Palmer Emmitt

My second trip to the Santa Barbara County wine country came in early January of this year. My friend Jon Conway - in town from New York and making the most of his off-season from Major League Soccer - and I ventured out to the Santa Rita Hills in search of the most elusive thing in the wine world: truly great pinot noir. What we did find may surprise you.

Why think about that when all the golden land's ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see? - Jack Kerouac

Usually I plan my little vino-journeys with excessive attention to detail, complete with timed schedules, Google maps , and print-outs of winery fact sheets. On this day however, I felt the need to leave a little bit to chance, to explore my inner Kerouac. Of course, the great rememberer wasn't equipped with a GPS and a Blackberry mobile device, so we had to at least use the tools at our disposal to locate an acceptable first stop, right?

A quick internet search for Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir yielded a list of wineries and phone numbers, and after a few unsuccessful attempts at finding a place open and willing to pour wine for us, we dialed up Fiddlehead Cellars , who were more than happy to accommodate us. Upon arriving in Lompoc, we spent about 30 minutes driving in circles around Home Depot, listening in frustration to Betty (as we began to call the calm computer generated voice of our GPS) telling us to turn left through buildings onto streets that didn't exist. We had a difficult time understanding how this collection of non-descript industrial warehouses could contain a world class winery, but little did we know we had stumbled upon one of the great secrets of the wine world - the Lompoc Wine Ghetto .

The first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy. - Jack Kerouac

We eventually parked and made our way into Fiddlehead's tasting room, where they told us the story of their offbeat location. The wine ghetto, as it's affectionately known, is a collection of wineries among a group of industrial warehouses behind Home Depot. Apparently, Santa Barbara County is reluctant to grant too many winery licenses to agricultural property, forcing many of the world class producers in the area to homes in this odd wine mecca. As this story unfolded for us, we sampled Fiddlehead's collection of white-Bordeaux inspired, barrel-aged sauvignon blancs, which were interesting if not particularly appealing to my oak sensitive palate. 

After the third of these white wines, Jon and I were getting quite antsy, and I think the staff at Fiddlehead could sense it. We were there for pinot. Let's stop messing around. It was then that they popped the 2004 Fiddlestix 728 Vineyard Pinot Noir, an absolutely sublime effort kicking off big red fruit with ample spice notes and just a touch of earth. As Jon and I rejoiced in finding our great pinot so early in the day, Fiddlehead winemaker Kathy Joseph emerged from toiling in the winery to introduce herself and tell us a little bit more about the place - what a treat! She told us of her desire to let the terroir speak through her wines, and also about the process of bringing fruit via refrigerated truck from Willamette Valley, Oregon for another of her pinor noir bottlings - which we tried next. Another well made wine, the 2002 Oldsville Reserve Pinot Noir nevertheless lacked the pizazz of it's brother from California, tasting a little tired perhaps from bottle age or from the long journey the grapes took south.

We asked Kathy and the rest of our newfound friends where to head next on our journey, and they pressed us to explore more of the wine ghetto, particularly their neighbors Palmina . Their description of the Italian varietals on offer there, despite not being what we had intended to taste on this day's great pinot noir escapade, sounded too intriguing to pass up.

What's in store for me in the direction I don't take? - Jack Kerouac

Palmina, the Calitalia brain child of Brewer-Clifton partner Steve Clifton, was a wonderful surprise. Brewer-Clifton had been our first futile phone call of the morning, but Mr. Clifton's other winery couldn't have been more hospitable. We were greeted warmly by Alicia, seated comfortably at a rustic table, and treated to salami, romano cheese, bread sticks and a killer almond-infused olive oil. Alicia started us off with the whites - first the 2006 Arneis Honea Vineyard and then the 2006 Pinot Grigio Santa Barbara County - which were both crisp, refreshing and distinctly Italian in style. Palmina does not seem to be interested in making fruity crowd pleasers, they are making serious wines to match up with serious food, and I was glad to have the charcuterie to nibble on and experience these wines with.

Jon and I started on our second plate of salami as Alicia rolled out the lineup of reds - Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo and of course Sangiovese which came in the form of the 2005 Undici, my favorite of Palmina's wines. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we ate some more, we toured the winery, we drank some more, and finally we tried the one wine in the joint not made from an Italian varietal, the '04 Malbec Mendoza from another Steve Clifton side project in Argentina - Tritono . I bought the big bad Undici, Jon bought the deep dark Tritono, and we walked out of the wine ghetto with bellies full and hearts warmed.

I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion. - Jack Kerouac

Let's just say that our palates were "overloaded" by the time we got to Melville , the producer of fine chardonnay, viognier, syrah and the best damn QPR pinot noir in the Santa Rita Hills. I'd had their wines before and enjoyed them immensely, and had heard splendid things about their beautiful property and tasting room, but on this day something was amiss. Jon and I were in a heightened state after our visit to the ghetto, and the staff at Melville just wasn't as engaging as Alicia at Palmina. Despite the appropriately cordial service, we felt gypped, and with our expectations for service let down, our palates refused to connect with the wines. We found the chardonnay over-oaked, the viognier (usually a favorite of mine) lifeless, the syrah biting and the pinot noir just, well, lacking. We had planned to sneak in one more winery visit next door at Babcock , but our tanks, both physical and emotional, were empty. 

A man who allows wild passion to arise within himself burns his heart, then after burning adds the wind that thereto which ignites the fire again, or not, as the case may be. - Jack Kerouac  

At this point, Jon and I were badly in need of a substantial meal, and as I've said before, it's almost a requirement when in the Santa Ynez Valley to visit the Los Olivos Cafe . It was spectacular as usual. We shared the Toscana pizza with Garlic and Olive Oil, Fresh Ricotta, Mushrooms, Fontina and Truffle Oil which was amazing (and would've been great with the Fiddlehead 728...), and the Spinach and Apple Salad with Baby Spinach, Green Apple, Cranberries Toasted Walnuts, Dried Fig, Cranberry Vinaigrette, Farmhouse Cheddar - another number one stunner. We rested at our table, fat and happy, until we were ready to call it a day and return to the real world again, if you can call Los Angeles the real world...

I loved the way she said "L.A."; I love the way everybody says "L.A." on the Coast; it's their one and only golden town when all is said and done. - Jack Kerouac