Solvang CA 23 March 2021
This is a holiday, kinda, I’m not in Virginia, but I am still taking orders, putting out fires, and constantly in wine world. I spent the entire day touring wineries and vineyards owned by Jonata, the Hilt, the Paring, etc. These guys are absolutely steeped in the history of what is now called Ballard Canyon AVA, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California, US of A.
You can email me for photos, information, etc. for this trip, but this is about the now. I’m not going to dinner tonight. I’m tired of human interaction. Moreover, dining out in fucking Solvang is diabolical. Let me back up a bit. Solvang is this “cute little town” between the very typical-albeit-western-themed, village of Santa Ynez, and the very blue collar and unpretentious, wine hub of Buellton. Solvang, and I don’t care to go into the sordid history, is a “Danish Village” smack in the middle of Santa Barbara. Wandering around this place for the first time, it became well apparent that there are zero Danes in this Solvang, as there is an apparent confusion between Denmark and Holland, Danish and Dutch, all of which is very typical, American, geographical retardation, and xenophobic ignorance. It drives me nuts, but I don’t have to care. I’ve fucked off to Albertson’s for Salami, Sour Dough, Smoked Turkey, Smoked Salmon, and the first of two, inexpensive, very local wines. First up, is the Brander 2019, Los Olivos “District” which should say AVA, but that means Sweet Fuck All to their target audience, plebs. That said, for 14.99, this is pretty solid savvy, once the booze blows off, which was pretty quick. I’m fairly certain that this was labelled Santa Ynez Valley the last time I had this wine. Either way, I truly wish I could sell “crap” like this back east, as it is rather solid for the price. Moreover, it isn’t typical, cheap, Cali Savvy. It actually has some positive attributes. This wine is very skinnish, not to be confused with skinny, which it is NOT. What I mean is, I get a ton of green apple skin, lemon zest, lime zest, peach skin, a lot of chewy pith, and exterior, as opposed to flibby-flabby fruit, going nowhere. This wine grips the tongue with a very dry protective layer, before delivering a highly citric mid-palate, finishing with a softer pithiness, that is anything but unpleasant. I’m good with all of this.
Meanwhile, bottle two has become a necessity, as the charcuterie is commencing its positive influence on my bloodstream. Firestone Sauvignon Blanc is designated Santa Barbara County. Firestone owns and runs a ton of shit around here. They don’t seem to be snootering the locals, so I am inclined to not hate them, like Fess Parker, who every sensible person hates. This is a step down in acid, complexity, grip, and thank god, price. All that said, this is not a bad, wee effort, and it is a nice transition into rewatching Avatar; The Last Air Bender. The dry peachiness, with soft, lemon zest, is perfectly fine. The finish is soft and moderately quick, but for $10 there is nothing wrong with any of this. THIS, is why I love Santa Barbara, even with mass-production, you get a very ample, balanced, nuanced wine for a modest cost.