Summerland Winery, just east of Santa Barbara, is better known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay than Orange Muscat, but after tasting this one in their tasting room I had to bring a bottle home. The tasting room is "seaside cute" on the outside, and "Santa Barbara rustic" on the inside. Summerland Winery is the easternmost point on Santa Barbara's Urban Wine Trail, and is well worth a stop when you're passing by on your way to some other place.
The Orange Muscat's clear bottle has a label full of sunflowers, giving the look of a perfect invitation to summer. The nose features apricots, or maybe a basket of overripe peaches. It's lush, but not overly sweet. Floral notes abound on the nose and the palate, with some honeysuckle and oleander.
I know I'll be back in Summerland sometime during its namesake season, and I'll be looking for this great summer wine when I'm there.
Variety: 100% Orange Muscat
Appelation: California > Central Coast > Santa Barbara County
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol Content: 12.5% abv
Price: $17
Acquisition disclaimer: Purchased by the author
Hi Randy, Lauren Galbraith from Summerland Winery here. Thanks so much for posting this on our Orange Muscat, we're actually about to release the '09 vintage which comes out in the end of April. Let us know the next time you plan on visiting! Cheers Lauren
ReplyDeleteI'll be there soon! Looking forward to it.
ReplyDelete