SANTA BARBARA--The "FUNK ZONE"…ART, FOOD & WINE!!

I'D DROWN IF I SAVED ALL MY CORKS!! 

A WALK AROUND THE URBAN TRAIL

SO MUGH FUN IN THE FUNK ZONE

I'M INSTALLING ONE NEXT WEEK!!!!

Now while the rest of the country is gearing up for fall, we Californians will be enjoying a few more months of sunny and dry weather…it's the perfect time to take a day or overnight jaunt to America's Riviera, Santa Barbara! This gorgeous seaside town is flush with beautiful resorts, the historical Four Seasons Biltmore, Bacara Resort or the recently renovated El Encanto! Santa Barbara also boasts smaller chic hotels, such as the newly opened Artsy, Hotel Indigo as well as the Canary & Hotel Milo! Also a wonderful selection of mouth watering restaurants.. from the Blue Tavern to Petros, both on State Street and one of my favorites, Tre Lune in Montecito! And now let's get to what's really important the " Urbane Trail"AKA the Funk Zone….there are 23 tasting rooms which are all in walking distance of each other….if you can visit all these tasting rooms and still walk, you're a better man then me or woman! You can actually see the ocean from several blocks away so you constantly have a breeze cooling off your wine soaked body..Ha…While I didn't taste every wine in this area, try as I may, there were a few that stood out above the rest! We met the lovely Magan Eng at her place, Kunin tasting room and sampled some of their terrific wines…then took a stroll to her other spot called The Valley Project which specializes in wines from all the different AVA(American Viticulture Areas) of Santa Barbara county! A very fun & interesting atmosphere and truly informative... Showcasing each distinctive wine district from the oldest to the newest…they even feature a great Mouvedre on tap, no kidding..I 'd like to hook one of those up in my kitchen!

PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE AVA

Great wines to be had at Pali, with single vineyard Pinot's & Chardonnay and Jaffurs, which features Rhone style wines... But my favorite was the Pinots at Riverbench tasting room….these were perfectly balanced, from start to finish! They were so good I couldn't stop drinking them!!

DECISIONS, DECISIONS…...

  THANKS TO DREW FOR KEEPING MY GLASS FULL!

 We did manage to stumble into the most amazing shop with every conceivable guitar known to man, it was absolutely wonderful….LED ZEPPELIN WHERE ARE YOU…there are many art galleries and shops to keep you busy if you if you are done drinking wine…Really, does that ever happen??

JIMMY PAIGE'S CLOSET

And as we head on out of the Funk Zone I want to wish you all a happy weekend, and remember it's 5 o'clock somewhere…..Salute!
                                                 THE WINE CONTESSA