{"id":2774,"date":"2024-09-10T19:08:57","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T19:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2774"},"modified":"2024-10-11T21:07:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T21:07:05","slug":"kunin-wines-take-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2774","title":{"rendered":"Kunin Wines, Take Two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A few issues back, Power Tasting featured a winery, Margerum<\/a>, that had moved from the refined area of Santa Barbara to the raucous Funk Zone.  Here, we report on Kunin Wines (www.kuninwines.com<\/a>), which went the other way.  Some years ago we featured Kunin in their old digs (now occupied by the Santa Barbara Winery).  We are pleased to say that the wine is just as good, maybe better, and the vibe is way, way cooler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We last visited Kunin in early 2017.  Tragically, the founder, Seth Kunin died later that year.  His widow, Magan, joined in time by their daughter Phoebe, took the reins.  Maybe we were just in a better mood in the new tasting room; maybe the vintages were better this time; or maybe Magan has just improved the wines.  Whatever the reason, we enjoyed the wines even more this time.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The new facility is in the Presidio section, once the center of Spanish colonial administration in Santa Barbara.\u00a0 In fact, some of the old buildings are visible out the window.\u00a0 It\u2019s a storefront, with an adjoining cheese shop.\u00a0 You can buy some cheese or sliced meats to accompany your tastes, if you so choose.\u00a0 The tasting room is small and sparsely furnished, with a few stools at the bar, and a few chairs and tables in an open room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Kunin tasting room, with a server ready to pour.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crowd control is not the problem it was in the Funk Zone, because there are no crowds.  Most of the uptown wineries have tasting rooms on the main drag, State Street.  Kunin is a few blocks away.  We hope that they attract dedicated tasters, because we suspect that foot traffic is sparse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kunin still makes Rh\u00f4ne<\/a> style wines with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre taking the pride of place.  (We hate to hear them called GSM, but that seems to be the American way.)  But Kunin also produces wines from a variety of grapes not often found in the US.  These include Carignane, Cinsault and Counoise.  Whites are made from Viognier and Chenin Blanc.  Many are estate wines, but Kunin does have several single vineyard sourced wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two wines available for tasting are somewhat different.  Kunin has two wines that they call Pape Star, which are their take on Chateauneuf de Pape.  The white is a blend of Grenache Blanc and Rousanne, which we don\u2019t think any other American wineries make.  The red is made of Grenache, Mourv\u00e8dre, Counoise and Carignane.  These wines are a tribute to the great wines of the Southern Rh\u00f4ne.  But make no mistake; they\u2019re unmistakably California Rh\u00f4ne-style wines  that don\u2019t need to tip their proverbial hats to their French cousins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a real oddball wine that they call MV Special K.  MV means multi-vintage; Special K doesn\u2019t mean breakfast cereal.  Moreover, this wine is a blend of different vineyards from around Santa Barbara County.  It\u2019s usually reserved for Kunin\u2019s club members.  If it\u2019s not on the tasting list, ask for it politely.  If they have it open, we\u2019re sure they\u2019ll pour you some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re wine tasting in Santa Barbara, make a point of visiting Kunin.  Don\u2019t let them be lonely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few issues back, Power Tasting featured a winery, Margerum, that had moved from the refined area of Santa Barbara to the raucous Funk Zone.  Here, we report on Kunin Wines (www.kuninwines.com), which went the other way.  Some years ago we featured Kunin in their old digs (now occupied by the Santa Barbara Winery).  We … Continue reading Kunin Wines, Take Two<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2774"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2796,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774\/revisions\/2796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}