One night in the SANTA YNEZ WINE VALLEY
Napper and I celebrated Easter Sunday by heading up to one of the most beautiful places we know-- the Santa Ynez Valley. We needed to slow down and spend some time having fun together-- what better place to go? We arrived just in time for lunch and headed to our favorite sandwich shop in Los Olivos, Panino for sandwiches to take for a picnic at one of the wineries. One major note, most wineries in the Valley are closed for Easter-- because of this we actually discovered a new favorite winery-- getting to that....! While we waited for the sandwiches to be made, we decided to jump right and wandered next door to the Carina Cellars tasting room. Our favorite was the Viognier-- a white wine that is a good "summer sipper." Just a hint of fruity but still light.
With our picnic ready we headed back down Alamo Pintado Rd. for Rideau Vineyard, one of the few wineries open on Easter. Normally we go to Buttonwood or Lincourt on this road and run out of time for Rideau and we are so, so happy that we finally made it here! The grounds are lovely, the drive is framed with gigantic evergreen trees that open onto a sprawling lawn surrounding a gorgeous house with a wraparound porch.
We settled into white adirondack chairs to have lunch before heading inside to the tasting room. Rideau Winery was founded in 1997 by New Orleans native Iris Rideau. The wines are all Rhone varietals which Iris thought were suited to the geography as well as a great compliment to the creole cooking she so loves from her childhood. I thought it was a happy warm up for me who was headed to New Orleans for the first time a few days later! We loved the wines here so much-- literally there is not a bad one in the bunch-- that we signed up for the wine club! The Bon Temp white and Estate Grenache red were two of our favorites.
By this time, the other winery that was open-- Kalyra-- was closing (most wineries close for tastings at 4 or 5pm) so we drove the ten minutes to Solvang, the Dutch town, where we were staying the night. We normally abuse our family's hospitality, but thought we should check out some hotels so as to be able to advise on that front... To be honest, Lucy and I have been a little underwhelmed with the hotel situation up in the Valley. It really is begging for a boutique hotel that balances the feel of the Valley (no floral explosions, but rustic charm) with a chic sensibility (not too Philippe Starck, let's honor where we are). We finally settled on the Wine Valley Inn & Cottages in Solvang.
We've never spent much time in Solvang-- mostly just driving through and thinking it looks like Disneyland a bit. I didn't know that Solvang was settled by Dutch folks and that much of the cute Dutch architecture is actually authentic-- ok, like that a lot! We opted for a cottage at the Wine Valley Inn & Cottages as they were advertised to have their own private garden and hot tub and the price difference was not much more than a standard room. Cottage 6 is a "junior cottage"-- all one room with a kitchenette, fireplace and indeed a tiny little patio with a hot tub. It was a bit dark and I think I would have preferred one of the two-story cottages.... They have just redecorated and while some of the touches like the tufted apple green armchairs and the lovely bed linens get a thumbs up, there are some questionable choices as well.
All in all it was pleasant and great to be right in Solvang for walking around town. Do skip the included breakfast in a rather grim dining hall and go to Paula's Pancake House instead! Paula's is as old school and authentic as it gets. A diner that's been serving the MOST delicious thin pancakes for decades (don't order them with fruit topping, just get the plain).
After hot tubbing and getting ready for dinner, we walked over to the Wandering Dog Wine Bar for a not needed before dinner drink. The Wandering Dog serves all sorts of flights of wine and beer (baby little glasses of 3 wines or 6 beers) so you can sample a real variety of wine and beer in the area. They have a nice patio area and a sweet lab who does wander about the bar.
Lucy and I have been wanting to have dinner at The Ballard Inn for ages, but are always in town on days that it's closed (Mondays & Tuesdays). Well it was open Sunday! Napper and I had one of the most delicious dinners-- from the pork belly and hamachi for appetizers to the scallops and duck for entrees, we couldn't stop exclaiming how fantastic everything was. Chef Budi Kazali kept emerging from the kitchen to glance around the dining room and make sure everyone was happy-- can't imagine they wouldn't be!
Although we were gone for 24 hours, it felt like a lot longer-- a mini vacation!!