Wine ! Cheese ! Santa Barbara !!

I was so taken with my imagined "perfect day in Santa Barbara" that I decided to try out another aspect of it personally, so that I could feel confident that my recommendations are 100% valid and "local-approved."

Plus, it was a good excuse to drink some wine.

So on Monday afternoon, Rick and I went to "The Cheese Shop" on State Street, just inside Paseo Nuevo Mall. It FAR exceeded my expectations. (I had walked in before and looked around, but never actually spent a chunk of time - and cash - there eating their cheese and drinking wine.) So now I can assure you, my recommendations for activities in Santa Barbara are flawless and you absolutely should follow my advice 100%. No questions asked.



Getting down to business: The Cheese Shop is awesome. There is more wine that anyone could possibly know what to do with in a single afternoon, and ... as the name suggests, plenty of cheese as well. The employees and owners (who are often on site) are super friendly and happy to answer questions or offer advice. And don't be afraid to ask about their "value wines" ... they keep a selection along the back wall for normal folk (like us) who aren't there to procure a collector's bottle of Screaming Eagle. (Though they do have high-end stuff for real wine snobs ... er, collectors.) We were tipped off to a fantastic find, a so-called "cult wine" that apparently made the Cheese Shop tasters dance with joy, called "The Prisoner." It's a $32.50 bottle of fantastic red, and I thought it was VERY good. I am no wine expert - I just know what I like - and I certainly liked this one.

Rick and I wanted to hang out there a little while and have a true "Cheese Shop" experience, similar to the one I suggested in the earlier post, so we opted for a 3-cheese platter ($18) and a tasting flight of white wine ($18 for 5 tastes, also available individually.) Rick also tried a single taste of the Silver Oak Cabernet that they have on the menu, for $9. A full bottle runs $95 and he wanted to give it a try.



Their tasting pours were VERY generous that day. I can't say if that's the norm or if the lovely lady pouring for us was just heavy handed (we LOVE heavy handed pourers !!) but if you're on a budget, 2 people could easily share a single flight. And the 3-cheese platter was also generous, with each cheese type paired with a nutty, sweet or savory flavor to compliment it: lingonberry jam, caramel, or mushroom tapenade. It was fabulous, and was the perfect mid-afternoon snack.

If tasting flights aren't your cup of tea, many wines are available by the glass, and they will also open a bottle that you purchase there for a corking fee of $10 (pretty standard in these parts.) I also confirmed with them that they DO ship wine. So feel free to buy a lot. Grab some of that "Prisoner" red - it seems like a well kept secret now but may go fast.

Further searching on the Internet - for information on this wine - led me to a fantastic and excruciatingly detailed wine and food blog: Vinography. It's worth a look.