Saarloos & Sons

2 Ratings: 3.5

A winery in Los Olivos, California.

From SBCountyWines: Saarloos and Sons is a Family - Farming Operation - Vineyard - Wine: THE BEST WINE YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF! Each wine is a limited release that takes best represents SAARLOOS & … see full wiki

Tags: Wine, Wineries, Cupcakes, Tasting Rooms, Santa Ynez Valley, Los Olivos, see all

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The Hippest Winery on the Central Coast

Mar 22, 2010

by sygyzy
posted in California's Central Coast Wine Scene

Rating:

I'll be honest, I visited the Sarrloos and Sons (from now on known as SaS) because I wanted to eat some delicious treats from Enjoy Cupcakes, which shares a corner of the tasting room. A friend and I got the flight of six cupcakes and walked 10 paces over to the wine bar. Little did I know, my mind was about to be blown.

The tasting room is the first thing you see when you turn on Grand Ave in Los Olivos. I am a sucker for good design and styling and whoever decorated SaS (I hear it's the wife of one of the owners), knew what they were doing. When you walk in, you immediately feel like you are in a hip club, then that feeling immediately changes to anxiety. Am I cool enough to be here? Is anyone going to pay me any attention? Luckily, the pourers, and one of the owners, are very approachable and do their best to give everyone a minute of their time. On to the vino!

I am not a wine guy. It's not that I don't like it, I just don't know anything about it and I don't even try to learn because, quite frankly, it seems overwhelming. I don't know much but what I do know counts - do I like how it tastes or not? Simple. The pourers do a great job of telling the story of the winery from its humble beginnings where the owners only farmed grapes to present day where it dawned on them that they should be fermenting the fruit. I am glad they decided to do so because the wine is quite tasty. I think my favorite is the 1946 [edit: corrected thanks to the commentor] which is a blend of 60% syrah and 40% cab sav. Get it? 6-4? 1946? Oh, it doesn't end there. The picture is an old family photo of the founder and his wife on their honeymoon. Two people? A blend? A wine blend. God, these Sas people are clever. By the time you finish the 6th wine, you feel like you have an abridged history of the family (and even Extended Family which also happens to be the name of the last bottle).

The people at SaS are marketing geniuses. They have tapped into the cupcake craze with Enjoy, offer deals on Foursquare (don't forget to check in, though I might as well tell you now - you won't usurp King Keith), somehow are able to attract the trendiest and prettiest people into their tasting room, and have a really cool story to tell with their bottles. This all would mean nothing if their wine wasn't delicious, but luckily it is.

Don't take my word for it. Go check it out one weekend while this beautiful SB weather lasts. If you're unsure, at least go for the cupcakes and stay for the wine. If you like a bottle, pull the trigger. Unlike other wineries that make yearly editions of the same wine, SaS makes their wines once only. That means that 1964 I liked so much won't see a repeat performance next year.

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djevoke November 10, 2011

I'm definitely going to have to check this out. With all the wineries in the SB area, it can get overwhelming and you never usually know which to check out. But, after reading this, I'm going to have to add this to my list! Hello, cupcakes and wine and beautiful Los Olivos!

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JSMaresca August 13, 2011

Sounds like excellent wine !

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devora March 22, 2010

You totally just sold me on this winery. As a cupcake enthusiast, wine lover, foursquare addict (just check out my review) and eye candy appreciator -- I can dig it! Must check out when I visit SB. Thanks for sharing! :)

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trailblazer March 22, 2010

Great review! Cupcakes and wine is like my personal heaven. I agree with you about the 'moon wine. It was my favorite when I went. It's 1946, not 1964, but you have the percentages for the varietals right. P.S. -- You seem totally cool enough!