Inside Wine Tasting at Refugio Ranch Vineyards

Spring has opened her arms over Southern California, releasing a shower of blossoms. The undeveloped hills of California chaparral are graced with native bush monkey flowers, California poppies and purple lupine. Spring's gentle breeze rustles the leaves and breathes renewal into the land. It feels like a paradise on a glorious day in March.

On another splendid spring day last week, around 30 of us drove over Santa Marcos Pass from Santa Barbara to the Santa Ynez Valley to taste wine and have a picnic alfresco at the Refugio Ranch vineyards. Nestled against the northern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains and just south of the Santa Ynez River, the property is dotted with oak trees and is situated with a view of the ranch one one side and the Valley on the other. Owners Kevin and Niki Gleason and their family, have been careful shepherds of this idyllic piece of land, carefully carving out sustainably farmed blocks of grapes in the 415 acre estate while preserving its rustic beauty.

The vineyards are planted mostly to Rhone grapes. The whites (in order of acreage): Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, Semillon, and Malvasia Bianca, are carefully crafted into the Refugio Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, Tiradora (100% Sauvignon Blanc aged sur lie), Viognier and Ineseño (Roussanne and Viognier) by winemaker Ryan Deovlet. The reds: Syrah and Petite Sirah, are used to produce the Refugio Ranch Barbareño. There are also blocks of Sangiovese and Grenache. The latter will be included in a new blend to debut this fall.

The individual Refugio Ranch vineyard blocks are hand-harvested at night to insure maximum quality. At the winery in San Luis Obispo,  Deovlet crafts the fruit into expressive and beautifully-balanced wines.

Inside Wine Santa Barbara co-founder Lila Brown used her catering experience to lay out a beautiful spread of food, including pork loin with apple slaw, homemade chicken salad , breads, cheeses, salad, veggies and mushroom pate. We had a friendly "Best Dessert" contest with Prem winning a bottle of coveted Refugio Ranch wine for her pie made with hand-grated coconut.

With delicious wines to enjoy, tasty food, good friends and lovely views, we had the quintessential wine country afternoon at the peaceful Refugio Ranch vineyards, thanks to Sales Manager Nicole Carnevale. The vineyards are not open to the public, but their friendly tasting room at 2990 Grand Avenue in Los Olivos is open Friday and Saturday 11 am - 6 pm, Sunday and Monday 11 am - 5 pm.

Refugio Ranch wines will be featured at the upcoming Santa Barbara Culinary Arts "Backyard Bounty" dinner at the Rockwood Women's Club on April 22nd. Three chefs will prepare a gourmet dinner from local, sustainable ingredients.