L.A. WINELINE A BIG WEEKEND IN SANTA BARBARA.

Byline: LARRY LIPSON

For those who want to relive the movie ``Sideways,'' and others who like sipping cabernets, merlots, syrahs and even white wines, the 23rd annual Santa Barbara County Vintners' Festival provides a super getaway for locals this weekend.

It's a countywide bash with loads of wineries involved.

In addition to the festival itself ($65 in advance, $75 at door) on Saturday, visitors can have a great time at individual wineries, where barrel tastings, library tastings, food pairings and live musical entertainment may be found.

A weekend pass called the Vintners' Visa ($25) is valid Friday through Sunday at any of the 10 participating wineries.

Information and purchase of tickets (if any are left): [phone], or www.sbcountywines.com.

BARGAIN WHITES: White wine fanciers with limited budgets should consider trying the wines of Covey Run of Washington State's Columbia Valley.

With new labels spotlighting the quail, Covey has 2004 riesling and gewurztraminer and 2003 chardonnay in release, with its pinot grigio due in June.

Priced at around $8 or $9 and sometimes even less, these are nicely crafted, consumer-friendly wines for everyday drinking. Information: www.coveyrun.com.

FUNDRAISER: The annual Santa Clarita Valley Wine Classic, which benefits the area's youth orchestra, is scheduled for May 28 (7 to 10 p.m.) at California Institute of the Arts, 24700 McBean Parkway, in the Main Gallery. Through April 15, tickets are $65 each, $120 a pair; from April 16 to May 27, $70 each, $130 a pair; at the door, $80 each, $150 a pair. Call [phone] or go to www.scvwineclassic.org.

NEW RELEASES: Consistently rated at 90 or better by Robert Parker, the cabernet sauvignon of Clark-Claudon is one of those rare California clarets that measures up to its Bordeaux brethren. In fact Parker described the 2001 as ``reminiscent of a great vintage of Chateau Margaux.''

Well, lucky us, we're able to inform you that the pre-release, straight- from-the-winery price through April 30 for the 2002 is $80, which may seem a lot to pay for a bottle of wine. But check the post-release cost next month (if there's any left) and you'll see what's meant by a pre-release bargain. Call [phone], or go to www.clarkclaudon.com.

Grgich Hills has released its latest zinfandel. The 2002 vintage (suggested retail $28) follows the outstanding 2001 zin, the new rendition boosted with 7 percent petite sirah and released almost six months earlier.

Hahn Estates, still basking in the glow of its 2002 syrah's Best of Show honors (out of 4,000 wines) at last year's L.A. County Fair wine competition, has its 2003 bottlings of cabernet franc ($14), cabernet sauvignon ($14) and meritage blend of all five Bordeaux red grapes ($20) on the shelves.

SIPS & NIBBLES: Wines of France is spending $4 million in 2005, four times what it did last year, to promote French wine sales in this country. ... Visiting the Santa Cruz area? Its Winegrowers Association offers a $25 passport good on April 16 to numerous participating wineries, including many not open to the public. Details at the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers office: [phone] or info(at)scmwa.com. ... Look for new labels on the bottlings of the old line Parducci Wine Cellars (founded in 1932), purchased in 2004 by the Mendocino Wine Co., a partnership of two families, the Dolans and the Thornhills. ... Boutique Israeli wines are now being marketed by Carmel worldwide. Watch for such names as Chillag, Domaine du Castel, Hamasrek, Saslove and Tzora. They are members of a consortium called the Handcrafted Wines of Israel.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com