PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet which we'll review during our orientation session before dinner.

ORIENTATION: Begins before dinner. We'll have an overview of the program ahead and review the up-to-date schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, any other administrative issues, and answer your questions. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.

The vineyards and wineries listed in the tentative itinerary below are examples of venues we will visit during the program. Final destinations will depend upon availability of vineyard owners and winemakers.

Dinner: Dinner at the Hadsten House

Menus are contracted for the program and are designed to offer balanced, healthy meals for the participants.

Evening: CROSSING POINTS: Participants introduce themselves to the rest of the group.

Enjoy the remainder of the evening getting to know your fellow participants and discovering what you share beyond a love of lifelong learning

Lodging: Hadsten House Inn & Spa

Meals Included: Dinner

WALKING FIELD TRIP AND CLASS: Presidio Tasting Room

Walk over to Presidio Tasting Room where winemaker/owner, Doug Braun, will talk about his organic vineyard, why grow organic, and what's involved.

To understand wine, one needs to taste it. Taste wine with Doug who will help us identify the various components of the wine's aroma and taste using our sensory perception.

Lunch: Lunch at Larner with wines from Larner Vineyards

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Rusack Vineyard

Nestled in picturesque Ballard Canyon in the center of Santa Ynez Valley, amidst oak-studded rolling hills lies Rusack Vineyards, a boutique vineyard and winery dedicated to growing top-quality grapes and producing outstanding handcrafted wines.

Walk through Rusack Vineyard with John Falcone, winemaker, and hear John's scientific reasons for how/what he planted using state-of-the-art technology.

A tour of the winery is followed by a tasting of Rusack wines on their beautiful deck, under the oaks, overlooking bucolic Ballard Canyon Road.

Afternoon: BUS FIELD TRIP: Larner Vineyard

The Larner Vineyard is a small, family-owned vineyard located at Ballard Canyon and managed by the second generation, Michael and Christina.

Michael, who has a PhD in wine from UC Davis, will meet us and walk us through part of the vineyard, explaining terroir, trellising, and different philosophies like organic, sustainable and biodynamic. We'll sit at tables to taste wine from his vineyard from a couple different producers and discuss differences in the wines, even though they came from the same vineyard.

Dinner: Dinner and wine tasting at Fresco Cafe; serving daily specials using local fresh ingredients in a tranquil setting.

Lodging: Hadsten House Inn & Spa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

FIELD TRIP: Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard

In 1987, actor Fess Parker known for his portrayals of frontiersmen Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, purchased a 714 acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he established Fess Parker's Winery & Vineyard.

At Fess Parker's Winery and Vineyard, meet the assistant winemaker who will take us to the edge of the vineyard and describe the varietals they grow, the trellising, the terroir.

The winery tour will include a thorough, back of the house look at their winemaking practices from 'bin to bottle' highlighting practices such as hand-sorting, small lot fermentations, basket press, etc. The tour will be followed by an intimate, detailed sit-down tasting of small-lot wines in the Estate Room.

Lunch: Lunch at Fess Parker winery with a glass of wine

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Ken Brown Winery and Terravant Wine Company

After lunch, take the bus to Ken Brown, an artisanal winery in Buellton that sources the same varietal from a number of different vineyards. Taste each varietal and hear how the terroir differs with each vineyard and why each wine tastes as it does.

Visit Terravant, a state-of the-art winemaking facility specializing in private label creation and custom winemaking services.

Dinner: Dinner on your own. This gives you an opportunity to sample one of Solvang's diverse restaurants.

Lodging: Hadsten House Inn & Spa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

FIELD TRIP: Curtis Winery

Curtis Winery is an artisanal winery owned by the Firestones, of Firestone Tires. Firestone Winery was established in 1972 as one of the first estate wineries. The Firestone family later started Curtis Winery to specialize in high quality, small lot wines. The Firestone Winery was sold to Foley in 2007 and the Firestone family concentrated on Curtis Winery.

Winemaker, Chuck Carlson, will first take us through the winery, explaining their winemaking process. In their VIP room, we will taste the current release of one of their Rhone blends as well as the various components, e.g., syrah, Grenache, mouvedre. Chuck will lead us through a blending exercise so we can blend what we think is the best combination of the varietals.

Lunch: Lunch at Curtis Winery, overlooking the vineyard, under the oaks. Enjoy a glass of Curtis wine with your lunch.

Afternoon: After lunch, enjoy free time to wander the delightful town of Solvang. A map of the town's winery tasting rooms will be handed out, along with a description of which wines each winery is famous for, so you can taste on your own.

Dinner: Food and Wine Pairing Dinner

During dinner, explanations are given as to why the specific food and wine pairings were chosen for our final dinner.

Lodging: Hadsten House Inn & Spa

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

HOTEL CHECK OUT: This concludes the program. We hope you have enjoyed our Santa Barbara Artisanal Wine Country program and will join us for other rewarding adventures in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!

Meals Included: Breakfast