More on Fess Parker...

It's easy to disrespect any Hollywood personality who decides to make wine... dismiss their efforts as over the top or too commercial.

This is the reputation I've heard attributed to the Fess Parker wines. Big name - bad wine.

Perhaps this was once the case. I don't know. I hadn't tasted the Fess Parker wines until last year. I saw them around now and then but hadn't tasted them.

Now I have. And they're good. Some of them are really good. And a couple of them are flat out great.

During a recent visit to Fess Parker, we tasted several of their wines. A nominal $10 fee was charged and we kept the glass. A nice glass. Reidel.

The 2007 Chardonnay "Ashley" was nice.... the tasting notes matched our taste buds on this one.... and the 2008 Viognier "Santa Barbara County" was equally as good - a bit sweet, perhaps, but tangy enough for balance.

Then we tasted the Pinot. The 2006 Rio Vista was gentle but not wimpy. The 2006 Bien Nacido was fantastic... reminded me of some of the more stellar Pinot Noir we've had recently from places like Sea Smoke and Foxen.

The 2006 Syrah "American Tradition Reserve" had some of the bold and jammy quality I've come to expect from Central California Syrah - as I do with many Australian Syrah.... fortunately, this was balanced with a nice tight peppery finish and soft tannins. I can say the same for the Rodney's Vineyard Syrah, although it was a bit bolder with fruit characteristics that were a bit more ripe than the ATR... and delicious in its own right.

To top everything off, we tasted the Big Easy Syrah. Game Over!

The Big Easy was every bit the big ass Syrah from California. Big to the taste and Easy to drink. A great wine.

And a great place to spend a cool and sunny Saturday afternoon.

Cheers!

North of Santa Barbara...

Yesterday, Jan 30 2010, my wife, Eva and two of our daughters, Michelle and Serena, drove up past Santa Barbara to Highway 154 where we detoured onto the Foxen Canyon Road. There we stopped for a picnic at Fess Parker Winery and capped off the afternoon at Zaca Mesa Winery.

Fess Parker is a fantastic place for a picnic. The lawn is about the size of a football field with picnic tables, trees, and ample room to play catch with a football or just kick back.

For us, it involved a football, a picnic basket filled with assorted cheeses, cold cuts, salad... and wine glasses.

Of course, we supplemented our experience with a shared tasting from the winery and purchased a bottle of 1999 Fess Parker Syrah - a wine that has mellowed over the years and turned from a fruit bomb into a peppery wine with nice acidity and fruit to perfectly compliment our picnic.

The folks at the winery were their usual hospitable and fun selves! Not only did we taste some of their newly released Pinot Noir (delicious wines) and their Syrah (delicious also), we got to keep the glass. Well, Michelle got the glass.

From there we drove up around the bend at Zaca Mesa and stepped past the very fun concrete chessboard... about the size of an average kitchen and into a very festive and full tasting room, where we enjoyed some more very delicious Syrah (2003, 2005, and 2006 Estate) as well as a fantastic Grenache!

After hanging out on the patio and playing half a chess game, we drove away with smiles on our faces through that beautiful countryside, culminating with some very tasting and budget-friendly sushi in Goleta.

This isn't so much a review, as you can see, as much as it is just a reflection on a great afternoon. Watching my wife and our girls laugh, talk, discuss 'boys', etc etc... was pure joy.

The wine was just an accessory. And a good one at that.

Cheers!