A Valentine for Santa Barbara Wine Country.

There’s a certain spirit about Santa Barbara. As our friend Phil Carpenter tells it, “…Any minute there was better than anywhere else. “ Phil was kind enough to organize a Santa Barbara winemaker tasting at the studio a couple years back and I’ve dreamt of returning.

Phil is every winemaker’s dream: passionate, loyal, a true community-builder. But more than that, Phil has possibly found that elusive secret to life: in Santa Barbara he found “A place that just feels like home.” Santa Barbara is a close-knit community and if you want to get to know anyone even remotely connected to the wine industry, you call Phil. So I called Phil.

I also wanted to capture an image that is recognizably Santa Barbara so I called Lee Tomkow. His photograph “Vineyard in the clouds with Solitary Tree” captures the stunning beauty and virtue that is Santa Barbara. Find more of Lee’s work on his website: leecamerawork.com.

“Vineyard in the clouds with Solitary Tree” Lee Tomkow

 #WineStudio Tuesdays 6:00pm – 7:00pm PDT online Twitter

Week 1: February 2 – Phil Carpenter joins us!!!

If you love Santa Barbara wine but don’t know Phil, this is a must session! Meet the man who inspired our soon to be released February club collection: Santa Barbara Dreaming. @TheRealPhilC

Week 2: February 9 – Dan Kessler, Kessler-Haak Vineyard and Wines

From Michigan to California, from tech industry to grape industry, Dan Kessler grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, highly prized from many, more well-known wineries. We’ll learn how Dan crafts his wines from dirt to grape. @KHVines

Week 3: February 16 – Kimberly Smith, La Montagne Winery

Kimberly wanted to know what made good Pinot Noir tick. She went back to school and a chance encounter with a legendary winemaker made it all crystal clear. We’ll discuss her secrets, especially how she manages to smile in every picture she’s in! @LaMontagneWine

Week 4: February 23 – Larry Schaffer, Tercero Wines

Larry is one of the hardest working winemakers in the Santa Ynez Valley! From the publishing industry to the wine industry, Larry employs a grassroots social mentality to demystify wine for wine drinkers. He is opinionated, ridiculously intelligent and understands the wine industry inside and out. @tercerowines

It’s going to be one hell of a ride!!!

What is #WineStudio?

PROTOCOL wine studio presents an online twitter-based educational program where we engage our brains and palates! It’s part instruction and tasting, with discussions on producers, varieties, tourism, terroir, regional culture, food matching and what all this means to us as imbibers.

@ProtocolWine