It’s no longer cool to simply go wine tasting at any old tasting room. We all have our favorite spots in town or cool-looking wineries we belong to for their pick-up parties.
But there’s a new game in the 805, and it’s about to up typical wine tasting from drinking with a view to a more hands-on experience, complete with farm animals to visit and an organic you-pick field.
Folded Hills, near Nojoqui Falls Park, is an up-and-coming family owned winery, farmstead and ranch that will offer an incredible wine tasting experience on the estate starting in 2019.
Andrew and Kim Busch of the Anheuser-Busch Companies and Busch family legacy, purchased the property in 2001 after both fell in love with the California lifestyle in 1998 during which Andrew Busch served as captain for the USA polo team at the World Cup.
After viewing more than 50 properties along the California coastline, the Busch family settled on the Folded Hills property, which coincidentally mimics the family’s St. Louis property seen in the iconic Anheuser-Busch commercials.
As the Busch family says, they are in the business of making friends, and their slogan certainly rings true after just one visit to the farmstead.
Come summer, you’ll will want to take full advantage of this family operation and visit the farmstead in Gaviota, where you’ll find fresh baked treats, local organic artisan goods and organically grown wines.
In addition to visiting their little country store that sits across the road from their soon-to-be wine tasting room, you’ll also have the option for a you-pick experience at the farm where you can wander and pick the 15 row crops of organic fruits and vegetables.
As if that weren’t reason enough to keep your eye on these guys, they are also slated to open their first tasting room on Coast Village Road, across from the Montecito Inn, after the new year.
For now, you can find their wines in a few shops around town, such as the Liquor & Wine Grotto in Montecito, or join their wine club. And find them you should.
Each wine they make has a tie to their family’s history with heritage labels such as Lilly Rosé and August Red, a nod to the six generational women named Lilly as well as Andrew Busch’s grandfather and father.
Folded Hills started planting grapes in 2014 and currently is growing 15 acres of double planted, double cordon vineyards of grenache, syrah, grenache blanc, claret blanc and marsanne.
Being the closest vineyard to the ocean — even closer than Santa Rita Hills by 2.6 miles — they are able to grow grapes that produce high acid, which in turn gives them the golden opportunity to produce wines that need no additives and can easily age up to 10 years.
In fact, this land once was a vineyard with a basement winery on the property during Prohibition. So, one could say the land has a history of producing good fruit as well as good times.
“The land speaks for itself, and we shepherd the grapes into what they’re going to be,” General Manager Tymari LoRe said.
I must say the vineyard’s proximity to the ocean is evident in these elegant wines.
The Lilly Rosé, the first of their wines to ever be released, is an intentional grenache rosé that is pressed whole cluster to give the wine a vibrant acidity and freshness that pairs beautifully with an heirloom tomato and burrata salad.
While the weather is still warm, get your hands on this rosé and enjoy the remnants of summer for as long as you can. Then stock up for the winter on the Grant Grenache, another of their heritage labels that is a nod to the farm that Andrew Busch grew up on and of which he later became manager; a property that was built by President Ulysses Grant and remains the only land still standing that was built by a U.S. president.
The 2016 Grant Grenache heralds notes of pomegranate and smoke perfect for pairing with anything on the grill or a charred winter squash.
I also would recommend getting a bottle or two of their first reserve label, the 2015 Ballard Canyon Grenache. Beautiful notes of jasmine on the nose and fore-palate give way to dark cherry and savory notes with a strong tannic structure.
This family and their farm are as approachable as their wines and definitely ones I’ll be keeping an eye on as they age.
— Tara Jones Haaf leads Eat This, Shoot That! and welcomes reader tips and ideas for future columns. She can be reached at tara@eatthisshootthat.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.