​After our experience at Babcock, we headed up the road to Paso Robles and set up camp.  Well, not really set up camp.  I mean, it was a pretty nice air bnb we stayed in.  OK, so we didn’t rough it….  Anyway, the next morning we resumed seeking out more altars to Bacchus, more of the nectar of the gods.
Seeking clues to the native habits, our first stop was at a farmer’s market in the center of town.  It was raining a bit (just a drizzle, actually), but as were still in California it was enough to keep the natives indoors.  So we headed out to seek liquid sustenance.
Our second stop was at a place called Seven Oxen.  Much to our surprise, she was ready for us! How could she know we would be stopping there?  Someone had to have tipped her off.  Could it have been someone from the farmer’s market that we visited?  Not likely – we were the only ones there on that cold, rainy morning.  Perhaps someone from the first winery we visited?  No, they were too busy trying to sell us their mediocre wine.  No, it had to be someone from our group of intrepid explorers.  But who?

​And was she ever ready – not only did she have wine ready, but cheese and salads and flat bread pizzas (delivered from the distillery next door), individually to our order!  And there is was – right on the wine pairing menu.  A name – Frances.  It had to be one of group, Frances, aka, Charo, who had blown our cover – and, by the way, placed our lunch orders.  We were shocked!  OK, we weren’t really shocked – we had given her our orders -- but it makes for a good story, no?

​Seven Oxen is an Estate winery, but the winery itself is far removed from the vineyards, located in a commercial park.  The facility is nice, but lacks the nice outdoor seating and view of “country” wineries.

​As for their wines, the Grenache is quite nice – and this comes from someone who really doesn’t care for Grenache.  The others were good as well, and then there was the Tannat.  This was my first time tasting this particular varietal, and, well, I really, really liked it.  Bought some!

​They have two levels of wine club.  Level 1 requires purchase of 6 bottles every six months (12 bottles/year) at a 15% discount.  Level 2 is double that number of bottles at a 30% discount.  The discounts are good for other purchases from the winery, and for both levels wine tasting for two is complementary.

​We left Melville with the feeling that we needed more, but could we, dare we, go off the beaten path? Only a short deviation, perhaps, just across the way?  Yes, we would do it…
And there we were, standing in front of a large barn-like structure, an open doorway to another world.  Then we read the sign on the giant door – “Carpe Diem” – and we had to enter.  In front of us, on the far side of the room, was an altar to Bacchus.  Another altar sat far to our right.  We neither walked forward or turned right.  Rather, pulled by the allure of some strange music, we turned left into what could have easily been Pan’s Labyrinth.  And soon we found what was pulling us into this maze.  No, not Pan’s flute or the call of the Sirens, no, it was something far more powerful.  You see, they had taken those old records off the shelf!!!

​Reminiscing about those days of old, we wandered the maze.  Finally overcome by our great desire to again taste the nectar of the gods, we made our way to Bacchus’ altar on the far side of the room.  The nectar was there, and we tasted of it – Chardonnay, Grenache, and Pinot Noir, lots and lots of Pinot Noir.  We retreated to a comfortable nesting place not far from the altar, leaving only to refill our drinking vessels.

​But I was not satisfied.  I knew there had to be more, so I begged the priestess serving us for more.  More she had, poured from a black bottle, a dark red elixir, complex, fruity, with nice tannins, smooth as silk.  Cabernet Sauvignon was the name on the bottle.  I called over my fellow explorers, and they in turn tasted this wondrous liquor.  So good it was that we made an offering of plastic to the priestess, and she, in turn, gave us many bottles to help us along on our journey.
You may ask what god made these wondrous elixirs?  Well, his name was on the bottle:  Babcock.  Fortunately, Babcock is not stingy with his elixirs.  One can make offerings of gold, silver or plastic to obtain 2-6 bottles per quarter of a year, with savings of 20 or 25%.
Our thirst satiated, we left the wonders of Babcock, stopping only to take many, many pictures.  Then it was on to dinner and then northward, to explore other venues where we might find more of the wonderful nectar of the gods….

​Doc Ed did some scouting for us, hitting the wineries in the Santa Barbara area.  One of the wineries that he loved was Melville Winery, so we stopped there first on our way north.  As expected, it was well worth the visit.  Melville is located in Lompoc, on a main road going through the northern row of Lompoc wineries.  Very nice facility, with outside seating and a nice view – see pictures below.

​The tasting room is quite comfortable, but only had high chairs for seating – not my favorite set up.  Water available, but one had to buy munchies if so inclined.  Pictures of the inside follow.

​All of their wines are estate.  You can select tasting from one of two menus, a $15 dollar one and a $20 dollar one, though they don’t necessarily hold you to either one.  Menus are shown below.  I must admit to being a little perturbed by the winery.  You see, here they had some really great wines – in particular one super Pinot Noir – yet they served them at room temperature, which, while nice for the visitors was not particularly nice to the wines.  I just don’t understand why they didn’t serve them at the right temperature, especially their Pinot Noirs which really need to be served in the 55-60 F range.

​Now on to the most important thing, the wine.  Unlike many wineries, they pay particular attention to the clones, both of their Pinot Noir and their Syrah.  Attention to such details results in some pretty good wines.  For example, their Anna’s Pinot Noir is a mix of two clones – 667 and 114.  And it is fermented with the stems!  The result is a very, very good wine – which, not surprisingly, I am not the first to notice.  It was rated 96 by Wine Enthusiast!
But it wasn’t the highest rated.  That award goes to their Donna’s Syrah.  A mix of two clones – Estrella and 1 – it has a nice high black pepper, and was rated a 97 by Wine Enthusiast!  Bought some!!!  I really like the black pepper in wines, but to date only had Zinfandels with such high black pepper notes.  Also of note is their mixed clone Estate Pinot Noir – really good wine for the price.  Bought one of those as well.
The winery has three club levels – Premier Cru, Grand Cru, and Monopole – requiring purchase of 9, 18, and 36 bottles a year (in three sets), with 15, 20, and 25% discounts and 2, 4, and 8 free tastings per month.  Grand Cru membership limited to 600, Monopole limited to 200, so there is some exclusivity in joining the higher-level clubs.