Sanford Winery:  Averting the Cliché

It’s too bad about a certain movie that had a certain impact on a certain varietal that helped ignite the wine industry (and the Central Coast) to its current heights in the wine consumer renaissance. 

Unfortunately, It seems almost cliché to make a reference to said movie for fear of being labeled as “That Guy”— the one that drops cultural references to movies that stopped being cultural touchstones four years ago. Doing so would be an indignity in the same realm of egregious faux pas as wearing all white sneakers and pulling out a travel map on the corner of 54th and Broadway when the world is right in front of you, with neatly marked street signs to boot, as multi-cultural, trend-forward, non white shoe-wearing “natives” jostle you out of the middle of the sidewalk.

That said, Sanford Winery is featured in a certain movie, it’s located equidistant between Lompoc and Buellton on a lonely, dusty stretch of pavement called Santa Rosa Road, and visiting Sanford is a nice companion to a dinner stop at a certain restaurant (that serves a tasty Santa Maria tri-tip) that figured as a minor player in this major movie.

Sanford is also a good introduction to what equity partners can do when they endeavor to raise the stakes—Sanford Pinot, in the past, has always being a nice, well-made wine, but it never quite transcended to the top of the vista in between the twin peaks of delicious and reliable.  The Terlato Family have added much to quality in the bottle.

Vague introductions and sideways (ahem!) acknowledgements aside, the thing you should know is simple: Sanford Winery makes some killer Pinot and Chardonnay.

So good, in fact, they have now been inducted into my brand ambassador hall of fame alongside other favorites like A. Rafanelli and Dry Creek Vineyards.

To my palate, both the Pinot and the Chardonnay typify what is great about California wine —wines that are wrought with a deft touch and speak to a fruit-driven California sensibility that is unmistakable, while also being food-friendly. 

The 2007 vintage is currently available; I would urge you to try both the Pinot and the Chard—K&L Wine Merchants has the Pinot and the Chard is in good distribution nationally found by searching Wine-Searcher.com