Galante Vineyards offers kick-back comfort

Amid Carmel-by-the-Sea's many art galleries, high-end boutiques and restaurants, Galante Vineyards' tasting room offers refreshing down-home country hospitality.

The vibe: Cowboy cool meets Carmel chic. From the handsome saloon-style wooden bar, complete with brass footrest, to the oversize cowboy boot-shape chair, Galante proudly celebrates its cattle ranch roots. Thanks to a warm welcome and the country music playing softly in the background, my friend and I happily bellied up to the bar for a thoroughly enjoyable and laid-back tasting experience.

The team: Proprietor Jack Galante's great-grandfather, J.F. Devendorf, was one of Carmel's founders. In 1969, Galante's parents bought a 700-acre cattle ranch in Cachagua, part of the Carmel Valley. The family branched out to include vineyards in 1983, at first selling grapes to other wineries, including Morgan and Bernardus, but in 1994 Galante opened his own winery, producing about 5,000 cases per year.

Winemaker Greg Vita, a sixth-generation Carmel resident and former general manager of Spring Mountain Vineyard, has been with the winery since the beginning. Eliud Ortiz, who started off in the early 1980s as one of Galante's ranch hands, serves as vineyard manager.

The wines: The tasting room offers six host-selected wines for $10 (refunded with individual wine purchase of $50 or more). We started off the tasting by sampling Galante's sole white, the 2009 Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($25), whose 2006 vintage was included in The Chronicle's Top 100 Wines in 2007.

Moving onto the reds, the winery's specialty, we sampled the 2006 Estate Pinot Noir ($25), 2006 Rancho Galante Cabernet Sauvignon ($25), 2007 Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon ($35) and a 2008 Cowpoke Pinot ($12), which had an intriguing smokiness from the wildfires that swept through the nearby Ventana Wilderness that year. We ended our tasting with 2008 Olive Hill Petite Sirah ($40); on Saturdays, the 2007 Grand Champion ($75) is available for tasting.

The experience: Between Carmel-by-the-Sea's quirky lack of numbered addresses, hard-to-read street signs and the fact that the tasting room is located in a tiny cottage tucked away from street view, Galante proved a bit of a challenge to find. In fact, we almost didn't make it before the tasting room closed. We were the last guests of the day, yet our host was warm, hospitable and never made us feel rushed.

The extras: There aren't many extras at the Carmel tasting room, but group tours and tastings at Galante's Carmel Valley ranch and winery are available with reservations. The winery also hosts special events throughout the year. Contact the winery for details.

Nearby: Cima Collina, San Carlos Street (between Ocean and Seventh avenues, in the Paseo Courtyard), Carmel-by-the-Sea; (831) 620-0645 or cimacollina.com. Taste Morgan, 204 Crossroads Blvd. (at Rio Road and Highway 1), Carmel; (831) 626-3700 or morganwinery.com. Pierce Ranch Vineyards, 499 Wave St., Monterey; (831) 372-8900 or piercevineyards.com.

If you go: Galante Vineyards, Dolores Street (between Ocean and Seventh avenues), Carmel-by-the-Sea; (800) 425-2683 or galantevineyards.com. Open 1-6 p.m. Sunday-Friday; noon-6 p.m. Saturday.

Rating: Rating: TWO AND A HALF STARS

This article appeared on page M - 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle