Le Du's Grand Crew July '19: "Santa Barbara County"

Since the re-emergence of American fine wine in the 60s and 70s, Northern California has accrued the lion's share of critical and commercial success. But while categories like Oregon wine, Washington wine, and New York wine have carved out roles for themselves as contrasts to a monolithic "California wine", the most serious challenger may come from within the state. An array of wine regions have developed along the maritime-influenced Central Coast, often emphasizing a softer touch than the pomp of Napa and Sonoma. Santa Barbara County is the most southerly, but also the closest to the cold influence of the Pacific, and thus actually has the highest focus on cold-weather varieties in the state. As immortalized in the movie 'Sideways', Pinot Noir gets a chance to develop fascinating and unique flavors here, but Santa Barbara County has blossomed into a wide variety of grapes and styles as well.