girls just wanna drink wine, part two

Sunday morning, we woke up early and although it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the palatial complimentary breakfast buffet (sarcasm), we headed up the 101 to Santa Maria. Back in February, Diana, Allison, and I visited one of our favorite wineries, Rancho Sisquoc which is located just off Foxen Canyon Road. Although we were ready to get home after, we vowed to come back and take Foxen Canyon into Los Olivos ... so we did.

Once again, the Flood Family were amazing hosts at Rancho and we were able to dry quite a few new wines. They also recommended we pay a visit to Kenneth Volk, which wasn't on our way, but sounded intriguing.

Kenneth Volk is a small winery, just up the road from Rancho, specializing in Pinot Noir. Volk previously founded Wild Horse Winery, which is fairly well-known. The tasting room is not much bigger than my bedroom, but the grounds are beautiful, and the wines start at about $22. While there, one of the employees volunteered to take on a short tour, which was fun. I bought a bottle of the Negrette.

Our next stop was Foxen, which received a "must-visit" recommendation from Adam. If you are driving on Foxen Canyon, keep your eyes peeled because it is very easy to drive by, but their wines were great! The winery was founded in the mid-1980s and has a minimalist approach to winemaking. I loved everything I tasted, but most surprising was their Port. As a rule of thumb, I am not a fan of port, but Foxen's wasn't overly perfumy. Diana and I bought a bottle to drink with the flourless chocolate cake I am going to make for her upcoming birthday.

Next up was a stop at Fess Parker, which is one of the more-famous wineries in the area. I have been there before, and it is absolutely beautiful and the wines are tasty. However, somehow, I missed out on the fact that Fess Parker is the actor who portrayed both Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. How I missed this in spite of the fact the their are coonskin caps and muskets all around, is beyond me. Once we made it into Los Olivos proper, we visited the Heather Cottage, which serves as the tasting room for Daniel Gehrs, a recommendation from Allison's brother-in-law. The winery was founded in the 1990s, and Gehrs was formerly with Zaca Mesa. Overall, nothing was outstanding, but they did have a good Rose and the tasting area is pleasant.

Our final stop was Sunstone ... Diana's request. Sunstone is another mid-1990s winery, but they are different in that their wines are organic and their grapes are grown without the use of pesticides. It is located directly next to Kalyra and the grounds are stunning. It was difficult to enjoy their whites as you tasted them outside and it was nearly 100+ degrees. Their reds were tasted inside, which made for a much-more pleasant experience, although again, I liked everything, but nothing stood out. I did buy another Rose ...

After some traffic in Santa Barbara, we sped home to Redondo ... with a pit-stop in Westwood for ... you guessed it ...