Man, life has been crazy so this post and the next few are way over due!
On the last trip to Lompoc, we decided to stay the night and hit up a few more wineries on Sunday. We stayed at O’Cairns Inn and walked to D’vine for dinner. Overall – I wasn’t overly impressed with the food or service. The place was cute and had live music. When a few of us head up to Lompoc in a few weeks, we will likely eat at one of the local fast Mexican food places or order pizza.
On Sunday we grabbed some breakfast at the hotel, other than the crappy coffee was more than enough to start the day. We ventured into central Lompoc to grab a Starbucks before we headed out for some wine.
We knew we would only have time for two or three places based on timing since we had to hit the road before 12:30pm. Only one winery opened before 11am so we had planned to go to Zovtich Cellars first. They have recently opened a new tasting room and production area – it is so nice and clean! They have this awesome private tasting room hidden behind a shelf. I was super excited when I saw the tasting menu had not one but TWO rosès! They were very different based on the vintage and wine making styles both were from Pinot Noir and the Santa Rita Hills. The color difference can be seen in the photos, the older vintage was much more fruit forward with the red fruit flavors. The 2013 was much leaner due to the limited amount of time on the skin but definitely enjoyable! The wines were pretty good, I decided one of each rosé for future use.
We had full intent to visit Scott Cellars but when we arrived, he wasn’t there. We decided to walk across the street to Transcendence. It was such a positive experience! The wines were great, the winemaker was pouring them and able to explain, and we were given a tour of the various buildings and cellar. It’s always great to hear the story behind the wine making. I shared the tasting as I was the driver and knew timing wise we would be heading out directly after. We tried 2 whites and 3 reds – all worth purchasing at the very affordable price range. I think most people are surprised by the pricing for a pinot noir – these very fickle grapes aren’t easy to come by! Both the ladies I was with purchased his GSM blend, the 2012 Parea. Since it is the majority Syrah, it has a much different taste than a GSM you would find in the Paso area. Just waiting for a bit of aging and the invite to come drink. I won’t lie, I would like to go back and have a tasting to myself! Since I am heading back in a few weeks, this may be possible!
sunsets and wine 