property. You can see the ocean from up top. We get that cool ocean
air that comes through. I truly believe that if you have a good vineyard,
the vineyard does all your work, and my job is just to not to screw it
up.”
Sandy’s wine label is called Cebada, and though that is the Spanish
word for barley, “Cebada designates the place and location here on
Cebada Canyon Road,” she says, adding that her fence line is right
on the western edge of Santa Rita Hills – American Viticultural Area,
with recognized neighbors including Hilliard Bruce, Pali, and Brewer-
Clifton all growing grapes.
“One thing I do differently is we actually use the county mulch
on the rows of the vineyard. It cuts all water needs in half because it
doesn’t dry out underneath. The water penetrates through and it stays
wet a lot longer,” says Sandy. Her guess for harvest is that it will be
early again this year: “We will probably be picking at the end of July.”
A tour of Sandy’s tiny, boutique winemaking facility reveals
a small batch of stacked wine barrels and a baby Scharfenberger
wine press. “I want to make really great wine – one pinot noir, one
chardonnay, and one sparkling wine a year,” says Sandy, thinking aloud
about the possibility of a mulberry wine and noting, “I only planted
for me. I never intended to sell. I’m getting 22 tons per acre and it’s
delicious. Last year we sold off about five tons of fruit, and then made
800 cases of pinot noir and 230 cases of chardonnay.
“It’s a big wide world out there. I don’t have the recognition yet,”
says Sandy. As her brand grows and people recognize the wine she
makes, she hopes for a small cult following.
Cebada has a small tasting loft in La Arcada Plaza in Santa Barbara
inside Isabella Gourmet Foods at 5 East Figueroa Street. Montecito
Wine Grotto and Montecito Village Grocery carry Cebada wines, and
Sandy reports her wine was just approved for sale at Whole Foods
Markets. Guests are welcome to visit Forbidden Fruit and Cebada
wines. The cost is $45, and $35 of that cost can go toward a wine
purchase. To plan a tour of the farm, visit ww.forbiddenfruitorchards.
com or call (805) 735-4648.
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