Monthly Archives: January 2013

GSM Paso Robles Tour 1/27&28,2013

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Well several months ago Troya and I found some sweet deals at The Paso Inn and Hotel Cheval so Doc went to work researching wineries with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre blends.His findings took us to some new wineries we’ve never been to along with a few that we always hit when we’re in Paso. Paso is one of my favorite places to go tasting, there are soooo many wineries and it’s beautiful. To top it off many of these wineries are smaller and more personable but even the larger wineries are very friendly and not snooty, a big plus for me.

We started the day off at Kukkula where Brax and I are members. The 2009 Sisu(GSM) was pretty amazing and I enjoyed the 2010 Aatto. This winery is sustainable, organic and only dry farms. They also offer some food to enjoy along with the lovely wine and scenery. The next on the tour was Alta Colina, a small family owned winery. For me I didn’t find anything that fit my taste but to each his own.

Villa Creek was the next on our list. I really liked two of their wines, Avenger and High Road but thought it was a bit over priced, $100 for High Road. On to Hearthstone, here I like the 2010 Pearl(Roussanne, Viognier), fruity nose, floral but not too sweet with a rich finish. They also had a Pinot, GSM, Mourvedre and Cab. Next to our last stop was Windward, purely Pinots here, the 2008 Pinot was very good. Our last stop of the day was L’Aventure, owned by a frenchie, so this was interesting to see his take on American winemaking. Two wines I liked here, Optimus2010(Syrah,Cab,Petit Verdot) and the Estate Cuvee.  Since this was our last stop we headed to the Paso Inn before dinner. Good thing we got a good deal because I wasn’t impressed. We upgraded to a king room with the natural sulfur spas. Well I’m not exactly sure what health benefits sulfur spas have but not sure it’s worth the stink. As it turned out, the water in the spa wouldn’t heat up. The rooms were spacious but very bare in decor. The bathroom was very big with nice counters but the shower was small for the amount of space in the bathroom. The grounds at the Inn are very pretty and the front desk clerks were helpful, we got our money back for the upgrade since the spa didn’t work.

For dinner we went to Villa Creek(same as the winery), great atmsophere, the food was really good, Brax’s lamb shank was fabulous and I don’t like lamb usually.

Monday we started out at Kenneth Volk where you pick 6 out of 19 wines to taste. We went home with the Tannat 2009 and the Mourvedre 2009. From there we went to Niner where Troya and Doc planned on joining. This is a beautiful tasting room! They also do cooking classes there so they have a professional kitchen with beautiful,quaint dining area. The Cab was the only wine I really like, very drinkable, not a lot of tannins. We next went to Zenaida Cellars. They had a few really nice wines, the 2010 Zin was good as well as the 2010 Wanderlust(GSM) and the 2009 Fire Sign. Pipestone Vineyards was our next stop, a bit of a drive back in the hills and looks very farmy, horses in pastures, goats, goose and a duck in pens with a very friendly large dog to greet you. This is a fully solar-powered, sustainable, and organic winery. The use draft horses to work the vineyards which I think is pretty cool. The wines were surprising decent, particularly the 2008 Rhone Style Red Wine and the 2008 Syrah was very good.

My fave of the day and the trip was Terry Hoage Vineyards. Leanne from L’Aventure had recommended we go here the day before and I am so happy we did!!! All of the wines were excellent but the 2010 The Pick(GSM) and the 2010 5 Blocks(Syrah Cuvee) were outstanding. I think we may end up joining the wine club. I definitely recommend it!

We ventured back to town to walk around and try a couple of tasting rooms in town that Doc and Troya had been to before. The first was Bodegas, they specialized in Spanish varietals. For me, I didn’t find anything that did it for me. We then went to Parrish Family Vineyards. The 2008 GSM Rhone Blend was very good.

By the time we finished tasting for the day we were starving! We’d decided to get pizza and some paninis at the cheese shop next to Hotel Cheval so we could hang out by the fireplace in the courtyard. Hotel Cheval is spectacular!!! Very quaint and elegant. The rooms are beautiful and the courtyard with several fireplaces, tables and lounges set up around them make it very inviting. So we enjoyed our Marv’s pizza, which was excellent, along with the cheese paninis and wine and played cards for several hours. A great end to a fanTASTEtic couple of days!!! Until our next adventure……

Napa 1/13/13

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We headed to Napa for a limo winetasting tour with a couple of great friends of ours. Our first treat of the day was a cheese and wine pairing at Patz and Hall where our friends are members. Amanda, our lovely host, greeted us with their first release of a sparkling wine that was very crisp and not too sweet. The pairings consisted of two Chardonnays and three Pinots with some cheeses and these rediculous truffle almonds. The Chardonnays were very good but the Pinots were excellent,my favorite being the Chenoweth, needless to say we’re now members…I’ll let you know when I open the first bottle.

Next was Artisan. I’d been there once before and enjoyed their sparkling wine along with a Pinot. I was a bit disappointed, not what I remembered and wines are on the pricey side.  From Artisan we went to Caymus for another cheese and wine pairing. We had an appointment at Caymus which we were a few minutes late for but we called to give them a heads up and make sure that wasn’t going to be a problem. When we arrived a not very friendly women told us they already started and should just go to the tasting room as she left us in a enclosed cold chamber. A few seconds later someone lead us into the warehouse where the tasting had just started. Jim, the host, made me change my not so good impression of the place. He was very personable, funny and knowledgeable. Their 2009 Zinfandel was excellent as was the Cab, which says a lot coming from me because I’m typically not a big fan of either.

Next was Turnbull, which I’m going to have to admit I don’t recall a whole lot about..drunkies;) Then, because by this time we all got a good little buzz going, it seemed like a good idea to make our last stop Opus One. Needless to say my taste buds were about done by this time, great time to drop $45 a tasting….NOT! But if you’ve never been to Opus One it is an experience, the winery is gorgeous and of course the wine is good but expensive so if you go, do it as your first tasting.

For dinner we went to Morimoto’s, an upscale sushi and Japanese restaurant. It was excellent, some very different dishes offered and the sushi was very fresh. After dinner we attempted to walk back to the Westin but it was too cold for our wimpy butts so we stopped in the nearest bar,Fish Story, while we waited for our ride. Very tasty drinks but rude bartender.

If you’re planning a trip to Napa I’d definitely recommend a visit to Patz and Hall as well as Caymus. The Westin is never a disappointment, always comfortable, clean and not rediculously expensive. If you’re a sushi fan check out Morimoto’s, great atmosphere and excellent food though it is pricey. Enjoy your food and wine, I know I do!!!

Weekend in Napa

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We do not venture into the heart of California wine tasting, Napa Valley, very often. We find it very industrial and commercial. It usually feels like you are on a conveyer belt and very impersonal. The caveat to this is if you go with someone who knows where to go and has the inside scoop. Like being with a high roller in Vegas, it’s a different experience. Here is where our good friends Tony and Al come in. They are members to several of the better wineries in the Napa area and we always get the red carpet treatment when we go tasting with them. When we found a deal on a Napa area limo we knew immediately who we needed to invite.
We rendezvoused at Patz and Hall for a late morning wine and cheese pairing. This

Wine Pairing at Patz and Hall

was the site of our first encounter with the other world of Napa and it did not disappoint in our second go-round. This was also one of my first experiences with how much a wine could change when paired with the right food. The first time here every wine was specifically paired with either a cheese or some nuts. This experience was a little different, with one cheese paired with the two whites and two other cheeses and some truffle nuts to go with the three pinot’s. It was fun to go back and forth with the cheese and different wines to see how one cheese could change each wine in a different way.

Artesa Winery

After a quick stop at our hotel, we all piled into the limo and were off to Artesa. This was a very beautiful winery but felt a little industrial on the inside. They offer several different tasting options and we choose the limited release and reserve tasting. First was the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. I am not much of a Sauvignon Blanc guy. This one was ok. It had the typical clean flavors, light citrus and floral flavors, and a little buttery at the end which is different then most Sauvignon Blanc’s. Next the 2010 Reserve Chardonnay. Of all the wines here, I thought this was the most interesting. I also thought Troya was going to like this one, but she said she did not care much for it. It was very buttery, smooth, with a hint of oak at the end. It also seemed to have a little truffle flavor which made it quite unique. Next were the 2009 Estate Reserve Pino Noir and the 2010 Artisan Series Tempranillo. The pinot was pretty typical, nothing that really stood out. The Tempranillo was disappointing, tasting more like a Merlot. They were out of the Cab they had on the list so we got to taste the 2009 Rive-Gauche Cab blend. Also a typical cab, smooth, medium body for a cab, good but not worth the price.
Then it was off to Turnbull. I think this was the find of the weekend. Their wines varied from good to very good, but the people here were great and a lot of fun, especially Samantha, Abby and Monica. Our Reserve Showcase tasting did not include any whites, but as big fans of Viognier, they let us taste this to start. Happy we did. It had a lot of fruit flavor with a very clean finish. Not too big or sweet, very smooth. The first red on the list was the 09 Leopoldina Cab Franc. Not many places do a Cab Franc anymore so it is fun when you find a place that does. This was not as big as a lot of the Cab Franc’s I have had, but very smooth and drinkable. Next we tasted the 09 Fortuna Cabernet. This wine had a lot of classic cab flavor, but no finish. I am not saying this as a bad thing, it just was there and then gone, no lingering flavors, no real back end. Tasting the 09 Amoenus Cab we got in to a little disagreement. I thought the bouquet was inky, and the flavor was also on the inky side. Again, not a bad thing, I actually like this characteristic in some wines. Those that I was with did not think that “inky” could be used to describe a wine other than the color. The girls in the shop actually did a google search on the subject but I do not think we came to a final decision. I thought my favorite was the 09 Leopoldina Cab. This wine had a very fruity bouquet and the flavor was very well balanced dark fruit and tannins, not heavy on either end, and a very clean finish. Of course it could not be this simple because then they let us taste the 09 Black Label Cab blend that was not on the list. This was also a great wine. Very smooth, again well balanced with dark fruit, cherry, light on the tannins, with a dark chocolate finish. I could not decide which I liked better, so we got a bottle of each.

We had so much fun at Turnbull, we ended up being late for our wine pairing

Caymus Winery

appointment at Caymus. We called from the limo to let them know we would be late, but they made it clear they were not happy with us when we did get there. They almost did not let us back into the area where our tasting was happening, but when they did Jim had no problem making us feel right at home. Overall, no much to say about the whites we had there, but the reds were very good. First was the 09 Zinfandel. California zins can tend to be on the sweet, jamy side, but this had all the flavor without the sweet. It was also very clean on the back end, also not typical of many zins. The 11 Belle Glos Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands came next. This area is making some of the best Pinot’s in California. This one did not disappoint with all the classic rich, dark, smoky flavors you would expect in a pinot from the Highlands. Painful as it was, I could not get out of there without purchasing the 2010 Special Selection Cabernet. A very smooth, well balanced cab, big enough to hold up to anything you might pair with it, but also smooth and complex enough to be enjoyed all by itself.
A day of wine tasting in a limo would not be complete without a stop at Opus One. Definitely not on the list of every day drinking wines, but a place you have to go at least once for the experience. Here you do not taste, they only have a couple wines they serve, but you purchase a glass and enjoy it walking around the amazing grounds or upstairs taking in the views. All of their wines are Cab blends. Troya and I shared a pouring from the 06 and 09 vintage. What can you say about Opus One that has not been said already. The wines here are some of the smoothest you will ever have. The blending is a science and it is hard to pick out one specific flavor. Typical for high end wines, the older of the two, the 06, was a bit smoother and more complex. These are not wines that I would want to pair with food because they are so enjoyable to drink on their own that I would not want to mask anything or take away any of the flavor. They are also expensive enough that you would want to relish every drop.
For dinner that night we went to Morimoto in downtown Napa. This is a very cool, modern sushi place. After a day full of wine tasting, I cannot be too descriptive, but everything we had was excellent. They have several interesting cocktails, many with flavor combinations that I am not familiar with. Several smelled like a spa, but they all tasted good. Things that stood out was the crab appetizer, it came with a light red sauce on top that had just a hint of spice. Very, very good. We also got the chiefs choice sushi platter. This was also very good. The fish was very fresh and all the rolls had unique flavors and were all well done. The deserts we had did not impress me, but this is a place I will definitely return to.
One last mention. On the ride home that evening we asked our driver where we should go for breakfast. It just happened that we were passing the Model Bakery at that point and he said we had to go there, “they have the best English muffins in the world”. We did return for breakfast, and while I am not a connoisseur of English muffins, these were the best I have ever had. Everything we tasted here was amazing, and the breakfast sandwiches will be a regular for us whenever we return to Napa.