Sanford Winery and
Vineyards is an established name in the wine industry, but recently it’s been given
a fresh face. On July 1, Sanford opened its new tasting room, a mission-style
building nestled among its bustling green grapes and adjacent to its
wine-making facility, which has been producing notable wines since 1981.
“We’re excited because we
are going to be able to do public tours of the very unique winery, one of the
prettiest in Califorina, but that of course is
subjective,” said Frank Dejohn, tasting room manager
for Sanford.
Located in the heart of
the Santa Rita appellation—between Buellton and Lompoc—Sanford has 106 acres of
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes on a mostly-wild 500-acre property. Since 2001
Sanford has operated its wine making facility on this property in an adobe
structure built two bricks thick and naturally insulated to the extent that it
eliminates the need for any artificial cooling.
When Sanford Winery’s
proprietors felt they had outgrown their tiny-but-charming tasting room on
Santa Rosa Road, that was just a few miles down from
the winery, it seemed natural to build their new tasting room in the same
location that the wine is produced. The tasting room is modeled after the
mission-style winery with adobe bricks that were formed right on site and
massive reclaimed-wood beams from an abandoned lumber mill in Washington, brought in to make the pillars around the
exterior of the building.
“The buildings are homage
to Old California,” said wine maker and General Manager, Steve Fennell.
“They’re designed so that in 100 years they’ll still look like they belong
here.”
The Sanford property
called “La Rinconada” is situated in a valley that
has recently received much acclaim for its ability to produce exceptional Pinot
Noir grapes. Pinot Noir is self-limiting in that it requires a cool climate.
Unlike other grapes that can withstand sustained high temperatures, Pinot
grapes benefit from a location that is close enough to the ocean as to profit
from the fog and cool breezes. Less known is the Santa Rita Hills’ ability to
produce exceptional Chardonnay grapes as well. Sea-fog mornings, warm
afternoons and cool nights are the perfect mix for these two varietals, which
Sanford produces exclusively.
“Focus is part of our
success,” Steve said. “With only two types of grapes we can focus on making
them the very best.”
Steve hails from Napa
originally, and says he enjoys the rural, slower-pace of the Santa Ynez Valley. He also appreciates the diversity in
agriculture. Even the Sanford property has dedicated some of its acreage to
Lima Bean crops.
“It’s an exciting time to
be in Santa Ynez as the industry moves toward
becoming predominantly viticulture,” Steve said, further commenting that
because of the agricultural diversity, Santa Ynez
will most likely not become as commercially driven as Napa.
When asked about the
world-wide wine market, Steve said California has an edge because of our fairly
consistent dry climate.
“Dryness is an advantage
because the vines are better controlled by irrigation rather than unpredictable
rainfall; because of this, wine grapes vary between good and great,” he said.
The Sanford harvest will
most likely begin around late September, coinciding perfectly with Sanford’s
Grand Opening and Open House on Tuesday, Sept. 20, when press, local trade, and
local industry will be welcomed to view Sanford’s new home. Those attending
will be treated to hors d’oeuvres, tours of the facility and of course, wine.
The Sanford Wine Club is
2,500 members strong, and therefore the Tasting Room building houses a VIP tasting
room for private events, corporate offices and a catering kitchen for future
wine club events held throughout the year for wine club members. The Tasting
Room and facility are open to the public seven days a week from 11a.m. till
5p.m.
Sanford Winery
is located at 5010 Santa Rosa Road, Lompoc. Call 805-688-3300 or visit
www.sanfordwinery.com