Escapes: Sideways Wine Tour

"No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any [ expletive ] Merlot!" - Miles, in Sideways

We're celebrating Labor Day by getting drunk, wanna come? The last wine tour we went on was up in the Bay Area, and the last thing we remember was swilling champagne at a vineyard...wait. Correction: The last thing we remember was the epic hangover the next morning. (Champagne Hangover of 2007 has trumped the Red Wine Hangover of 2005 in our book). This time around, we're going to explore Santa Barbara wine country with a few stops at the vineyards and restaurants featured in the movie Sideways.

The actual Sideways wine trail is mapped out here, but feel free to add suggestions of things to do in Santa Barbara, more wineries to try, and wine hangover cures in the comments!

Comments (10)

That film was in a league of it's own. Good wine tasting doesn't involve hangovers, though. If you want to get drunk, you might as well drink swill instead of the good stuff, IMHO.

Funny that the movie that so vehemently dissed Merlot launched a similar fad for Pinot!

I second HandyC. Patrick's is the bomb!

Melville Winery has an incredible selection of pinot noir and the winery itself is stunning.

I live in Santa Barbara and I am going tasting next weekend...I suggest limiting it to 3-4 wineries max! And drink a lot of water in between each tasting. Remember, it is not rude to taste and toss the rest!
For Santa Barbara, our favorite restaurants are Opal http://www.opalrestaurantandbar.com/ which is California fuision, Ca Dario http://www.cadario.net/ best italian food in the area! And, The Palace is a great place to have a tasty cajun/creole style meal in a fun environment http://www.palacegrill.com/

Have fun!!!

PS - Sunstone and Kalyra Vineyards are definitely worth visiting!

Make sure you go to Alma Rosa if you are looking for the real Sanford. The guy from the movie, Chris, is there BTW. You'll have to ask someone who was paying more attention than I, but there was some sort of business dealings where the Sanfords lost the business and the name, and started Alma Rosa. I bought bottles from both, but tasting at Sanford is a little like having a real estate lady pouring for you. That Frass Canyon atmosphere...

Rusack Winery in the Solvang area is a beautiful spot with lovely wines (I think it's Beullton specifically, but I could be wrong).

The really awesome map of California in the background of that picture is likely from Raven Maps. I have one of PA and NJ at home.

They're worth checking out if you love maps.

http://www.ravenmaps.com/prostores/servlet/StoreFront

Thank you, sciencegeek! I grew up in Cali and want a map just like that.

If you want to be responsible and play it safe, there are several taxi companies who are doing flat rate wine tasting tours up from Santa Barbara, with cabs in Solvang, San Ynez, Buellton, and just recently over in Lompoc as well. Pete's Preferred Taxi Wine Tours, offers fun low cost Taxi Wine Tours for nice people on a Budget, who want To Safely Taste and Buy Wine. Be Safe Rather Then Sorry! Take a Cab, When Tasting Great Wine in Santa Barbara County Wineries. http://ppwinetours.vpweb.com