Exploring the Funk Zone (Santa Barbara) - Part Two (Drink)

In my last blog entry, I discussed some of the great food places I have recently discovered in the Funk Zone, in downtown Santa Barbara.  Besides all of the great food places, the Funk Zone also has a ton of places to get your drink on!  Whether you enjoy wine tasting, beer, or spirits, the Funk Zone has a place for you.  When it comes to wine, the Funk Zone has a collection of new and eclectic wine tasting rooms to discover and enjoy, most of which are within walking distance of each other, which makes the Funk Zone an easy place to explore.

There are 17 tasting rooms in and around the Funk Zone which make up the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail, along with several other independent tasting rooms and wine bars.  Since I am primarily a wine girl, I will focus on the different tasting rooms I have recently visited.


Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant, 131 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara

Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant is a new wine bar which has recently been opened by two rising stars in the wine industry.   Owners Brian McClintic (Master Sommelier featured in the documentary Somm), and his business partner, Sommelier Eric Railsback, have created a beautiful space where you can enjoy numerous wines by the glass, along with some small bites, or you can purchase one of over 400 bottles of wine from their retail selection.  Of course, Les Marchands offers wines from Santa Barbara County, but they also have an extensive selection of bottles from France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and beyond.  The owners' vast knowledge of wine is clearly showcased in their glass and bottle selections.


Les Marchands is actually attached to The Lark restaurant, however, it's entrance is located around back, with only a small sign above the door, so you have to know where you are going (or ask someone) to find it.  The space is elegant and intimate, with one half being filled with floor to ceiling wooden wine racks of bottles for sale, and the other half being the actual wine bar.  It has both an urban/industrial decor, with exposed brick and duct work, but also an elegant sophistication, with a copper-topped bar, large chandeliers, and soft lighting.

 

This is a picture of the large wine racks which cover the walls on the retail side.

Les Marchands usually offers 25 different wines by the glass, with an emphasis on French wines.  They also have an extensive bottle list, but since I was alone, I stuck to the glass list.

I started with a glass of the Chateau des Tours Grenache, from Cotes du Rhone, France.  It was primarily Grenache, but blended with Syrah and Cinsault.  It was a big, full-bodied wine, which was well-balanced, with a smooth finish.

Les Marchands also offers a small bites and desserts menu. Again, the French influences dominate this list.

I chose the Charcuterie plate, which was served with whole grain mustard and cornichons.  The three meats were mortadella, and two different types of salami, one a bit hotter than the other.  The selection of meats changes on a regular basis.  As you can see below, the portion size was very large, and could easily have been shared.

With my charcuterie plate, I had a second glass of wine, which was a 2010 Domaine Tempier Mourvedre from Bandol, France. The wine paired well with the spiciness of the salami, as well as, the tartness and acidity of the mustard and cornichons.

I sat at the bar, and was helped by co-owner, Eric Railsback (in the glasses behind the bar).  He is a super nice guy, and has a wealth of wine knowledge which he is more than happy to share.

Overall, I had a great time during my first visit to Les Marchands.  I tasted a couple of really good wines, had a nice charcuterie plate, and enjoyed the total experience.  It is definitely a place I would go back to next time I'm up in Santa Barbara, and a stop I would recommend to anyone headed up that direction.

As I mentioned above, the Funk Zone is home to a majority of Santa Barbara's Urban Wine Trail, a group of tasting rooms representing Santa Barbara County wineries and vineyards.  I have not been able to get to all of them yet, but I've made a good start, and have already found a number of places I would certainly recommend visiting. 


AVA Santa Barbara, 116 East Yanonali St., Santa Barbara

AVA Santa Barbara is a modern tasting room featuring the wines of "The Valley Project", an ongoing exploration of the different Santa Barbara County terroirs.  They have a variety of small-batch wines from each of the regions 4 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), which include Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Rita Hills, and the newest member of the family, Happy Canyon.  In their winemaking, they are attempting to showcase the County's incredibly diverse and distinct viticultural areas.  As such, their motto is, "Taste your way through the County, one glass at a time."  

The centerpiece of this very minimalistic tasting room, is a hand drawn, wall-sized chalk mural behind the tasting counter, which is both impressive, as well as, educational.  The map helps you understand each of the different Santa Barbara County AVAs, and the various microclimates within them.  This allows you to better understand why different varietals of grapes thrive in specific areas.

For the true wine geek, on the tasting counter they have Mason jars containing soil samples from the various Santa Barbara County growing regions.  This is to help you understand the terroir of each of the different regions.

I did their tasting flight, which included two whites and three reds.  My favorite white was the 2010 Santa Maria Chardonnay.   It was not very buttery or oaky, like many typical California Chardonnays.  It was bright and crisp, and very refreshing.

As far as the reds, most were Pinot Noirs, which tend to grow very well in this region.  All had good flavors and were well-balanced.  I also enjoyed the Happy Canyon Merlot, which was on the lighter side for a Merlot, but still had a lot of cherry notes. 

I enjoyed all of the wines I tasted at AVA Santa Barbara, and believe it would be a good place to start your wine tasting experience in the Funk Zone, so you can learn more about the different regions before tasting other local wines throughout the day.

Pali Wine Co., 116 East Yanonali St., Santa Barbara

Right across from AVA Santa Barbara, is the Pali Wine Co. tasting room.  Pali produces premium single-vineyard and AVA specific Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from both California and Oregon.

 

Pali had a couple of tasting flight to sample, and I chose the one with only one white, and four reds, including three different Pinot Noirs, and a Grenache/Mourvedre blend.  I picked this one because it allowed me to do a side-by-side comparison of Pinots from two of my favorite Pinot growing regions, Santa Barbara County and Russian River Valley. 

I tasted their 2012 Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast, which had a lot of oak, and was not really my style.  Then I moved into the Pinots.  The Santa Barbara County Pinot had a lot of big fruity flavor, which I enjoyed.  However, the two Russian River Pinots had better balance and structure.  They were more elegant and seemed like they were made with a bit more finesse.  All three were good Pinots.  The last wine was the "Temescal" Grenache/Mourvedre blend.  I really love Rhone style blends and was looking forward to this one.  I felt this wine was only average, and the fruit seemed a bit under ripe, and not as big as a lot of Rhone blends from this region.

Of note, Pali also had some wines on tap.  They allow you to buy a refillable bottle and fill it up with any of the wines on tap.  You can bring the reusable bottle back whenever you want, and they will refill it for you at a cheaper cost than buying a new bottle.

I enjoyed Pali Wine Co, but would definitely say that the Pinot Noirs are the top wines here.  If you like Pinot, this is a great stop.

Riverbench Winery, 137 Anacapa St., Suite C, Santa Barbara

The new Riverbench Winery tasting room is located just down the street from AVA Santa Barbara and Pali Wine Co.  The Riverbench winery is located in the Santa Maria Valley, and is known for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  The tasting room is modern, but elegant. On one side, it has a long tasting bar, and then on the other, some cushioned benches making a few different seating areas for guests to relax on and enjoy a glass.

Riverbench has two tasting flight choices, one was wine, and the other was a bubbly flight.  I chose the wine flight, which consisted of a Rose of Pinot Noir, two Chardonnays, and two Pinot Noirs.

I was excited about the Rose of Pinot Noir, because I've had it before from other producers and really enjoyed it.  However, I was not a big fan of Riverbench's because it had some residual sugar and was a bit too sweet for my taste.  I did enjoy both Chardonnays, mostly because they both had little to no oak, and instead, were more crisp and bright which is more my style for Chardonnay.

However, I thought the true stars at Riverbench were their Pinot Noirs. The two I tried both had a soft elegance about them and good structure. 

I enjoyed the Chardonnays and Pinots at Riverbench, and would definitely put them on a list of places to visit.

Santa Barbara Winery, 202 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara

Directly across the street on Anacapa is the Santa Barbara Winery tasting room.  Santa Barbara Winery is the oldest winery in the county, and helped the development of the Santa Ynez Valley into a world-class wine growing region.  They are owned by Pierre Lafond, who also owns the Lafond Winery, and they were tasting some of the Lafond labeled wines as well.

I did a tasting which included two whites, a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc.  I thought the Sauvignon Blanc was average.  However, I really enjoyed their Chardonnay.  Their Chardonnay is their largest production with over 22,000 cases produced.  It is primarily fermented in stainless steel, which gives it a bright, crisp quality.  However, it is also fermented in oak, which gives it a good richness and complexity.

In regards to their reds, I tried a couple of their Pinot Noirs, but I preferred their more unique varietals, including a 100% Petit Verdot, which is rare, as Petit Verdot is generally used as a blending grape.  I was also able to taste their 2010 Lagrein, which is a northern Italian varietal, which I had never heard of, let alone tasted.  It had a big, bold fruit flavor and good balance.  I bought a bottle of the Lagrein, as I suspect it will pair nicely the next time I make pasta with a spicy red sauce.  All of the Italian varietals tend to be even better with food.

Their tasting room also had a nice little retail shop which included some gourmet items like flavored olive oils, French salts, jams, mustards, and more.

Their tasting room is also their production facility for their white wines, and they have a cool barrel room you can explore.

Municipal Winemakers, 22 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara

If you wander down Anacapa St. towards the ocean, you will run into the tasting room of Municipal Winemakers.  Municipal Winemakers has a funky, hip tasting room, which is decorated in an urban, industrial style.  In fact, their tasting glasses are kept in metal filing cabinets behind which are stacked up behind the tasting bar.

Municipal was offering a tasting flight of five wines, two whites and three reds.  The first wine was called the "Bright White", which was a dry riesling.  It was nice and refreshing on a warm day, and it was not very sweet, which I really enjoyed.  I thought it was one of the best whites I tried all day.  The second white was a Chenin Blanc, which I found to be just average. 

After the whites, the three reds were a Syrah, a Cabernet/Syrah blend they called "Dark Red", and a Grenache.  My favorite of the three was the Dark Red blend.  The Cabernet really shined through, and the Syrah helped give the wine a good structure and finish.

I loved the fact that their wine club is called "Club Awesome."  The name alone made me want to join.

The wines at Municipal Winemakers were all pretty good, and the staff was very friendly.  It is a fun place to go for a tasting and to try some unique and interesting wines.


Drake Wines, 32 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara  
My find of the day was Drake Wines, which is located next to Municipal Winemakers, down an alley.  Drake had a small, charming tasting room, with a very friendly and knowledgeable tasting associate named Kayla.  I went for their tasting, which was five wines, two whites and three reds, all pinot noirs.  The whites were okay, but I thought all three pinot noirs were great.   The three pinots all had huge fruit and pack a big flavor punch that knocked my socks off.  These are exactly the kind of Santa Barbara pinots that I love.

The tasting menu for the day is pictured below.

All three pinots were 2010, so fairly young.  The first was "Les Galets" from the Laetitia Vineyard.  This was the most classic pinot noir of the three, which had a good balance of both fruit and the terrior.  It was the most smooth and elegant of the three.  However, my favorites were the last two pinots, called "G Block" and "eNtropy", which were both from Bien Nacido Vineyard.  The Bien Nacido Vineyard is the premiere, most recognized vineyard in Santa Barbara County, specializing in pinot noir.  Both wines exploded with fruit, but also has good balance and structure. These two pinot noirs were my favorites of the day, so I bought one of each.

Although it is one of the lesser known spots in the Funk Zone, and not part of the Urban Wine Trail, I would highly recommend stopping for a tasting at Drake Wines.  It was probably my favorite spot of the day.


Overall, what really struck me about the tasting rooms in the Funk Zone was the wide variety of different places to taste.  You have the elegance and sophistication of Les Marchands, which has the feel of a Parisian wine bar; to the urban hipness/funkiness of Municipal Winemakers; to the quaint charm of Drake Wines.  There really is something for everyone's taste. 


Spirits:

Cutler's Artisan Spirits, 137 Anacapa St., Suite D, Santa Barbara, is a small scale, modern craft distillery.  Owner, Ian Cutler, is carrying on the tradition of his great-grandfather, a bootlegger during Prohibition.

Cutler is currently making three different artisan spirits:  (1) 33 Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is a 6 year old, small batch whiskey; (2) Cutler's Vodka, which is a corn-based vodka, distilled seven times; and (3) Grandma Tommie's Apple Pie Liqueur, which is the Cutler's Vodka infused with the same ingredients as his Grandma's apple pie, including apple juice, vanilla, and cinnamon.   

He has set up a store front in the Funk Zone, right next to the Riverbench tasting room, for people to sample his spirits.  However, due to laws regulating the sale of alcohol, he does not sell anything out of his tasting room, and the tastings are free.  He is simply trying to get his product out there to the public.  You can, however, purchase his products right around the corner at Les Marchands.

The only one of his three spirits that I tasted was Grandma Tommie's Apple Pie Liqueur, because the woman working in the Riverbench tasting room told me I had to try it.  It was just like drinking an apple pie.

If you are wandering around the Funk Zone, I would definitely recommend stopping by Cutler's Artisan Spirits, and at the very least, giving the Apple Pie a try.

Beer:

For those who enjoy other libations, there is a lot more than just wine in the Funk Zone.  The Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company, 137 Anacapa St., of Buellton has recently opened a beer garden right in the heart of the Funk Zone.  Since I'm not a big beer drinker, I have yet to go, but I know several people who have been there, and they've all reported that the beer is really good.

There is also the Union Ale House, 214 State St., that is supposed to have a good collection of craft beers, along with some decent pub grub.

With all the places there are to try, I have really only scratched the surface of the food and drink available in the Funk Zone.  I hope to make some additional trips up to Santa Barbara, and when I do, I'll add some more information to the blog.  As you can see, it is a really fun place to hang out, eat some great food, and sample many different wines from the region and beyond.  There are also some cool art galleries, surf shops, and other places I have yet to discover. So, I would definitely recommend a weekend, or even just a day trip, up to Santa Barbara in the near future to check out the Funk Zone.