Tasting In Santa Ynez

I Recently got to celebrate my Birthday wine tasting in Beautiful and HOT Santa Ynez! It was a great time.. if you ever get a chance to go you must stay at the Santa Ynez Inn! An amazing B & B. Big beautiful rooms, even bigger bath rooms, service was impeccable and for a $5 fee you can have your breakfast delivered to your room if you don't want to eat in the breakfast room. It was a great way to start our day.

We made 5 stops to various wineries: Gainey,Suntstone (fabulous building felt like we were in France), Rubideau (great grounds for a picnic),Blackjack (don't bother, not pleasant people there, maybe it was a bad day for them),and Kalyra .

Now I know wine is subjective, and being in the wine business helps or not! However the only one that was worth blogging about was KALYRA. Well worth the visit.

As you drive up you are not sure (or we were not sure ) it was even a winery, very unpretentious building, they obviously put there money into the wines and not the facade. I love that!

We were greeted with welcome arms by all. Which fits their name Kalyra which means "A Wild and Pleasant Place". The wine maker is Australian. We tasted 7 wines plus 3 dessert wines.... Very rarley do I like all wines on a tasting menu. Typically you have a couple stand outs.

Their whites: 2007 Kalyra Sauvignon Blanc $18. sourced from one of the old vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley. It is a classic Sauvignon Blanc with its classic floral and subtle overtones of grapefruit & gooseberry, with a great finish. Will hold up to most any spicy dishes, as well as grilled fish and summer salads.

2008 Kalyra Unwooded Chardonnay $24 .this was made in the new world style with no oak influence. the grapes were picked at night from White Hawk vineyards in Los Alamos. Very fruit forward with a subtle vanilla characteristic. yummmmmmm!

2007 Kalyra Riesling $18. Considering how hot it was in the valley that day, this wine truly was a refreshing delight. It is a off dry style Riesling and rich forward fruit. it was served at the perfect temperature. I gave this a 5 star!!

Their Reds:2006 Kalyra Sangiovese $28. this wine features a more Tuscan flavor with subtle dark berry flavors, bit of spice and great long finish. A perfect red to drink on its own! Even in 90 degree heat!

2005 Kalyra MC2 Blend $24.I called this the Mc Dreamy wine. This vintage is a Bordeaux blend of a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cab Franc. its rich with dark berry flavors and a SMOKEY chocolaty finish. this is why I tagged it the McDreamy!

2005 Kalyra Metralla Blend $30. Its a blend of 3 different Portuguese varietals. it is an explosion of rich flavors , dark coffee on the nose and soft berries on the finish. Another yummmm!

Their Desserts: Wow ,Wow and Wow for all three of them! I'm typically not a dessert wine drinker, but these just may make me cross over.

2007 Kalyra Viognier "Stickey Wicket" $30

Kalyra NV Black Muscat $16 . I gave this a 5 star, can't beat the price!

Not on the tasting menu: An Orange Muscat $26..

I highly recommend you stop by this winery. Its not to be missed.

Cheers!

Dale

Fine Wine On Line

www.wineshopathome.com/dalerossi