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Sample
Winery "The book is noted on the
cover as a 'food and wine lover's guide' and it delivers. The tone is personal
but informative, and the authors recommend specific wines to try and menu items
to order." |
Santa Barbara & the Central Coast, including Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo Counties Below are two sample winery entries from our Hill Guide to Santa Barbara & the Central Coast. Hill Guides are the only guidebooks that include rarely revealed recipes from chefs and winemakers from each region. We want you to be able to recreate a favorite dish you experienced in your travels. Check out our Sample Recipe, as well as our List of Recipes and List of Wineries. Kalyra Winery, located where LinCourt used to be before it moved home to Foley, is the wildest winery in Santa Barbara County, and well worth the visit for the entertainment factor if nothing else. Foodies will enjoy loads of Australian cookbooks, chutneys, vinegars, olive oils, and dressings. Notice the “Australian rules football theme.” Don’t be fooled by the frat party atmosphere. Kalyra (“a wild and pleasant place”) has its serious side, like the wines! Australian owner/winemaker Mike Brown received degrees in microbiology and pharmacology at the University of Adelaide, roamed two continents learning winemaking, and sort of settled down as winemaker for buttonwood Farm winery, Santa Ynez Winery, Mosby Winery, and Zaca Mesa Winery, some of the best of the area. Mike’s younger brother Martin, former barrister and international tour guide, now runs Kalyra’s marketing, so watch out! All wineries hold special events, but try Kalyra’s Great Australian BBQ and golf tournament in June, or their Australian Christmas (December) and Great Grape Stomping Party (September), to say nothing of the occasional expedition to Australia. The Browns’ Australian wines, made under the M. Brown label, are also available in the riotous tasting room. Fine points: Featured wines: Kalyra Mebbiolo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Black Muscat, Orange Muscat, Vintage Port, Tawny Port; M. Brown Barossa Valley Shiraz, Limestone Coast Shiraz, and Eden Valley Reisling. Owner and winemaker: Michael Brown. Cases: 8,000. Acres: none, buy from Santa Ynez Valley, Monterey, Amador, and Madera counties, and Australia. Kalyra Winery, 343 Refugio Road, Santa Ynez; (805) 693-8864, fax; (805) 693-8865; www.kalyrawinery.com, info@kalyrawinery.com. Open 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. daily. Tasting fee: $5.00. Visa, MasterCard, American Express. Not wheelchair accessible. Tablas Creek is by far the most splendiferous new winery in the Paso Robles area. The Perrin family of Chateau Beaucastel in France, and Robert Haas, founder of Vineyard Brands and president of the Academie Internationale du Vin, selected this location for planting Rhone varietal grapes and creating Chateauneuf-du-Pape style vineyards in the New World. Pioneers in organic viticulture, the Perrins imported vine material from Beaucastel starting in 1990. After quarantine, the vines were moved to Tablas Creek (a creek that runs through the property), and the owners built a complex of high-tech greenhouses and shadehouses and sells Rhone vines to wineries throughout the Central Coast. Visitors can buy single vine plants to take home and plant for just $9.95. Winemaker Neil Collins has served at wild Horse and Adelaida Cellars. Great collection of cookbooks and French pottery available. Do not miss for a new French experience in Paso Robles! Fine points: Featured wines: Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, Clos Blanc, Antithesis, Rose, Panoplie, Reserve Cuvee, Cotes de Tablas, Crenache noir, Grenache Blanc, Syrah, Blanc, Rouge. Owners: The Perrin Family and Robert Haas. Winemaker: Neil Collins. Cases: 12,000, growing by 2,000 per year. Acres: 100. Tablas Creek, 9339 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles; (805) 237-1231, fax: (805) 237-1314; www.tablascreek.com, info@tablascreek.com. Open 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. Tasting fee: $5.00. Visa, MasterCard. Wheelchair accessible
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