Craig's Thoughts..

- April 2013 - Spring is here and the vineyards have broken bud. The new green growth is anywhere from 2 to12 inches long. There is still a chance of frost, but so far we have not had any. We'll begin suckering (pulling off the extra shoots) soon, and will worry about serious crop thinning once the flowering is complete. It looks to be a nice cool, but typical spring. I like typical. Too much wind or too much fog or too much heat can mess things up. Harvest 2013 is heading our way. Have a great summer!

June 1, 2013- The 2013 Jaffurs Wine Futures Presell program will begin. Each June we offer a limited amount of new, unreleased wines at up to 20% off the release price (15% off for non-club members). The wines may be picked up or shipped next Winter or Spring. Look for our email and order your futures wines online.

Event Calendar

May 2, 2013 - Join us for a Jaffurs wine tasting at the Vintage 1255 wine shop in San Luis Obispo. You should know this terrific shop. www.1255.com

May 11, 2013 - Join us and the best-of-the-best wineries in SB County at the Wine Hound's annual tasting. See the new Wine Hound store in Santa Barbara's La Cumbra Plaza. 1-4 PM in the inner portion of the mall, outside, between the front of Macy's and the courtyard fountain. Price is $25 per person for the event, and most (if not all) of the proceeds will be donated to the Unity Shoppe. www.winehound.com

May 17, 2013 - Santa Barbara Rhone Rangers Tasting and BBQ - Meet our dedicated group of Santa Barbara County wineries that produce Syrah, Viognier, Grenache and other Rhône varieties for a great barbeque and walk-around tasting at Curtis Winery’s Tractor Barn, 5009 Zaca Station Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441. Enjoy the wines of Andrew Murray, Beckmen, Curtis, Fess Parker, Jaffurs, Larner, Margerum, Qupe, Stolpman, Tercero, and Zaca Mesa. Bruce’s Prime Cuts from Lompoc will be preparing a traditional Santa Maria BBQ with tri-tip, chicken, and all the fixings. Tickets are available on-line at sbrr.eventbrite.com for $45 each. You must be at least 21 years of age to attend.

May 23, 2013 Wine Dinner at Cafe Zack. Jaffurs joins with one of the greatest restaurants in Ventura for an evening of food and wine. $65 call 805-643-9445 for reservations. www.cafezack.com

July 14, 2013 - KCBX Wine Classic. Jaffurs will participate in the Santa Barbara County Syrah Symposium at 11:00, just before the grand tasting that begins at 1:00. The panel includes the best of the SB County syrah producers. The grand tasting is always a fun afternoon. Both events are hosted at the Avala Beach Golf Resort. The full weekend of Wine Classic dinners and other events run from July 11 -14. www.centralcoastwineclassic.org

July 5, 6, 7, 2013 - Mammoth Food and Wine Festival. We will be doing a winemaker dinner at Petra's Restaurant on Friday. (shedule and menu is still TBD) This is a great three day event complete with seminars and wine tastings. Tomake the event even better, it is located in the spectular High Sierra setting of Mammoth Lakes Village, California. www.mammothfoodandwine.com

April 15, 2013 - Santa Barbara County Vintner's Festival. This event takes place at the old mission in Solvang. All the great wineries will be pouring and our best restaurants will provide food. Do not miss it. www.sbcountywines.com

April 6, 2013 Wine Cask Dinner! Enjoy a nice 4 course dinner coinciding with our annual Wine Club Barrel tasting. Both events are Sold Out www.winecask.com

June 24, 2012 (Sun) - Jaffurs Wine Club Dinner at Akasha Restaurant in Culver City, CA. Enjoy a special menu from Chef Akasha paired with Jaffurs wines. We will be bringing some library Syrahs in addition to the wines paired for each course. Staggered seating times available from 5PM. Call Akasha for reservations at (310)845-1700. www.akasharestaurant.com

June 30, 2012 (Sat) - Santa Barbara Wine Festival. The finest restaurants and wineries will be setup in along the creek at the beautiful Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Always a fantastic event. www.sbnature.org

July 25, 2012 (Wed) - Paradise Pantry Wine Tasting. Join us with proprieters Tina and Kelly at a fantastic little wine bar and store in old town Ventura, CA. We will be tasting the Jaffurs wines along with some of Kelly's fantastic small app plates. www.paradisepantry.com

August 11, 2012 (Sat) - Annual Wine Club Picnic and Vineyard Tour. Enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon strolling through the Thompson Vineyard in Los Alamos, CA. We will bring a bunch of fun wines, have a nice picnic meal, and lead tours through the vineyards. We will be opening up the event to include friends of club members this year. This is one of our favorite days of the year. Save the date.

Our 2011 Grenache, Verna's and Thompson Syrah were bottled in April 2013. Our 2012 Viognier, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc were also bottled. Everything went really well and these wines will be featured in our Futures Program which opens June 1, 2013.

You might note that Roussanne is back in our line up after a few years absence. 2011 wine marked our renewed access to the wonderful Stolpman Vineyard fruit you remember.

In addition, we are again making a red Rhone style blend. This wine uses what we learned from our UPSLOPE program and blends "upwards" using some of the the best Mourvedre (50%), Grenache (30%), and Syrah (20%) barrels in the winery. We call this wine HIGHTIDE in recognition of Craig's love of surfing .

We will to bottle the remaining 2011 vineyard designated syrahs in September, along with the 2012 SB County Syrah and Vineyard Petite Sirah.


You can purchase wines directly from us - click here to find out how. Or, e-mail us with your home address and we will add you to our mailing list. Hurry, the vineyard designated syrahs are selling fast.  You may also press the Tasting button to find a retailer or restaurant near you that carries our wine. 

Our 11th Harvest in our New Home - In March 2000 we purchased a small industrial lot in the city of Santa Barbara.   Construction of our new winery began in March and completed in five short months - just in time for the 2001 harvest.  Among other things, the winery has a walk-in chiller, environmental control, and affords us the ability to work at a careful and natural pace.  In addition, it is only only 7 minutes from home.  This new facility helps us reach toward our full winemaking potential. It also preserves the quality of our home life. 

We are open for tasting Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 11 am to 5 pm. During the summer months from June 1 through August 31, we are open everyday from 11 am to 5 pm. Appointments are not necessary if your group is 6 people or less, and you plan to visit during our regular tasting hours. Tasting fee is $10 per person. If you have a group larger than 6 people, please call for an appointment. Tasting fee for large groups is $15 per person. Call 805-962-7003 or  e-mail if you have questions.

Other Events? - ask via e-mail