I learned something really exciting today - the Bachelor date at Cambria is being featured in the next issue of OK! Magazine! The magazine is publishing an article called “The Top Three Most Romantic Bachelor Dates” just in time for Valentine’s Day – and their number one pick was the date at Cambria! 

As the number one most romantic Bachelor date, Emily and Brad’s picnic in the vineyards topped the two other dates that OK! thought were most romantic: Ali and Roberto’s trip to Bora Bora, from last year’s season of The Bachelorette, and Bachelorette Trista’s romantic dinner with Ryan at the top of the Space Needle. I’m thrilled - I’d definitely pick Santa Maria wine country as one of the the most beautiful, romantic places to me, and I’m glad that OK! thinks so too!

The Feb. 14 issue of the magazine will be coming out next week, so keep an eye out for it! And for a sneak peak, here’s the article’s page on Cambria!

Wow, I’ve had such a great week! I haven’t posted in a while, and I have such a lot to catch the blog up on!

First of all, I got to see a picnic in Cambria’s vineyards and the barn all decked out for Brad and Emily’s date on last week’s The Bachelor – everything looked so beautiful, and I was so happy that people watching got to see how gorgeous the Santa Maria area is!

Then, I started studying in earnest for the Introductory Sommelier Course Exam that I am taking this Thursday from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

But most exciting of all, I got to visit Cambria Winery last week!

It has been a while since I spent some quality time at the winery, so it was wonderful to spend two days immersing myself in all of the aspects of wine production and soaking up as much knowledge as I could. The best part was definitely getting to spend an entire day with Denise, getting to learn as much as I could from her about Cambria’s vineyards and terroir, what happens in a winery during the winter, Cambria’s vineyards and terroir, pruning, and the wines from this last harvest. It was amazing – I learned so much, and spending time with Denise and the rest of the wonderful vineyard and cellar crews at Cambria was so much fun! I will be posting more about my adventure at Cambria during the next few days, so come back within the next couple of days to see posts about pruning, terroir, and a sneak preview into the 2010 vintage wines! Today, though, I won’t be able to say more about it, because I am preparing for my first experience with Wine Boot Camp.

Of course, when I saw Wine Boot Camp, what I really mean is the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Course.  Starting tomorrow morning, I will be spending two days learning as much as I can about wine laws and regulations and wine-producing regions around the world. The intensive two days of classes finish in a rigorous exam that covers as much as it can about wine production around the world. I am really excited to take the class, but also quite a bit daunted by everything I need to learn before taking the test on Thursday afternoon. So far my studying has included trying to memorize things like the thirty-two Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy, the twenty wine regions in Italy, the numerous native grape varietals of Greece, and all the steps in the méthode champenoise way of making sparkling wines.

I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you more about the Master Sommelier classes, as well as my experience with the first day of class! Right now, though, I better go study. Wish me luck!

This weekend the tasting room staff at Cambria will be handing out red roses to visitors, in honor of next weeks’s episode of The Bachelor! Monday’s episode includes a romantic date that takes place at Cambria Winery, and we are very excited about it! We will be giving roses out starting today, Friday, January 14^th, until Monday, January 17^th, when the episode airs. So visit Cambria for a little romance and a little Pinot Noir this weekend!

Even if you don’t get a chance to visit Cambria this weekend for your complimentary red rose, sometime in the next couple of months is a perfect time to visit! Winter in wine country is usually very quiet, which means that those crowds that you usually run into during the summer months won’t be a problem. Booking hotels and getting restaurant reservations is also much easier – making wine country the perfect place to get away for a hassle-free, quiet romantic getaway!

To plan your visit to other wineries in the area, visit www.santamariawines.com. And for a list of things to do, check out the Santa Maria Visitor and Convention Bureau at http://santamariavisitor.com!

Hello everybody! I have some exciting news about Cambria – our winery is being featured on next week’s episode of The Bachelor! For anyone who has been to Cambria, the scenery in next week’s episode is going to look very familiar!

I don’t usually watch The Bachelor, but I have been so excited about Cambria’s involvement that I’ve been watching this year, and have surprised myself by really enjoying it. Also, I know I’m biased, but I am really excited that they are filming an episode in the beautiful wine country of Central Coast California because I think it is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and deserves the attention.

What are your thoughts? Have any of you been watching The Bachelor so far? Do you have a favorite bachelorette? Are you looking forward to next week’s episode?