My daughter invited 15 of her closest friends to our house to celebrate her 18^th birthday. We recently had our back yard remodeled so the teens took over the back yard and game room. My husband and I found solace in our courtyard on the side of the house opposite the back yard, where the sound of the running water fall and the upbeat 80’s station my husband had playing on Spotify drowned out the noisy teens.

Rusack 2010 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir: As part of our enjoyment of the evening we decided to open a bottle of Rusack 2010 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir. My husband purchased this bottle on the recommendation from some well respected wine folks on a business trip to Santa Barbara earlier this year. If you have never had a Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County run to your local wine retailer and purchase a few. The 2010 SBC Rusack Pinot Noir had an inviting bouquet; it opened with strawberries and pomegranate; those two flavors were pronounced on the palate along with some spice and a hint of coffee. On the back of the palate was where the SBC terroir opens up with flavors of an earthy minerality and wet stone that dance down the back of the throat. My husband paired the 2010 SBC Rusack with a turkey burger on a toasted wheat bun topped with roasted artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and avocado. He said it was delicious. I paired the Pinot with a grilled chicken breast with a basil pesto sauce and roasted green beans and sundried tomatoes. That pairing was also delicious. The sweetness of the pesto and the savory flavor of the sundried tomatoes offered an excellent accompaniment to the 2010 SBC Rusack. The wine was very food friendly so it would pair well with a variety of dishes from roasted pork with a raspberry chipotle sauce to a crab tostado as well as a strawberry tart or chocolate mousse cake. That being said, the Rusack 2010 SBC Pinot Noir had such a wonderful offering of flavor, I enjoyed drinking it without food; taking in all the nuances of flavors and aromas. I would definitely recommend this wine!

The grapes that comprise the 2010 SBC Pinot Noir came from four different vineyards: 37% Sebastiano’ 24% Solomon Hills, 23% Rio Vista, and 16% Fiddlestix. Each vineyard felt the effects of the cool nights and rolling fog of the Pacific coast. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels (of which 35% are new). The wine was bottled unfiltered in the fall, aged in the bottles for a few months then released in the spring. The wine contains 14.3% alcohol and is ready to drink now or up to 5 years if properly cellared. Because Rusack is a boutique winery their wines are not widely distributed; however, I encourage you to go to their web site to learn about the winery, see their portfolio of wines and order several bottles of this pinot. The 2010 SBC Pinot sells for around $30 and worth every penny!

My song selection: The song I am pairing with the Rusack 2010 SBC Pinot Noir is All Night Long by Lionel Richie.  I  selected this song because: 1) the teens in my house could have stayed all night long; 2) this song came on the Spotify station and I knew it was the perfect pairing with the Rusack 2010 SBC Pinot Noir because I could drink and enjoy the Rusack 2010 SBC Pinot Noir all night long! The Rusack 2010 SBC Pinot Noir is an excellent example of the high quality wines produced by dedicated winemakers in Santa Barbara County.

Go get your own Rusack 2010 SBC Pinot Noir and let me know what song you would pair with it! Cheers!