So here we are at the Vintners' Festival 2006, clearly the best in many years in Santa Barbara County! For several reasons, not the least of which was that everyone was bussed in to Firestone Meadow (thank you very much Firestones for again allowing us use of your inimitable venue) from decent parking and it wasn't necessary to have a Silverado 4x4 for a change. But in addition, what was originally forecast as a rainy day was utterly gorgeous with all those "The Simpons" clouds keeping the sun from being too glaring. And as if that wasn't enough, they kept pushing back the closing time from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM and then to 5:00 PM ... WOW!

And it was much easier to find any special wineries you were interested in because they were generally arranged alphabetically. Row, after row after row! I didn't get an official count, but it really seemed like half again as many as last year. While there was a stunning crowd, there seemed to be enough pouring that there weren't those ugly long lines anywhere.

And even better, for the first time that I can remember there seemed to be enough food booths. Other than the chocolate dipped strawberries I didn't see any food lines of any consequence. This just seemed like the best managed Vintners' Festival in a long time.

When I arrived, having ridden in on the shuttle from Fess Parker's winery along with my wife and daughter, Alicia was already pouring and sharing information about the current offerings that include 2004 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills, 2003 Syrah Santa Barbara County, Sauvignon Blanc Santa Ynez Valley and Chardonnay Santa Barbara County. We had our usual line of folks, many returning from previous years with questions and comments, stories and life events in addition to all the new faces.

The Gods always seem to shine on us as we were situated right next to Chef Rick's, behind the Brothers from Mattei's Tavern, both of whom take care of their winery bretheren. We were also near enough to the Silent Auction and Live Entertainment barn to hear the sweet tunes wafting across the meadow.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was a very pleasant visit by DeWayne Holmdahl who was interviewing for his Wine Show "From the Growing of Grape to the Glass" [Saturdays, 11:00AM-12:00 Noon, KSMA 1240] with John Krska, General Manager and Master Winermaker at Casa Cassara. John is always willing to share his vast experience as a vineyard farmer discussing everything from starting new vineyards to the kind of hand care his vineyard stewardship entails. He also has a vast knowledge of the evolution of the grapes in the valley, having farmed many, many of the vineyards both for other wineries and for several of the vintages of the Casa Cassara label.

I went wandering after DeWayne moved on to another table, walking up to the top of the grassy knowl that overlooks the meadow (see top image) where there were a certain number of young couples as well as older parents with their offspring, all simply enjoying a grand day after all the rainy, indoor weather we have had. One of the wonderful facets of this annual event is that it falls after Spring Break when everyone is back in school and the weather is as bad as it gets ... then VINTNERS' FESTIVAL happens, bringing some magic relief to the humdrum world that has returned.

John Krska with DeWayne Holmdahl.	The Entertainers	Food!
Food!	Chef Rick's	Pouring.