You may be inspired to walk into the Stark Wine tasting room just to get a better look at the space. It looks like a designer studio with a beautifully decorated sidewalk patio. Some walk in thinking it is an art store in hopes that they can purchase the antique winemaking artifacts. But they are just part of the decor, although each tells a story and is locally hand crafted.

But stay a while for the wines. Their Chardonnay has amazing tangy green apple fruit flavor with a shimmer if white pepper and a long lingering finish. We will be back to try their Grenache Blanc from the Saarloos Vineyard in Santa Ynez. Their Primitivo gets its big tart cherry flavor from the Sierra Foothills with a leather mouth-feel and a hint of smoke on the finish.

Make sure you stop by on a Thursday night when they have live music and serve wines by the glass. Here’s what you can feast on until then:

More from my appellation adventures in this region.