A Visit to Santa Barbara and a Stop at Jonata Wines
How many of you saw the movie Sideways? It was the movie that literally spurred sales of Pinot Noir and seriously dampened the sales and tarnished the reputation of Merlot. It was filmed in the wine region of Santa Barbara. For those who recall, it really did have an impact on the region and the sale of these two varietals. Having had many great Merlots, I don’t share the sentiments expressed about Merlot in the movie, but Sideways is a fun flick.
Santa Barbara is an area located on California’s Central Coast, and it is beautiful. It is two hours north of Los Angeles. It has a local airport, and you can fly in without a long drive. The coast here runs generally east to west, contributing to smaller microclimates where different varietals flourish. In the northern region, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir prosper, as it is a more maritime climate. In the southern region, you travel easterly, and this produces hotter days and cooler nights. Bordeaux and Rhone varietals flourish in the more extreme climate. The benefit of this region is that you can explore many grape varieties without leaving one area.
This wine area is similar to Paso in that it is laid back and casual. The experience is predominately tasting rooms with a flight of wines to choose from to taste. There are not caves to explore or fancy vineyard experiences – it is just about tasting the wine and being informed about the nuances by your host standing behind the bar. Like Paso, the majority of tasting rooms are open only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A few are open all week, yet you need to do your research.
After doing some research, I identified several stops for the day. A few years ago, I had tasted a beautiful cabernet by Jonata and finding the wine locally was difficult. This then rose to the top of my list, and I planned the day around it. Our appointment was at 11 am, and we drove to an industrial location. We stepped into a metal building with windows covered with paper. Once inside, we found fermentation tanks and barrels. Along the wall were many beakers and a real chemistry classroom set-up. This was quite the industrial setting and very much a working winery.
We started with a Rosé made from Pinot Noir and found it quite refreshing, bright, fruity and smooth. Our host for the tasting was Matt Dees, the wine maker. It is always a real pleasure to be taken through a tasting by the person who made the wine. Here is what is cool though – Matt is from Kansas City, of all places, and started making wine at a very young age. Who knew a guy from KC would make his way to Santa Barbara! Well, in my mind, his journey (from getting a degree in soil science from the University of Vermont to Napa to New Zealand and then to Santa Barbara) has been a good one. He has found a home.
The wines of Jonata are deep, rich, textured and aromatic. In addition to the Rosé (which frankly is one of the best I have ever had), we tasted an aged Cab Franc, Syrah with a touch of Viognier, a Sangiovese and a blend called Todos. They are all well-crafted to provide maximum pleasure. They had a round mouth feel, were full of fruit, and had nice secondary flavors. A long finish on a wine will tell you about the quality. Quite frankly – I am a Jonata fan!
More next week on two of the other wines we tasted — Stolpman and Beckmen.
Cheers!
