We happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from October 14, 1999:

98 Santa Barbara Winery ZCS (67% Lodi OV Zin, 22% Carignane and 11% Sangiovese, both from Stolpman Vnd)--Generously aromatic, with simple red fruit and floral bouquet. A good, drinkable table wine. Nothing less or more. Light body, light presence in mouth, fairly high acidity, low tannin. Cherry and strawberry with some moderate oak nuances. Nothing out of sorts here. Just what a food wine should be. Good with your favorite red-sauced pasta or pizza. Pretty decent value for about $12. 85 Drink over next year.

98 Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay (various Santa Barbara sources)--Best QPR  chardonnay I've had in a long, long time. Big bouquet of tropical fruits, lemon, some toasty French oak in moderation, mineral nuances. Concentrated fruit, perky acidity that carries the fruit well. Very malo, reasonably oaky, you get some butterscotch and honey. Very long (30 seconds). 91. Will hold 3-4 years.  Priced in mid-teens, I cannot remember the last time I had such a good chard in this price range. (Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had such an inexpensive chardonnay, rarely as I drink the stuff.) This one rocks, for those who like the style. This is NOT for those who prefer Burgundy. BTW, it  went really well with dinner of sauteed halibut with brocolli puree sauce.

Quick pulpit, not much blood...

Domaine Arlaud produces a bevy of fine, high QPR Burgundies. Look for their village and premier cru wines from the 95 and 96 vintages. They seem to be reliable and able to avoid the erraticity of many producers, at least in the  N. Berkeley selections.

Bruce McGuire at Santa Barbara Winery continues to produce excellent wines almost across the board (there have been a few weak efforts). He's been revising the line up, exploring Rhone varietals in the past 2-3 years. Now there's a little Sangiovese creeping into the repertoir, along with mouvedre, grenache, carignane and of course syrah. His first syrah (95 vintage, I think) was ho-hum, but since then his syrahs have really hit the spot. He also produces a syrah under the  premium Lafond label (I haven't tried yet). The 97 SB Winery syrah is really lush, sappy, and structured and worth seeking out. Though the winery still  releases cabernet (not too good in SB County) and white zin for the masses, the diversification program is making them a particularly interesting winery to  follow. Their Late Harvest Savignon Blanc is among the best in the world! Their Beaujour (carbonic macerated nouveau zin) is better than most Beaujolais (and much better than all other CA Nouveau, including that insipid gamay crap from Beringer). Their PN (when it's on) is among the best in the county. They  make a pretty decent zin, sauvignon blanc and late harvest riesling. But the  Rhone varietals is where I think they'll really shine as their own vineyards gain some age.