Bridlewood Winery

100 California Wineries

Today I begin a blog within a blog.  Ever since I met that couple in North Carolina that focused their travels around lighthouses, I wanted to pick a subject and do the same thing.  While driving around the Santa Ynez Valley last week, it hit me.  Wineries.  I could collect wineries.  "Sounds good to me," my travel buddy concurred.  Duh.

And so I begin with a piece on the Bridlewood Estate Winery, located on Roblar Avenue in Santa Ynez, California.  Why Bridlewood?  Because of The Amazing Race.  Being travel addicts, we love this show, and Season 20 started out at this beautiful winery.  We fantasize about being contestants, knowing we could outrace anyone with our superb navigational skills and savvy know-how.  On the other hand, we would be the first team to lose.  In fact we would probably set a record for the longest, slowest leg of the race.  How could we possibly run from Point A to Point B without stopping to smell the roses?

  And if I had been a contestant on Season 20, I would have raced straight into their tasting room for a sampling of their chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon.  The producers would have had a fit!

I love the Spanish-style architecture of the winery, so reminiscent of the old California missions.  The property used to be an Arabian horse farm and equestrian rehabilitation center.  Because I was alone the day I toured here, I could not partake of the wine tasting.   It occurred to me, however, that I didn't need to drink to enjoy the place.  Acres of grapevines are surrounded by the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Raphael Mountains to the north.  It is a landscape of extreme beauty.  There are tables on the patios which overlook the valley.  The public is welcome to picnic here.

    The tasting room is open daily from 11 to 5.  There is also an extensive gift shop where I purchased a tee-shirt for Mimi.  After driving over the pass and arriving safely home, I could finally relax and open up a bottle of wine.  Mimi and I toasted to our first posting of our new blog within a blog.  Wineries!