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A healthy dose of Vitamin D

Well, I would have to say there was near perfect weather in Santa Barbara this past weekend for the California Wine Festival. The skies were clear, and the temperatures ranged from the mid 60's to low 70's. It doesn't get much better than that, and it's the main reason we love southern [and central] CA so much.

Of course, I can always find something to complain about. It's just this time, it won't be the weather.

My biggest complaint was I didn't ride my bike for 3 days, and watching all the other cyclists riding along the beach, heading out for what was likely a brisk morning ride into the foothills, made me envious.

Then there was the fact, the hotel we stayed in wasn't what I had expected. It was nice [sorta], and the price was right, but it just didn't have the class nor the ambiance of the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort, or even the Hotel Mar Monte, both of which were on either side of us.

Oh, but so what! We didn't go there for the room, or the ocean view. We went there for the wine, and there was lots of it. Three days worth. Most of which was pretty good. We even came across two wineries I think deserve mention. The first one being Cynthus, and the other Tercero.  I particularly liked the concept of Tercero. There are 4 different wine makers (who also work at some pretty prestigious wineries), who produce their own version of wine from the same grapes. It was fun comparing the different styles. And Cynthus, I thought made a good Cabernet Sauvignon.

Another problem, was while the event was billed as the California Wine Festival, it was mainly wineries from the central coast participating, and most of the wines were of the Rhone varietal. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing (and had I read the website a little more closely, I would have known that), as I do enjoy Rhone wines, and Edie and I do need to expand our horizons from just Pinot Noir's. Plus there was the token participation from wineries around the state.

All in all a good time was had, and I did get my share of much needed Vitamin D. Especially on my head. I probably should have worn a hat.
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