carhartt vineyard… a small shack with some big wines

Their website calls them the worlds smallest tasting room- I have to agree. Located in Los Olivios, across the street from Saarloos and Sons in the old Conn Creek tasting room is carhartt vineyards.

But don’t let the size fool ya, what you get here is what I feel is near the ultimate in wine tasting experiences. The person pouring the wines is Mike Carhartt the wine maker himself. Ask him anything about the wine, grapes, farming, weather, the theory of relativity, and he has an answer for you. Mike along with his wife Brooke and their son operate this strictly family run vineyard and tasting room.

And the wines of carhartt are very nice indeed. I ended purchasing their Grenache Blanc ($21) that was full of honeysuckle aromas with a nice light citrus taste; Sauvignon Blanc ($21), their Sangiovese ($24), two bottles of his Merlot ($30) and my absolute favorite, the Bordeaux blend with 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cab Franc, 3% Petite Verdot appropriately called “Four Play” ($35). Upon tasting this wine I swear I could have closed my eyes and believed I was in the Saint Emilion region of France. This wine had a velvety texture that I love and is normally felt in much more expensive wines. Defiantly this is a wine to enjoy with a nice meal, and lingering finish that brought joy to my pallet. I bought a couple bottles of Four Play, and I plan on laying them down for a few years.

Next time you are in the Solvang area wine tasting, I suggest you stop by this little tasting room with the big wines and say hi to Mike and Brooke!

http://www.carharttvineyard.com/

Cheers-

Tim