This summer “The CRUSH” took a road trip up the beautiful California coast on a quest for Pinot Noir. We embedded ourselves in the Santa Ynez Wine Country for the first time to try their wines.  Our pursuit for Pinot Noir was not on impulse, yet more of a decisive plan to bring a gorgeous bottle to the table for Blind Pinot Noir tasting we were hosting.  Dena and I are mainly heavy, full-bodied red wine drinkers, with the occasional sparkling.  So for us- this was going to be a challenge!  Our journey lasted three days and in that time we visited 17 wineries in search for the perfect Pinot Noir.  Oddly enough, not every winery carried a Pinot Noir which the region is hugely known for.  However, we did fall hard for three delightful Pinots from:

• Foley
• Foxen
• Loring Wine Company (LWC)

On day one, we drove from Solvang to Lompoc.  One of our friends eagerly recommended that we stop in at Foley.  They claimed that the best Pinot Noir is produced there.  So we had to swing by and check it out.  As we drove through the gates we could see the winery up on the hilltop overlooking the vineyards.  Once inside we were greeted by a charming woman named Veronica who passionately went over the list of Burgundy wines they serve.  We were very impressed with each sip of wine and walked away with a delicious 2015 Pinot Noir SI from Bar Lazy S Ranch Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills.

Since we shared our stalk-ish quest of Pinot Noir with Veronica, she confirmed our need to head toward Foxen Canyon Wine Trail near Los Olivos to continue our journey.  She rattled off a few wineries that would fulfill our need and sure enough, another winery came up that a good friend had raved about as must.  So with that, we headed out to search for Foxen Winery and were told we had to visit the “Shack”.

From Foley, it seemed like it took an eternity to get to Foxen Winery but it was worth it. The drive was breathtaking; we traveled on a long windy road through the countryside of Los Olivos.  Once we reached Foxen, Dena had to take a few pictures on the quaint rustic exterior, and as we walked inside we immediately felt welcomed.  Looking down at the menu we realized we had hit the jackpot, nothing but Pinot on the menu baby!  After tasting some of the best Pinots we have ever had we walked away with a 2014 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir from La Encantada Vineyard and a 2014 Pinot Noir Block 8 from Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.

We continued our search over the next couple of days, and just as we were on our way out of town, we had stopped replenished with some scrumptious eats and stumbled upon a unique shabby chic tasting room in Buellton called Loring Wine Company (LWC). We weren’t sure quite what to expect, it was located in an industrial area with roll up doors; more of a brewery vibe at first glance.  Once inside, Brittany greeted us with a smile and shared some amazing wines with us.  We landed on a 2016 Cooper Jaxon Pinot Noir from Lompoc, CA, which surprisingly enough was the perfect Pinot Noir for our blind wine tasting!

A week later, we hosted our blind tasting.  There were 7 different Pinot Noirs from all over California and 1 from France.  In the end, our pick of the 2016 Cooper Jaxon came in as a strong second.