We eased in to the day with plans to head north and do some wine tasting.
First though it was off to the post office for some stamps as we have 11 grandkids to get postcards off to!!
Ed (my step dad - he and my mother live here in Ventura) had mentioned they have a Sideways Winery Tour - a self guided tour of wineries that were in the movie Sideways.
So we got on Hwy 101 and headed north with a destination of Firestone Winery.
We headed towards Santa Barbara traveling along the coast and in sunny weather.
Just past Santa Barbara we turned off on Hwy 154, now going northwest up in to the Santa Ynez Mountains towards Cachuma Lake. We crossed over 2,225 foot San Marcos Pass (this would have been a great ride on the Goldwing!) and then dropped down to Los Olivos.
We stopped at the Los Olivos Grocery - quite the hub of activity - and then headed out in to wine country.
At Firestone Winery in the movie "Sideways", is where the four main characters, Miles, Jack, Maya, and Stephanie are bored with the wine tour and sneak away into the barrel room.
This winery was once part of the Firestone Family's wine and tire fortune. In fact, one of The Bachelor "contestants", Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of Firestone founder Harvey Firestone, made this winery even more well known while on the show, bringing dates here and sipping Firestone wine on the show. All the their wines were good, but their '04 Merlot Reserve and their '05 Cabernet stood out and are now in our wine box to come home with us! :)
Next was Foxen Winery with "OK" wines but our least favorite of the day. In "Sideways," you don't get to see much of this tiny winery. Miles and Jack are wine tasting and when the server leaves for a moment, Jack swiftly grabs the wine bottle and pours a healthy glass for both.
Then on to Rancho Sisquoc Winery. 
This wasn't a winery seen in Sideways but is near others that were in the movie, plus it was one that sounded interesting. Besides having a wonderfully friendly black and white cat to visit with, this winery had great every-day wines, all reasonably priced. "...as you drive the road that snakes along the
edge of the valley floor to the ranch headquarters
and tasting room, you leave the rush of the present
day behind. The farmhouse and barn date from the
early 1900s..." We ended up buying their '06 Sisquoc River Red and their '06 Syrah. AND we were allowed to pick oranges from one of their orange trees (they had grapefruit trees too)! Simple thing...but what fun!
And last winery for the day turned out to be the most fun... Tres Hermanas Winery in Santa Maria. Both the owner, Paulette Teixeira and winemaker Luke Lindquist were there and very enjoyable to visit with. While there, a family of eight came in - Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom and 4 kids. Also in the tasting room/gift shop was a mechanical horse with leather reigns and saddle. Aha! I asked the parents if it was OK if I paid for each of the kids to ride the horse. They were OK with that and the kids' eyes lit up! They all rode, from the youngest to the oldest. Turns out that if the rider pulls back on the reigns the horse goes faster and the rider looks like they are REALLY on a galloping horse! The gears below are covered in plexiglass so you can also see how everything works! Very cool. All the visitors in the tasting room enjoyed the fun the kids were having. While the oldest child was riding (maybe 10?) the grandma came over to me and said, "This is the first smile we've seen on her all day!" What fun! Tres Hermanas winemaker is the only, or at least one of only a few, local winemakers that uses a grape called Refosco. It's a grape that originated in northeastern Italy and is delicious! We bought 2 bottles of their '05 Refosco...and a watch for Cheryl! haha The winemaker signed our bottles as well...
Interesting note... Both the Rancho Sisquoc and Tres Hermanas wineries are on thousands of acres that were originally for cattle businesses which are still active. The wineries and vineyards are really a second enterprise on these properties.
We decided to swing in to Los Olivos to see if there was a place for dinner. We asked a couple on the main street - yes we just stopped right in the middle of the main street - reminds me of Darrington - where there was a good place to eat. They suggested the Los Olivos Cafe.
And yes, this too was a shooting location for the move Sideways! haha
We got "home" about 8:40, in time to watch most of the American Idol and all of Dance with the Stars - Results.
Oh, yes it did rain. The whole time we were up in the Los Olivos/Santa Maria areas! But it really was just a heavy drizzle at most and was very on and off - mostly off. Funny thing is everyone was HAPPY to have the rain. So happy in fact some folks were taking pictures of the rain! haha
Until tomorrow...
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