The Wine Cellar Soliloquies, Part One

Ok, confession time.  Every so often, when meeting with sales reps, and tasting wines from wherever-in-the-world, my mind drifts a little.  Daydream multitasking, I guess that’d be what you’d call it (or momentary internalized enhancements).  I’m not ignoring the person presenting by any means.  I hear them.  I am listening, processing, ingesting.  But their voices become a kind-of Morgan Freeman-like narration on some magical journey a la Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.  There’s the narrator – that’d be the sales rep du jour, there’d be music – anything from Erykah Badu to The Ramones to Don Williams to The Rolling Stones – and instead of being at the tasting bar, in the cellar, or somewhere on the sales floor, we all would be cruising down the highway in a convertible Cadillac, top down, headed for the California coast, or standing on a terrace staring at a majestic mountain range with the fog rolling down its sides, or at the beach, with the smell of fish or steaks searing on the grill nearby, the roar of the surf, and the feeling of sea spray on our sunsoaked faces.  

Wine for me is like a cerebral getaway, no tech necessary, just my imagination, good people, and something in the glass as a conduit to other worlds, other places.  (So sales reps – you see me smiling during a presentation, we aren’t where we are at that moment, we are somewhere else, like a streetside patio in New Orleans, with a crawfish boil on the table, and Wynton Marsalis or Aaron Neville on stage next door, the sun slowly sinking out over the Mississippi River, and we’ve got nothing but time on our hands and whatever you’re pouring to take us to the morning.)

One of my favorite people in this business is Stacey, she’s from Heidelberg.  And when she drops in, we’re always in for a treat.  An on this particular day, the moment warrants not one, but two blog posts to talk about the wines, and the poetry of said moment ensuing.

Part one, the conversation is about Sanford, a terrific winery from California’s Santa Barbara County.  Currently, Sanford is under the stewardship of the Terlato Family, which took over as majority managing partners and owners in 2005.  The winemaking team of Steve Fennell (Voss Vineyards/Trefethen) and Laura Roach guides the winery today.

Sanford Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills 2015.  This gorgeous, rich, full-bodied Chardonnay reveals lush stone fruit, hints of citrus, smoke and baking spices, a demonstrates a silky, supple nuance of vanilla custard on the finish.

Sanford Rosé of Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills 2016.  Hints of strawberries, watermelon, dried herbs and wet stones.  It’s very pretty with seducing perfumes of fresh-cut flowers and light spice.

Sanford Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County 2014.  Bright red fruit and blood orange zest mix it up with some smoky earth and black pepper notes, giving you a bit of a campfire-at-the-beach moment across the palate.

Santa Barbara wines have me all Lawrence Ferlinghetti in my mind, staring out into the Pacific Blue as the sun sets behind me, all while she speaks of the wines as a besotted fable of sensory dynamism, stirring the faraway storm of my daydream gaze.
“…flown from the mountains/floated down/far over ocean/where the sunset has begun/a mirror of itself…” – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Seascape with Sun and Eagle.”

Next time, we drift off into the bewitchment of Italy’s Angelo Gaja…

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