Originally Posted by
mlatuchie
TroganTraveler is 100% correct - I had heard about the hostile takeover by the Chicago based folks and it slipped my mind. I haven't had any of their wines in a while, so I am not sure what the result has been.
I am very close to a family that lives next to the Sanford Winery and they've completely stopped drinking Sanford (which knowing them means A LOT) - so I apologize for that complete oversight on my behalf...
Instead of hitting up Sanford, the recommendation of heading to Los Olivos is dead on. Not only are the wineries in the area great, but there are some great little shops and restaurants in Los Olivos that are fantastic!
mlatuchie, if you liked Sanford wines, look up Alma Rosa next time you're in the area. The Sanford family and many of the employees went there. At Christmas they were in an exceptionally well-decorated office strip (think of a very large storage unit), off a side road off 246 in Buellton. Very strange place to taste wine, but it was kinda fun. I think they're moving back to Sanford sometime over the summer. (I don't know the details, but I think that the Sanford family still owns the land, and the people who pushed them out are "leasing" the land, but they did take ownership of the Sanford name from the Sanford family. What a mess. But they're either going back to the original tasting room, or the new winery building built a few years back.)