Best Crush of All
You don’t have to leave the city, let alone the state, to find the perfect venue for a wine country wedding
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ONE OF KERRY LEE DICKEY’S favorite wedding photos was taken inside the barrel room at Firestone Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. Wine barrels are stacked to the ceiling, and in the narrow pathway between them is a very long reception table, dressed in fine linens and topped with dramatic red floral centerpieces. Candlelight bounces off the stainless steel tanks and emits a soft glow on old oak barrels.
“One hundred fifty guests had to walk down a very long aisle to get to their seats, so before they entered, they each were given a Champagne flute tied with their seat assignment,” she recalls. The walk down the candlelit barrel room was magical and indeed made for a stunning photo. It’s just one example of how “a winery wedding does not require a lot of decoration.” And Dickey should know, as this wedding wasn’t even her own, but one of more than 500 she has designed as Santa Barbara’s leading wedding planner.
“While we don’t offer the resort experiences that can be had in Napa Valley, what we do have in Santa Barbara are lovely wineries that exude rustic elegance,” says Dickey, a third-generation Santa Barbaran who owns and operates Santa Barbara Wine Country Weddings and Events. “They are renowned for their weddings.”
Many wineries throughout California are popular for their wedding programs, making the state a top nuptial destination. Eighty percent of Dickey’s clients come from out of state—often from as far away as New York and Chicago. Here, where temperatures are ideal and the terrain beautiful, the choices for wine country wedding venues are bountiful. Couples can choose from boutique wineries in Temecula, family-owned estates in Paso Robles, resort properties in Sonoma, and even an award-winning boutique winery right here in San Diego. To whet your appetite, here is just a taste of what California’s wine country has to offer...
Orfila Vineyards and Winery, Escondido
It seems a myth that a beautiful vineyard such as this could exist just a couple of miles from the freeway and within minutes to the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. But Orfila Vineyards doesn’t merely exist—this boutique winery produces award-winning Rhone-style wines. Since April 1994, it’s won more than 1,300 medals in prestigious national and international wine competitions. In 2007, Orfila’s estate-grown “Lotus” Lot #45 received a gold medal at Bordeaux, France’s Challenge International du Vin, a blind winetasting competition of 5,288 wines from 38 countries. The winery has also been recognized as one of the top wedding sites in San Diego. Surrounded by beautifully manicured lawns overlooking the San Pasqual Valley agricultural preserve, the 70-acre estate features rows of grapevines, a welcoming grape arbor, a spacious event tent and a barrel room for intimate dinners. 760.738.6500; orfila.com.
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