Some of you may be "in the know" that Cimarone just opened the doors of their new tasting room just last month in Los Olivos (Santa Barbara County). As Happy Canyon is the newest AVA to Santa Barbara County, and their are no tasting rooms there, this is a very welcome site. 

Many of the very best Bordeaux varietals that are grown in Santa Barbara come from Happy Canyon. After recieving a recent Sauvignon Blanc sample during the summers last hurrah of heat, I could not wait to taste such a refreshing wine.

I do believe in eating and drinking based upon climate and heat drove me to this wine faster than others on deck. As I drove home from my first visit to the new tasting room, I thought about a cooler dinner in the coming hot days that might be fun with this wine.

One of the greatest foods to prepare durning extreme heat in my opinion is ceviche. Fresh fish (tilapia) and shirmp that cooks in lime juice. Add some fresh red onion, cilantro, garden tomatoes, salt and pepper to finish the dish. Sit in the fridge to cook over night and serve cold with totilla chips. No ovens, stoves, or extra kitcen heat, and eat a refreshing cold dish.

This 3CV Estate Sauvignon Blanc showed a tropical nose, pineapple. Crisp acidity with lemon zest and minerality. The zing kept me coming back for more. This wine could be argueed as being a true desert island wine as it was very refreshing. At $15.99 a bottle, I'm not sure how you could go wrong. 

By the way, the winemaker is the highly respected Andrew Murray of Andrew Murray Vineyards. Did I mention, how could you go wrong?