By Jonathan Mitchell
If the name Richard Sanford rings a bell to you, it should. He was the pioneer who first planted Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County with Sanford Winery way back in 1971! If you saw the movie "Sideways," you know the winery from the scene where a ponytailed tasting room manager, Chris Burroughs, pours Miles a glass of Pinot, to which Miles muses, "I'm getting just a flutter of Edam cheese!" Then chastises his not-so-savvy friend for chewing gum during a wine tasting! :-) Well, post-Sanford, Richard and his wife, Thekla, are back at it again, only this time with a hearty commitment to organic winemaking. As a matter of fact, this is Santa Barbara's first certified all-organic winery. The main reason they split off from Sanford Winery is their preference for organic grape-growing and sustainable farming. For more information on what sustainable farming is, please make sure to visit www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm At Alma Rosa, the Sanfords make Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc, with the Pinot Noir coming in two different vineyard designations. The 2004 La Encantada is more powerful and complex with a long, elegant finish. The more approachable 2004 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is a little softer and lighter, but very mouth filling and satisfying. The former comes with a $47 price tag, the latter $31. These wines are grown in the very sought-after Santa Rita Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area), only 100 square miles in size, established in 2001. The Santa Rita Hills AVA is the only area between Alaska and Cape Horn which has East-West running mountain ranges, allowing cool ocean breezes and fog to roll in and cool the grapes every morning and late afternoon. That very-desirable climactic effect makes for wonderful wines with beautifully developed fruit, excellent complexity and brilliant acidity. A great new winery from visionary pioneers! Visit www.almarosawinery.com for more details. And remember, as great as Pinot Noir is, please don't have a tantrum if anyone at your table orders a #$%&* Merlot! :-)
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