wine

I'm off to attend the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference, held in Buellton, Santa Barbara County, California and sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association. Santa Barbara County consists of five AVAs (Happy Canyon, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, Ballard Canyon and Sta. Rita Hill); has more than 200 wineries and 20,000 acres of vineyards; and grow over 60 grape varieties. I tasted a few of these wines a couple weeks back in the Santa Barbara #WBC14 Preview on #Winechat. A ton still to learn. In addition, I will be participating in the Paso Robles pre-excursion - sample 100 wines 24 hours. Thanks to the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance for sponsoring that whirlwind tasting. And that's not all. There will be dozens of wineries from around the world (I'm particularly interested in Wines of Georgia,  New Wines Of Greece and Wines of Portugal) and I'll catch up with favorites such as Cornerstone Cellars, Jordan Winery, Westerly Wines, Gypsy Canyon Winery, and many more.  Then there are the after-parties. I'm bringing some Virginia Wine to share (Horton Vineyards, Hiddencroft Vineyards, & CrossKeys Vineyards & Estates), but I'm also looking forward to all the other local wines other participants are bringing. Then there's the more formal gatherings like Austrian Wine USA and Blue Danube Wine Company pouring Blaufrankisch and Gruner Veltliner at Cold Heaven Cellars. Jordan Winery and J Vineyards are sponsoring a reception as well and I hope they have Jordan's hilarious videos streaming. And our friends at Nomacorc are in the house. Follow the action on twitter @WineCompass, #WBC14, @SBCWines, & @PasoRobles. And below are maps of the area cities as found on theCompass Winery, Brewery, & Distillery Locator. Cheers.

Santa Barbara #WBC14 Preview on #Winechat

In less than a week over a hundred wine bloggers will descend on Santa Barbara County for the annual Wine Bloggers Conference. For a preview, the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association, assisted by @awanderingwino, sent several wines to bloggers for a weekly #winechat and briefed us on the region. Or regions since the county encompasses five AVAs:  Happy Canyon, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, Ballard Canyon and Sta. Rita Hill. Within these AVAs there are more than 200 wineries and 20,000 acres of vineyards. Plus there are over 60 grape varieties grown and as someone tweeted: "Santa Barbara County is like a journey through Europe: Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, w/ a sprinkling of Italy. But w/ a CA coolness".

And the wines sampled during our #winechat reflected this diversity: Brewer-Clifton Winery 2012 Hapgood Chardonnay ($60); Grassini Family Vineyards - 2013 Estate Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc ($28); Palmina 2012 Santa Barbara County Malvasia Bianca ($20); Lafond Winery 2011 SRH Pinot Noir ($27); and Westerly Vineyards 2010 Fletcher's Red ($75).

Brewer-Clifton Winery is a partnership between Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer and is located in the Sta. Rita Hills. This  AVA (is located at the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley) is known for its foggy evenings and mornings which assist in the production of chardonnay and pinot noir. Their 2012 Hapgood Chardonnay is all honeysuckle slowly fading to pineapple and a long acidic finish. Beyond my budget, but great to savor for this evening.

Wine from Grassini Family Vineyards are produced from only estate grown fruit from their Happy Canyon vineyards. This is a small winery, particularly in California terms, producing only 2,500 cases a year. Apparently Bordeaux grapes are popular in Happy Valley because of the warm sunny days. Grassini's 2013 Estate Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc weighs in at 13% alcohol with a
soft grapefruit aroma, a lemon creamsicle texture, finishing long and soft. Quite nice.

When I said Santa Barbara is diverse, I meant it particularly when sampling the Palmina 2012 Santa Barbara County Malvasia Bianca. Not too many wineries produce wine from this Italian grape - neither in Santa Barbara or the U.S.  A popular descriptor was night jasmine and one I concurred with was star fruit, plus some citrus and salty minerality. On top of it's excellent flavor and acidity, I'm drawn to its low alcohol (12.5%) and price ($20). Cheers to that.

Returning to the cooler Sta. Rita Hills, we sample the Lafond Winery 2011 SRH Pinot Noir which is made from the Martin Ray clone (need to look that one up).  This winery is part of the Santa Barbara Winery family, which was the first post-prohibition winery in Santa Barbara - opening in 1961. Lafond opened eighteen years ago in 1996.  Their 2011 SRH Pinot Noir is delicious, what I referred to as a cherry cayenne chocolate bar with silky texture. A tiny bit of heat is present at 14.7% abv but balanced and priced nicely at $27.

We finished with  the big red, precisely the Westerly Vineyards 2010 Fletcher's Red ($75). This is a Bordeaux blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 23% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc from Happy Valley. Even with the hefty price tag, this wine is worth every penny. Dark berries - blackberries; chocolate; spices - cinnamon; silky texture, smooth tannins. Drink now or cellar. I hope to drink now, soon.

Cheers to the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association, Shawn, #WBC14, and #winechat.