Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang, California
By: Sarah O'Brien - Senior Editor - floatingcork.com
The room had the lingering effects of Sideways. The guests had all seen the movie, and it was very prevalent. Everyone appeared to be waiting for Miles to pop in. If he disappointed, they could always purchase the "as seen in Sideways" banner for a mere $159. I have to admit, the ambiance of the tasting room felt a little stagy, which I found to be a bit odd and off-putting. I know that no two tasting rooms are alike, and it is in that diversity that keeps us seeking different places to try, but I couldn't help but feel like we were duped tourists, caught up in the glamour of Hollywood, wanting to see Sideways behind the scenes. Perhaps I am being too harsh, after all, what do I know about how a tasting room should be - Blackjack is, after all, a Robert Parker fave. It is just that we were with our friend Tuyen from out of town, who had never even been to a tasting and I wanted to impress. When deciding where to go, Jeff threw out the idea of going to a couple of known winners – Buttonwood or Zaca Mesa. I instead wanted to experience something new with our friend, not through him, and was confident that Blackjack would be a sure jackpot. Though upon arrival, the pourer, in a room less than twelve, didn't realize we were three new people standing at the bar next to three empty abandoned glasses, not ours; she swung around and asked us which one we were on - nothing like stealing the warm and fuzzy out of our tour.
Enough about the ambiance though, on to the wine! The good news is that Blackjack ensures you are a winner. Ten dollars (a couple more bucks and you keep the glass), gets you ten tastings. You can bet that we were all in to try every single last one of them. This was no bar to belly up to if you liked to swirl and tilt and smell and linger, the pourer filled your glass faster than you could say "hit me". As we moved through the tastings I slowly came to realize that Blackjack was for the High-Rollers. A place to go to if you happened to have cash to throw at a $40 bottle of wine, only to add it to your cellar to forget about for a few years, stumble across and still be a winner. Yes, Blackjack is the place for a gambler, yet even for a scant ten spot you can still catch a glimpse of the big time.
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