First impression: Paso Robles Wine Country

Our recent wine trip brought us to several California wine regions for the first time, including Paso Robles. We left Paso Robles with two distinct thoughts.

First, why did it take us so long to visit this awesome wine region? Second, we're going to be in trouble because we want to come back soon. Real soon.

Here are some of the highlights from our three day visit:

Wineries

Wild Horse Winery was our first stop in Paso Robles. They have a wide range of wines but are best known for their Pinot Noir. Their Wild Horse Pinot Noir is distributed outside the winery and is a very good, fruit forward California Pinot. They also make several other outstanding Pinot Noirs under their limited production Unbridled label and their Cheval Sauvage reserve program. Wild Horse is a must stop if you like Pinot Noir, though we tasted some other terrific varietals too. For example, we aren't big Merlot fans but thought their Merlot would be a perfect compliment to a nice steak dinner. 

Barrel tasting at Cypher WineryCypher Winery is worth a visit for their "Barrel Comparison" wine tasting. You drink the same wine directly from two different barrels to experience how barrels can influence the flavor and character of the wine. We tried Malbec, Petite Verdot, Petite Sirah, and Tempranillo. The Petite Sirah was particularly interesting. The wine from one barrel tasted a bit too fruity while the wine from the other barrel was too tannic. However, when a splash from each barrel was blended in our glasses the wine suddenly had terrific balance and character.

It was a fun way to imagine how a winemaker tries to achieve the perfect flavor and balance.

Hank the Herman Story wine dogHerman Story might be our new favorite winery. Winemaker Russell From makes awesome stuff with deep, bold flavors that somehow escape all the messy blasts of alcohol and tannin that often accompany big flavors in wine. He is also very focused with only four wines making up his list of current releases: a Viognier/Roussanne blend, a Granache, and two Syrahs. The wine room is the front portion of a small warehouse in downtown Paso Robles, but the complete lack of pretentiousness is part of the charm. Just be careful - time can move pretty fast when you are chatting with a winemaker who is happy to keep pouring throughout the conversation! 

Other honorable mentions from our visit to Paso Robles include Niner Wine Estate, Anglim Winery, and Tobin James. Better make Tobin James your last visit of the day. Their wine is decent, but they make a lot of stuff and they'll keep pouring as long as you keep drinking. It can get a bit wild out there late in the afternoon!

Dining

Farmstand 46Paso Robles didn't strike us as a haven for foodies, but there were a couple of cool places worth mentioning. We had lunch one day at Farmstand 46 which is in the same complex as Cypher. They are best described as an upscale deli that features a lot of locally sourced food. 

We also had a wonderful dinner at the Enoteca Restaurant and Bar at La Bellasera Hotel and Suites, a hotel restaurant that actually brings in the locals. Tip: Enoteca waives their corkage fee if you bring in a bottle of local wine, so we enjoyed a bottle of Zinfandel that we purchased from Kenneth Volk Vineyards.

Downtown Paso Robles has a cluster of small cafes around their main square. While they don't qualify as gourmet, a small cafe can be the perfect place for lunch or dinner after a long day of wine tasting!

Accomodations

We stayed at La Bellasera Hotel and Suites. All of their rooms are large and very comfortable. The hotel was also located in the center of the Paso Robles Wine Country, so it was easy to get to all of the wineries from there. The only drawback was there weren't many restaurants within walking distance, except for their very nice Enoteca which is on the property. If you don't mind driving to dinner, this hotel is a perfect home base for a visit to Paso Robles.

Dessert Wine Discovery~Sweet as a “First Kiss”

We discovered Andrew Murray Vineyards (AMV) tasting room in downtown Los Olivos on our recent tour of California wine regions. As we walked in, my eye was drawn to a series of wines with whimsical labels with two people doing various fun activities. We quickly learned the wines are a special label for AMV called “Days Off”, dedicated to making wines from non-Rhone varieties (the AMV label specializes in Rhone varieties). Production is very limited and are available exclusively in the Los Olivos tasting room, or online. 

Those fun people on the label are “Stan & Barbara”, and each of the labels illustrates them spending their “Days Off” together. The labels usually illustrate them on romantic adventures, with a hint of nostalgia to remind us of simpler times when “we all worked less and enjoyed life more”. 

We had the opportunity to taste the ’09 “Lake Day”, which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (45%), Chenin Blanc (45%) and a splash of Riesling (5%), and the ’09 “Road Trip”, a super-Tuscan inspired red wine blended with 80% Sangiovese, 10% Syrah, and 10% Cabernet.  These were quite enjoyable.  "Lake Day" was very crisp and refreshing – perfect for summer, and the "Road Trip" was a heavier red without being overly bold – drinkable as I would say, ‘from ingredients to dessert’. 

Speaking of dessert – the wine that put a big smile on my face was “First Kiss”.  The label alone causes you to smirk.  Flirty, and brilliant, as Barbara’s phone number is that of the tasting room.  I typically do not care for dessert wines, as I find them a little too sweet for my taste.  This one was different.  While it is a traditionally crafted ‘port’ style wine dominated by the Touriga grape, the curveball is that they fortify it with cognac. There was a definite cognac nose, and had a mellow berry taste, making it not overly sweet, just simply delicious.  This balance makes it a perfect pairing with dark chocolate, or a nice stilton.  Price point is slightly above average for a dessert wine at $20/bottle, but it is well worth it for this rare dessert wine!

Check out all of the “Days Off” collection online, or if in the area, stop by the tasting room for a sample.  They currently have a promotion - mention you’d like the “tasting2fer” and you will receive two tasting for the price of one!

Cheers!

First impression: Santa Barbara Wine Country

We recently made our first trip to the Santa Barbara Wine Country. If our first impression was accurate, I'm sure we'll be making many more visits.

Our itinerary only gave us half a day for wine tasting since we were just spending one night en route to Paso Robles. We decided to focus our attention on the Santa Ynez Valley, which includes the cities of Buellton, Solvang, and Los Olivos. This area is perhaps best known for being featured in the movie Sideways.

Speaking of Sideways, our first stop was Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards in Buellton. Their wine room was the first one that the characters Miles and Jack visited in the movie. In real life, we picked it based on a random Twitter recommendation (thanks, @brandyea!) and because their wines sounded good. They primarily focused on Pinots - Gris, Blanc, and Noir and most were to our liking.

Next stop was Bridlewood Estate Winery in Los Olivos. A friend of Sally's recommended this one and it didn't disappoint. Their grounds are beautiful with sweeping vistas of the Santa Ynez Valley and their spacious wine room is quite nice without being over the top. They source their grapes from vineyards throughout Central California, so they produce a wide range of delicious varietals. Our favorite was the 2007 "Six Gun" Syrah which was very smokey and would be perfect with Texas BBQ.

Sally outside Bridlewood Estate Winery

Our last stop was the Andrew Murray Vineyards tasting room in downtown Los Olivos. We also discovered them via Twitter (thanks, @gotrhones!). Stephanie, our host, took great care of us and introduced us to some terrific wine. They specialize in Rhone varietals like Syrah but also have some nice limited production wines like their "First Kiss" Port style wine.

Where there's wine, there's often olive oil. We stopped by Olive Hill Farm next door to Andew Murrary for a tasting. Wow! Their infused olive oils and balsamics were terrific. It was also a nice change of pace after tasting wine.

Next, we headed over to our motel, the Hadsten House in Solvang. This is a great example of how Solvang is changing for the good. The Hadsten House is a motel, but has been renovated to be more luxurious like a nice wine country hotel. The room also included a free breakfast buffet and complimentary wine tasting at many area wineries.

Dinner was at a farm to table restaurant in Solvang called Root 246. We were seated in a lounge-style area that featured enormous overstuffed chairs and created a feeling of privacy and coziness. And, the food was absolutely fantastic! Sally had braised short ribs while Jeff had "shake and bake" chicken. Yum!

Jeff enjoying a big chair at Root 246

The next morning, we left our hotel and drove off to our next wine adventure in Paso Robles. Our time in the Santa Barbara Wine Country was short, but we are already thinking about our next visit. 

2011 California Wine Adventure

One of our favorite adventures every year is our road trip north to wine country. Over the years, our experiences while visiting Napa and Sonoma have really contributed to our increased appreciation for wine from this area. We have always talked about expanding our trip to explore other California wine regions, and just haven’t…until this year. This year’s road trip was a great mix of old favorites and new discoveries ~ 12 days, 6 wine regions, 30 wineries, historical sites, and beautiful coastal views ~ one incredible adventure!

 We frequently have themes associated with our wine trips, either chosen beforehand or they naturally emerge along the way. This trip was no exception. Making stops in Solvang, Paso Robles, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, and Lodi, we started seeing a theme about the barrel. In speaking with winemakers and tasting directly from barrels, we learned just how much impact the toasting level, region of origin, and winemaker’s use of the barrel has on the grape. While in Mendocino we were also reminded the impact environmental conditions can have as well. In 2008, a large wild fire ripped across Mendocino County.  Unfortunately, the grapes absorbed smoke generated from the fire, which still lingers on the nose of many wines we tasted. 

 A few years ago, we started taking notes while tasting wines. It’s hard to recall exactly, but I think this habit started more as a way to signal to each other which wines were potential buys, and which ones, well, let’s just say weren’t to our liking. With the number of wineries on the agenda for this trip, it was a necessity.  What we didn’t expect was just how rewarding taking notes can be. At several of our stops, taking notes led to ‘off the list’ pours, and discoveries of some terrific wines!  

With so many wineries, it was important to take breaks and let the palate recover. We stopped for a tour of Hearst Castle, exploring the grounds and getting an inside look at guest rooms – including the personal bedroom of William Randolph Hearst. The mansion is really a museum for his incredible collections of art and imported furnishings.

 We spent several days at one of our favorite spots, Albion.  We relaxed by taking in the views from our porch at Albion River Inn, walking along the beach in Elk, and taking a ride through the redwoods on the Skunk Train in Fort Bragg.

An incredibly enjoyable adventure!

2008 Gypsy Boots Pinot Noir

We recently enjoyed a bottle of 2008 Gypsy Boots Pinot Noir at one of our favorite Pinot-friendly restaurants, The Prado. The best way to describe this wine is delicious. The rest of the obligatory descriptors won't quite do it justice.

It's a very California Pinot Noir, with solid fruit concentration and a hint of earthiness on the finish. It starts as a very delicate wine that really emerges once it has been open about 30 minutes and is served with food. The two of us were definitely disappointed that we only had one bottle!