Our final wine stop on our trip to the Santa Ynez Valley was at Gainey Vineyard. The story of the Gainey family is quite an interesting one. Please visit their website to read about the history of their farms and ranches as well as more about their vineyard.

Gainey is a lovely Spanish style winery that has received many accolades. Although a little dark, the tasting room’s ambience is very conducive to enjoying fine wine. Upon entering the tasting room we decided looked around a bit before standing in line to pay our tasting fee. Once we paid we obtained our complimentary Gainey logo glasses and proceeded to the barrel room to begin the tasting.

Before we made it to the barrel room we stopped to enjoy the massive wine bottle room. Walls on both sides of this narrow but long room housed hundreds of bottles. After getting a few pictures we made our way into the very large barrel room. There were two tables in the room. One table was for general public tasting and the second table in the back of the room was reserved for a bridal party tasting.

Wine Bottle Room

We found our place at the general tasting table and began by tasting a 2007 Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc. We both found this wine to be crisp, fruity and very enjoyable. This wine could definitely be poured and enjoyed on a hot summer day. The 2006 Limited Selection Chardonnay was the next on the list. It was absolutely delicious. It, too, was very crisp. However, it had stronger fruit flavors like peach and pineapple. Although the fruit flavor was bolder than the Sauvignon Blanc, the Chardonnay still finished very smoothly. The next wine we tasted in the barrel room was the 2006 Limited Selection Pinot Noir. This wine wasn’t appealing at all. It was very hard and bitter. The fruit flavors were very heavy and obtrusive. After pouring the remainder of that wine into the dumb bucket we were given the last wine to taste from that room which was a 2006 Limited Selection Cabernet Franc. It wasn’t as bad as the Pinot but we didn’t find anything extra special about it either. It was too spicy and sagey (if that is a word) for our taste.

The Barrel Room

The remainder of the tasting was being held in an area of the gift shop so we made our way to that counter to taste the final four. The first was the 2006 Syrah. I couldn’t wait to taste it because I haven’t really met a Syrah I didn’t like. This one was a bit disappointing though. It was drinkable but the finish was very peppery. We were told that this particular wine was a blend of Grenache, Viognier and Mourvedre along with the Syrah. The fruit seemed to be overwhelmed in this blend by pepper and spice. The next selection was a 2006 Limited Selection Syrah. This was definitely an upgrade from the regular Syrah. It smelled of blackberries and raspberries and had a creamier, smoother finish than the first. It was by no means overpowering.

Gift Shop

The next taste was of the 2006 Limited Selection Merlot. This was the jackpot of all the wines we tasted at Gainey. The aroma of this wine combines dark fruit and cocoa and the taste is smooth and creamy with decadent chocolate finish. If you like Merlot this is definitely one for your wine cellar. The final taste at Gainey was a 2007 Limited Selection Riesling. This wine was extremely refreshing. It had a nice mellow citrus flavor with hints of pear and apple. Unlike most Rieslings this wine had a very subtle sweetness to it. I quite enjoyed this wine as well and a few bottles of it along with the LS Merlot and LS Syrah managed to find their way into my shopping bag before I left. The Gainey Winery is a definite must-do on your adventures to the Santa Ynez Valley. We enjoyed it immensely. We were a bit disappointed though that we weren’t able to do an actual tour of this winery as they normally do about four or five a day. The day we were there they happened to be short-staffed and couldn’t accommodate any tours. Needless to say it still was a very pleasant experience and nice place to visit.

Chumash Casino

Now with a name like Gamble you know we couldn’t leave the SYV without making a pit-stop at the Chumash Casino. Neither my husband nor I had ever been there before and really didn’t know what to expect. When we got there though we realized that it was a true casino like many of those in Vegas. However, there were some differences. This casino’s age limit is 18, not 21 like Vegas. Because of that there is no alcohol served in the actual casino. You can purchase alcohol, however, upstairs at the Willow Restaurant but only if you purchase food.

So when we got to the casino my husband made his way over to the blackjack table and I didn’t see him again for at least four hours. I meandered around and played a variety of slot machines (that’s pretty much it for me) as well as checked out some of the other floors in the building. The main casino permits smoking. However, on the third floor is nonsmoking and there are slots as well as a poker room. After about four hours of slots (didn’t really win anything) and wandering around I decided to go to the restaurant to have a snack and a glass of vino. After a quick glance at the appetizer menu I ordered the clams and then peruse the wine list to pick out just the right wine. I initially order the Kalawashaq Zinfandel from Paso Robles. The smell was incredible, however, when I took a sip I immediately noticed the sweet licorice taste. I tried a couple more sips after letting it sit for a while but finally realized I wouldn’t be able to finish it. I then asked the server if I could try the Robert Hall 2006 Syrah instead.

She was very polite and brought me the glass of Syrah. She explained that she’d just opened the Zinfandel and that it hadn’t had a chance to breathe and was probably just tight. The Robert Hall Syrah on the other hand was perfect. The smell of cherries and blackberries immediately caught my attention. The taste was smoky and the finish, very smooth.

After my wine and my snack I decided it was time to gather up my husband before he gambled away the kids’ college funds. I found him still sitting at the blackjack table still playing. He played another round our so and then decided he’d had enough blackjack for the day. While walking it out we both agreed that we still like the Vegas casinos best of all. What else would we say…we usually win in Vegas.