Santa Barbara '03 Photos

 

  


 

Please note the new West L.A. meeting location!

 

A Day in Santa Barbara Wine Country! 

Saturday, July 12th

Plan to join us as we charter a bus to go wine tasting north of Santa Barbara.  We'll enjoy mimosas and brunch en route to Santa Barbara, make leisurely visits at four wineries, take a short tour at one of the wineries, and enjoy a picnic lunch amid the rolling hills and pretty scenery of the Santa Ynez Valley! 

We'll have two meeting places to be picked up by our bus -- in Manhattan Beach and West L.A.  We'll enjoy a light brunch during the ride there.  Not a full breakfast, but we'll have mimosas, lox and bagels (with tomatoes, onions, capers, etc.), muffins, danish, yogurt, fresh fruit, juice, etc. 

The first winery we'll visit will be Zaca Mesa Winery, which has pleasant grounds and good wine.  In addition to tasting their wines, we'll be taking a short tour of the winery.  (The tour is optional, and you can feel free to just relax and enjoy the surroundings on your own if you prefer.) 

 

Next, we'll visit Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard.  Fess Parker produces among the best wines in Santa Barbara County. 

After tasting their wine, we'll have lunch on the large, pretty lawn in front of the winery.  A variety of gourmet lunch boxes will be delivered to us from a local deli, and you can select from among five lunch choices.  We'll be lingering at a leisurely pace, so there will be ample time to enjoy any of the wines you decide to buy, if you'd like. 

 

After lunch, we'll move on to Sunstone Vineyards & Winery.  We'll sample Sunstone's wines in their private tasting room, and enjoy the winery's pleasant surroundings.  We'll do their reserve tasting, that is, a sampling of their finer wines. 

 

Our last stop will be the most picturesque...Bridlewood Winery.  Bridlewood is situated on a rolling hill with a really nice view of the entire surrounding area.  As with the three previous wineries, Bridlewood has a variety of rather good wines.  They have large, pretty grounds, and this won't be an in-and-out, type-A visit!  After tasting their wines, we'll wind down relaxing in their lawn and garden area, and will have pizza delivered for a snack prior to heading home. 

We'll get back home around 7:30-8:00 in the evening.  It will be a nice bus with restroom on board...no yellow school bus!  We'll have several cases of bottled water on the bus, and will plan to listen to music on the way up and watch a video during the ride home.  The cost for the day is $57, which includes: 

  • the bus

  • brunch and beverages on the bus

  • lunch

  • the tasting fees charged by each of the wineries (generally $5 per person)

  • cheese plate and other snacks at a couple of the wineries

  • a few bottles of water per person

  • pizza prior to the ride home

The only other cost will be if you decide to purchase any wine.  To sign up for this trip, please send me a check.  Along with your check, please let me know the number of the lunch choice you'd like, unless you want choice #1, which I'll assume if you don't send another selection.  (Please note, because I'll be telling people the trip is full as soon as it fills up, which may happen quickly, everyone's sign-up will be non-refundable if you decide to cancel or sleep in late that day.)

This is going to be a fun day, and I hope you can join us!  Feel free to invite any friends you'd like to come along! 

 

The day will feature a special guest appearance by Chris McGanty Brenner! 

And we'll also be having a birthday celebration...some of you know Cynthia Meister, a good friend of a number of us.  She turns 29 again on July 12, and will be celebrating the day by joining us on this trip.  We look forward to embarrassing her repeatedly throughout the day!