Approximately 40 miles north west of Santa Barbara on Highway 101 or via the more direct route of Highway 154 is the Santa Ynez grape growing region. There are a dozen or so wineries in the area and wine tours are offered by several operators in Santa Barbara, but on this trip we elected what is arguably the most famous winery in the region – The Firestone Winery and Vineyard.
The drive to or from the winery is through beautiful country on either road. Highway 101 is the Pacific Coast Highway and for almost two thirds of the drive the road hugs the coast with spectacular views of the ocean and beaches. At Gaviota highway 101 turns sharply north and winds through pretty mountain scenery. The drive down highway 154 winds through mountain passes and across valley floors, reminding Patricia of the scenery around her home town in Cali, Colombia. We drove to the winery on Highway 154.
The Firestone family did an excellent job of building a winery that architecturally fits with the surroundings. The Firestone family (of Firestone tire fame) no longer owns the winery having sold it to a title company magnate a couple of years ago, but there are still many pictures of the Firestones in the tasting room and small museum.As with many wineries tasting is no longer free. At Firestone, for a $15 charge you get to taste three white and four red wines and keep the large engraved wine glass. My palate is not good enough to discern the nuances of blackberry and apples and tannins in the wine that the tasting notes described, but we agreed we liked the Sauvignon Blanc white and the Cabernet Sauvignon red and bought a bottle of each to bring back to Houston.
Since there was little going on at the winery because of the season, the winery tour was short and succinct, but still quite interesting. The tour guide was knowledgeable and personable and gave out lots of facts that kept the tour interesting.
We drove back to Santa Barbara on Highway 101 with a stop at the Firestone Walker brew-pub and restaurant.
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