2007 Santa Barbara County Wine Futures

This year marks the 18th year of Wine Cask Santa Barbara County Wine Futures, an offering of the finest selection of rare, hard to find, and selected barrels of wines produced by the top wineries in Santa Barbara County. Ken Margerum, owner of the Wine Cask Wine Store and Restaurant in Santa Barbara ( and restaurant in Los Olivos as well) personally selects the wines for this offering. A minimum of 6 bottles must be purchased, except for very unique wines where the limit is 2 or 3 bottles. The futures prices are 10-20% off the retail price. Tastings are held at the Wine Cask Restaurant and El Paseo Restaurant at 813 Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara on Saturday March 10th and Saturday April 28th (free). Many of these wines will be sold out after the initial tasting on March 10th - you have been forewarned. Visit the website at www.winecask.com to review the offerings, read the wine reviews, and order the wines. The phone number is 800-436-9463. Remember, 2005 is a great vintage in the Central Coast.

Some of the wines in the wine futures catalog that caught my fancy include:

2005 Arcadian Fiddlestix Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release $49.95, futures price $39.95)

2005 Arcadian Dierberg Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release $49.95, futures price $39.95)

2005 Au Bon Climat Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir (release $49.95, futures price $39.95)

2005 Au Bon Climat Estate Knox Alexander Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $44.95, futures price $35.95, magnums available)

2005 Au Bon Climat Nielson Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $49.95, futures price $39.95)

2005 Au Bon Climat Bien Nacido Vineyard “30th Harvest” Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $74.95, futures price $59.95)

2005 Drew Family Cellars “Potbelly Block” Cargasacchi-Jalama Vineyard Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir (release price $35, futures price $27.95)

2004 Fiddlehead Lollapalooza Fiddlestix Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price $55, futures price $43.95)

2006 Flying Goat Dierberg Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $39.95, futures price $32.95)

2006 Flying Goat Rio Vista Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price $45, futures price $35.95)

2005 Foley Clone 2A Rancho Santa Rosa Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price $45, futures price $35.95)

2005 Foxen Sea Smoke Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price priceless, futures price $74.95, 3 bottle limit)

2005 Paul Lato Duende Gold Coast Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $49.95, futures price $39.95)

2005 Longoria Fe Ciega Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price $49, futures price $39.95)

2005 Native9 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $52, futures price $41.95)

2005 Sea Smoke Botella Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price$40, futures price $35.95),

2005 Sea Smoke Southing Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price $54, futures price $48.95)

2005 Sea Smoke Ten Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (release price $75, futures price $67.95). 2 bottle limit on all three releases.

2005 Vino V Solomon Hills Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (release price $45, futures price $37.95)