Category Archives: Featured Trips

Paso….the good, the bad, the ugly

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Well the fan 4 ventured out for our annual Paso Robles trip. This years theme day 1 old favorites day 2 all new wineries. As you know all of our different personalities by now I will not spend much time on each sip of wine I had and the detailed tasting notes. I’m here to speak to which ones were great, fun and interesting and which ones sucked (to put it bluntly). Of course these are only all of our opinions I leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.
Day 1- of course it was amazing! Hello! They are all of our favorites and must try places! The usual suspects Terry Hoage, Kukkula, and Hearthstone. This trip I enjoyed all three very much but Kukkula was actually my favorite. This is unusual because Terry Hoage always takes the cake when we visit, don’t get me wrong it was delicious per usual but Kukkula is really doing some fantastic things with their estate wines. My favorite at Kukkula was the 2008 and 2011 Sisu. It’s just so rich and smooth drink alone or could pair with food.
My must take away from Hearthstone was their 2012 Pearl a white blend (60% Roussanne, 40% Viognier) and 100% amazing! The creaminess and apricot accents of a good Viognier with just a little extra flavor from the Roussanne. Terry Hoage must take home was the 2011 5 Blocks this is always a favorite of mine regardless of the vintage.
As we were driving back into town Brax and Doc wanted to check out Whalebone. The server was funny and more pleasant then the wine I’ll say. I wasn’t a fan of their “Bob Wine” they did have a blend that was drinkable called Boneyard. I wouldn’t go back to this place. Doc like their Bob Wine and is convinced he is going to pull a fast one on me one night and thinks ill love it in a blind tasting. We shall see I say!
We decided to keep with our tradition of cheese and bread with pizza for dinner. We stopped at Pithy Little Wine Co. It was the only shop that had cheese and was open after 5pm. Well we were robbed I tell ya! 65$ for three cheeses, a buffalo salami and a small loaf of bread. We were silly enough to purchase instead of going to Trader Joes up the freeway (to our credit we didn’t realize there was one in Paso, nor did we check). The purchases were good but again 65$ was ridiculous.
Day 2- I’ll keep this short. The good: Jada. The bad-Robert Hall, Vino Robles, Mitchella, Denner. The ugly- (this pains me to say this because of course it was MY pick!) Arroyo Robles.
Jada was good. Ari was our tasting guide. He was great and very much so added to the positive experience. They are doing interesting things with their wines. They are using the Tannat grape for blending and a new process of using cement instead of barrels to age the wine. Whatever they are doing it’s working. My favorite was their 2012 XCV unfiltered White Rhone Blend. They are ones to keep an eye on and a must visit. Not in the same category as Kukkula or Terry but I can see them doing some great things.
The bad-well they were placed in this category for various reasons. Robert Hall is big production and we all knew this going in but Hill had heard good things and we were thinking we could taste and get things that were small production that maybe you can only get at the winery. I didn’t really like anything all that much, it all seemed to tart. Christina was our host and she was really great. She gave us a tour and was very knowledgable.
Mitchella- I remember tasting some of their wine and thinking it’s ok but I was distracted by the server who was far more friendly and interested in the wine clubs members that were there tasting. If this is how they treat their visitors I don’t see how they will get any additional members. She spent enough time to pour literally a sip of wine and would walk back over to entertain this couple who obviously were members. Maybe if she had been more attentive I would not have been so turned off and liked the wine better. The thing is even if the wine is amazing it’s all part of the experience the adds to the taste….in most cases because if the wine is take your shirt off amazing and the people suck I may still like the wine the opposite is true that if the wine is so horrible you can’t even stomach it but the server is fabulous it doesn’t mean the wine will be any better. In this case the wine was ok but the experience turned it into mediocre.
Vino Robles- Let me say the tasting room is very pretty. They have a huge fire place and beautiful wood furnishings. Bob was our tasting host. He was nice but once some guy who wrote a wine book came in and introduced himself we were put to the side. He forgot about us a little but was still nice and he was apologetic for making us wait. The wine was again ok. It was not worth the price. They were priced in the 40$ range not super expensive but not worth it. Nothing was God awful but nothing was knock your socks off either. I could have done without.
Denner- Denner is simply placed in this category because of price and the snobby Napa feel it gives off. The wine was actually pretty tasty. Bold with lots of flavor. I enjoyed all of them but my favorites were the 2011 Dirt Worshipper and 2010 Mother of Exiles. You have to make an appointment to go taste, you get a code and enter via a big steel gate. All the wines are expensive and priced in the 60$ range. They just give off the Napa attitude and while, yes I admit the wine is good, it’s not good enough for the snobby attitude you get when you are there.
Ok the last category-the ugly! Again this is so painful for me because due to my competitive nature I for sure thought (secretly to myself of course) my pick is going to be the highlight of the trip and a new favorite. Well I was so so so wrong. As I stated in my last blog I picked Arroyo Robles for their variety and the bubbly. They had interesting things such as an Albariño, Tempranillo and an almond sparkling. Well all I can say is that after the first few pours it was so bad that I had to ask the guy if these bottles had been opened for a while. I seriously was not intending for it to come out wrong but I just thought these have to be spoiled. But when he replied I just opened them yesterday and then opened a new bottle right in front of us and had us taste I knew that it was just the way the wine tasted. They all just tasted like they were open for way to long. The crazy thing is red or white they all had that distinct flavor to them. The bubbly was not bad at all, and after I had made the comment about the wine being open to long I bought two bottles of the sparkling because I felt so terrible! Definitely a skip.
Dinner was at Buena Tavola. Pretty decent Italian food. Not sure if I would go back on our next trip but it was good. We all pretty much had pasta. It was not store bought that’s for sure but nothing was exceptional.
So that’s the good the bad and ugly short of it all!

Glorious Greece 2013-a little late

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I was lucky enough to get to go to Greece with my bff, Jodi, to visit her friend Anna. The adventure started on our loooonng layover in Philly. We arrived in Philly in the morning so jumped on the subway to Washington Square to check out the Liberty Bell. We yelped a restaurant for breakfast and ended up at Talula’s Garden. OMG!! we had the best breakfast, a bit on the pricey side but well worth it!! Finally on our way to Athens that afternoon.

We arrived in Athens the next morning and made our way to Anna’s house where her mom cooked us breakfast…we thought we died and went to heaven. Nothin’ like a home cooked meal. Because Anna was in Crete until the next day we ventured off to see the Acropolis by ourselves. The Acropolis was amazing, so crazy to imagine what that time was like. I was saddened to see all the litter and cigarette butts all over the place. Such a lack of respect.

Greece in August is hot as hell, so we stopped for a refreshing cocktail and lunch after sweating our butts off walking around the Acropolis. We had a nice lunch at Oiwvos, nothin’ fancy except the most fabulous tzitziki. We were also introduced to ouzo and raki. I liked the ouzo but the raki was like drinking kerosene, no bueno.

Anna lives in Glyfada, a nice little town with lots of restaurants, bars and boutiques close to the beach. She sent us to dinner at place called Limon. It was very good, nice ombiance, delicious salads and gyros. The next morning Anna took us to The Project House. Basically a restaurant on the beach that looks like the inside of a house with couches and bookshelves throughout that looks out onto the beach. There we rented lounge chairs and an umbrella to hang out for the day. For dinner Anna took us to a place known for their fish dishes. She order several appetizers to try along with a greek salad and then our entrees that we all shared. The salads in Greece are amazing, everything is so fresh. I’ve never been on a vacation where I ate so many salads.

Jodi and I flew to Mykonos for 3 days after Athens. We wanted to stay on the beach versus in town and we totally lucked out on our hotel, Agios Ioannis Beach Resort. Small, family owned resort on the beach with a nice pool and restaurant/bar overlooking the water. Our room was spacious and clean but nothing fancy and for this time of the year reasonably priced.

Mykonos is a relatively small island but requires some sort of mode of transportation. Taxis are slim pickins so we rented a quad(scooters are also very popular) to get around. The scooter ride into town to get Bessy(our quad) was quite an adventure. I thought I was going to die several times. Think very narrow roads, large tourist buses and a maniac driving the scooter I was on the back of. When we finally got Bessy, off we went to explore the island. Mykonos beaches are beautiful, white sand and clear turquoise waters but windy. The land is actually quite barrin, fairly rocky and lots of brown shrubs.

Our first stop was Kavo Livadi beach to have lunch at Nice N Easy, a place owned by a friend of Anna’s. The food is all organic and local. We shared a delicious burger, watermelon salad and grilled octopus which was not so good. The passion fruit martini was awesome!!! This beach was particularly windy.

The next morning we headed out to Platis Gialos, another very popular beach with a few hotels around and several restaurants on the beach. We bellied up to one of the beach bars and made friends with the bartender. He took care of us:) All these beaches are covered with lounge chairs and umbrellas to rent from 9-12euros/day. This beach was very nice, not real windy with cool but comfortable, calm water. We hung out there for several hours then decided to head into town. Now there are no street signs in Mykonos just general directions so trying to find the road leading into town was interesting. Jodi was driving Bessy and I’m trying to read the map and make a best guess. We headed down a cobblestone road heading towards town only to come to stairs. Well Jodi opted to keep going…down the stairs. We finally made it to the bottom which did put us right into town only we needed to drive thru one of the restaurants outside seating area. Needless to say the manager/owner wasn’t very happy…oopsie!

The town is a maze of white stucco buildings and cobblestone walkways, very quaint. Tons of shopping and restaurants to be had. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant where the pasta was made fresh. I had a chicken gorganzola penne pasta dish the was very yummi.

Our last day in Mykonos we went to Super Paradise beach. It was quite a ride to get to but pretty cool. There we met  Nick, a guy from Chicago, he and his wife and kids come every year because he has family that lives there. He filled us in on places to go on Mykonos and Santorini. Some of these beaches, Super Paradise and Paradise beach are known for their partying after the sun goes down. Being the party poopers that we are we passed on that experience. We went to dinner at a place Nick recommended for fresh fish. It was pretty amazing. Of course I can’t remember the name of it.

The next morning we hopped on the ferry to go meet up with Anna in Santorini. Santorini is like nothing I have ever seen. It is breathtaking. Anna has a little place in Megalohori where we stayed for 5 glorious days. Anna took us to her favorite beach in Perivolos. Beautiful black sand and dark green clear water. There we had lunch at her friend’s restaurant, Sea Side by Notos, right on the beach. Again because we’re with Anna she knows what to order. The grilled octopus was delicious as was the shrimp with tomatoes and of course the greek salad. On our way home we stopped at Santos Winery that is situated on the Caldera overlooking the sea to watch the sun set. It was incredible!! We watched the sunset every night, truly like nothing you’ve every seen.

The next day Anna took us to see the ancient city of Akrotiri that was covered in lava in 1600B.C. It was quite an experience, amazing how much was preserved. From there we headed to see the red beach but the road to it was closed unfortunately. We headed to Anna’s second favorite beach in Vlyhada. Another black sand beach with a cool bar that is situated above the beach giving it a great view. The beach here was a bit rocky but beautiful none the less. She then took us to her family’s cave house. It’s literally built into the side of the mountain just feet from the water, pretty cool.

Our third day we spent at a beautiful hotel on the Caldera overlooking the sea. Anna’s friend was the manager at let us hang out at the pool and enjoy some cocktails. We went to dinner in Thira and again watched a beautiful sunset. That evening we did some shopping in Oia. This is where the beautiful white washed buildings with blue roofs on the mountain side overlooking the ocean are found though we didn’t really get to appreciate that beauty because it was night time. Small cobblestone streets twist around thru this very quaint village. Unfortunately the crowds kinda kill the quaintness but it’s still gorgeous.

The following day we went back to Anna’s family’s cave house to have homemade lunch prepared by some of her relatives. Fresh cucumber and cherry tomatoes to start then a delicious pasta dish with homemade sauce….OMG!!!! After lunch we went to Anna’s favorite beach and wallowed in the water like a few elephant seals.

We had dinner that night at Senor Zorba’s, that’s right Mexican food in Greece. Besides paying a fortunate for dinner it was actually better than I thought.

For our last day on Santorini Anna arrange for us to go horseback riding with one of her distant cousins. We did a nice little ride through the vineyards and then back to the beach where we started. That afternoon we wanted to go to Oia since we didn’t get to see it during the day. HOLY hotness!! I felt so sorry for the donkeys and the hotel workers in that heat. Oia is very steep in places, there are no elevators or escalators to get to some of these hotels on the hillside. Luggage has to be carried by hand. The donkeys are used to pack out all the bags of garbage. None the less the views were absolutely breathtaking!!

For our last dinner there, Anna took us to a Cretian restaurant called Metaxi Mas which means “between us”. We sat outside on the patio, the weather was beautiful. The food as usual was delicious!!

The next morning we started early to make our way back to the states. I was sad to leave, Greece is such a magnificent place to visit. So much to see and do and eat and drink!!!! I can’t wait to go back!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Paso trip of 2014 for the 4

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This was a weekend I was really looking forward to, it’s been awhile since the four of us have been together. We spent 2 days in Paso, the first day we decided to hit our usual favorites and the 2nd day was all new wineries. We started off Saturday at one of my most favorites, Terry Hoage where we got to catch up with Evan, our fav tasting room pourer. I pretty much like everything here, nothing disappoints…oh wait I was disappointed because they were out of their Grenache, The Skins..boohoo!!! It was heaven!!!

Niner was our next stop where Doc and Troya are members. The tasting room and vineyards here are beautiful. The tasting had a cheese pairing option for $5 which we did. Over all for me I’m not a big fan of their wine, I did like the Twisted Spur which is a blend.

Next we went to Hearthstone. We’ve been here once before and liked their wines and the people working in the tasting room, Bob was great! Very friendly and inviting. They have a lovely white blend called The Pearl. They also have two Rose`s that we bought the previous visit that were very good. They were out of the Rose` this visit. They have a Pinot Noir along with several different red blends that are all good, very drinkable with decent price points.

Whalebone was a new one for us. They poured one white blend that was decent and several Cab and Cab blends. Since I am not a big Cab fan this wasn’t floatin’ my boat. I did like the Boneyard, a Mourvedre,Syrah,Petite Sirah, Granache,Merlot and Cab. They have a $30 price range.

Next was my other favorite that NEVER disappoints, Kukkula. We had just missed the bottling which would have been cool to see. A huge self-contained trailer that does everything is brought in to bottle the wine…a bottle a second!!! Kevin, owner/winemaker, showed us some video of the day, really an amazing process. So pretty much everything here is delish. My fav is the Pas de Deux and the Sisu, oh and Noir and Lagniappe and Lothario. Kevin’s making a Rose` for the first time this year, I am really looking forward to it.

Last of the day was Dubost. This was one of the places we came with Doc and Troya the first time we came to Paso. They had been members at the time but because of a tragic accident that took the life of the winemaker, the wine had since changed and they dropped their membership. So it had been a couple years and we wanted to try it again. For me I didn’t find anything that I liked.

We decided to do cheese/bread and pizza for dinner at the Sundance Bed and Breakfast that Doc and Troya stayed. It was a bit out in the sticks on the east side but it was beautiful! Marv’s pizza was delish! Doc and Troya got ripped off on the 3 cheeses, boar sausage and loaf of bread(see Troya’s blog, I’m SURE she commented on it).

Sunday we hired Andrew from A Safe Way Limos to drive our wino butts around, the best way to wine taste! Andrew was awesome!! We had not done any tasting on the east side of 46 so we started at Robert Hall. A large production winery with good price points.They offer a few whites and several reds. The Viognier was good as was the Meritage. Christina who helped us in the tasting room was very sweet and helpful. She offered to take us on a tour which was pretty cool.

Directly behind Robert Hall is Mitchella, a small family owned winery. Here they paired cheese with the wine tasting. They had a Grenache Blanc and Viognier as well as a Rose`. As for reds they had a Syrah, Cab, Zin and two different blends both of which I thought were decent. Prices ranged from $15-$45.

Vina Robles was next, this too is also a larger production winery. The tasting room was very impressive. They offered two tasting options, the Estate tasting and Reserve tasting which is smaller production wines. We did the Reserve tasting. There was one white wine on the list, a Vermentino, an Italian varietal which I have never tried before. It was good, crisp with hints of cantaloupe. The reds were a Cab/Petit Verdot, Syrah and two vintages of Syrah and Petite Sirah that they’ve named the Syree. Of the reds I liked the Ryan’s Road Syrah and 09 Syree. They also had a sparkling wine, a little on the sweet side for me. Price ranges from $18-$49.

We had an appointment at Denner next. Denner is on the west side and is by appointment only. The winery and tasting room was very nice and staff was friendly enough. They offered a Viognier and The Theresa(Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul and Marsanne blend). I preferred the Viognier. They have 2 red blends and a Syrah. I liked the Ditch Digger and Mother of Exiles. Here they do some of the aging and fermenting in concrete. Apparently this is actually an old process but not widely used today though is starting to be put into practice again at some wineries. The wines here were decent but a bit on the pricey side, $63 for the reds and $38 for the whites. Denner also has a bed and breakfast, pictures of the rooms are impressive.

On a whim we stopped at Jada and what a pleasant surprise! They offered two tasting choices, we choose the Signature tasting which was paired with cheese. Ari, our pouring professional, was great! The XCV, a white Rhone blend, was really good!! The reds they pour are primarily blends with the exception of the Syrah. All of the reds were very good, my favorite being the Strayts and Malstria. Price points are decent, maybe a smidge on the pricey side but overall I’d say worth it.

Last was Arroyo Robles, they are located in town at their own tasting room. They have a few whites, an Albarino, Chardonnay and Viognier. Their reds are Tempranillo, Petit Sirah, a blend and a Cab. There was nothing here I cared for, the nose on all of them gave the impression of having been opened too long.

Buena Tavola was the dinner spot. Each time we come to Paso we try a new restaurant. Well…. Brax and I had dinner here the last time we came, so much for being a first, I forgot we had already eaten here….oopsie! We even had the same waitress who remembered us. I remember liking it the first time and wasn’t disappointed this time either.

I really like that several of the wineries offered cheese pairings along with the tasting either included in the tasting fee or for a small additional fee. It really gives you an idea of how the wine may taste with food.

Paso is truly one of my favorite places to explore food and wine. The tasting rooms range from rustic to very modern and people are generally very easy-going, welcoming and very willing to share knowledge and suggestions. The tasting fees are reasonable and most wineries apply your tasting fee to a purchase of a bottle.

Until our next adventure……

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Finding the Terroir of Tasting in Mendocino

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Mendocino CliffsIt should come as no surprise when I say that Paso is our favorite place to go wine tasting. For many here in California the idea that anywhere other than Napa would be first on our list would be heresy. And while you cannot argue with the product that comes out of Napa, there is more to wine tasting then just the wine. This got me to thinking about what actually makes or breaks the experience and how to describe it. Given all the discussion terroir has gotten lately, I thought that the terroir of wine tasting is the best way to describe it. Terroir, the French word that is loosely translated to “a sense of place”, is used to describe how the geography, soil and climate influence the final product of what is grown there. Essentially saying that the surroundings determine what the wine will be. Taking this a step further, I say that the surroundings, ie: the warmth, friendliness, sense of community, determines the wine tasting experience. The terroir of tasting. And here is where Paso beats Napa, hands down.
This brings us to Mendocino. Troya has wanted to visit this area for a long time now and although we had just done a joint birthday trip I thought I would surprise her with a little weekend getaway. To be honest, I was not as intrigued with this area as she was. The last time I was in Mendocino was as a child and all I could remember was cold, windy and harsh. I understand why this area has a hard time recruiting wine tourism since if you are driving north to get there (and most will be) you have to pass Napa, Sonoma and Healdsburg. But those that can keep their car going straight on 101 past its more famous relatives are in for a treat when they get there.
There are 10 AVA’s in Mendocino County, with Mendocino and Anderson Valley being the largest and most widely recognized. In general, the Mendocino AVA is along 101 and Anderson Valley is along 128, which cuts a North West path from 101 to highway 1 and the cost. Since our time was limited, we focused on the Anderson Valley area and its surrounding smaller AVA’s. I thought we were only going to be able to get out for one day, but since the drive was quicker than expected we got the chance to make a couple stops on our way to our B&B in Mendocino. One of our first stops was at Navarro Vineyards. We later learned that this is one of the pillar wineries of the area, but you would never know it when you were there. Mark, our pour guild, set the tone for the whole weekend. Warm and friendly, he greeted us with a big smile (not what you would experience at one of the “pillars” in Napa). He presented us with a tasting list, but soon found ourselves off the list comparing different years and vineyards. With the weather pattern and costal influence, Pinot Noir is what the area is best known for but with many micro-climates they are able to grow a variety of grapes which is apparent by Navarro’s tasting list. Here we were introduced to Edelzwicker, a white wine that tastes like a love child of Viognier and Riesling grapes.
 Our next stop, at Marks recommendation, was at Phillips Hill. Again, one winery recommending another smaller, competing winery is something you get in Paso, but not often in Napa. They had three different Pinot Noir’s they were pouring and we could not decide which one we liked the best. They all had the classic big dark fruit you look for in a Pinot, were well rounded and smooth, and could be paired with food or enjoyed alone.
When we finally made it to our B&B, I knew the weekend was going to be special. After our stay at the Ahwahnee Hotel I realized that there is a line, all be it subjective, between elegant antique and tired. For this trip I knew we wanted the B&B experience, but wanted something a little more modern. By the pictures on-line I felt like the Blue

Door Inn fit the bill and when we got there I could not have been more pleased. A remodeled costal-Victorian house in the heart of Mendocino it was the perfect blend of old world beauty and new world style. From the warm front room sitting area with fireplace going and light horderve and wine waiting for us, to the king sized bed with in-room fireplace, I cannot imagine staying anywhere else when we return. And if that was not enough, the Inn Keeper Nan prepares some of the most visually and gastronomically appealing breakfasts you will find anywhere. Trust me.
That evening I had made reservations for the Farm-To-Table dinner at the Glendeven Inn & Wine Bar[n]. I had read good things about the wine bar[n] and they featured many local wines, so we decided to go a bit early and try a glass or a flight. Unfortunately what we found was that while they did have many of the local wines to be purchased by the bottle, they only had a few select wines open for tasting. Our disappointment did not last long however, once dinner started. A five course meal with an optional local wine pairing. Highlights from the meal were a spinach and gruyere tart paired with an 09 Rivino Chardonnay. A great pairing of the tangy tart and a sweeter Chard. The other course that stuck out was the grilled pork tenderloin with cranberry served with a 09 Jim Ball Pinot Noir. Also a great pairing.
The following day started with our phenomenal breakfast prepared by Nan at the Blue Door, then we were off to Esterlina Vineyards, one of the few wineries in the valley that require a reservation. The 10 Pinot and the 08 Cab stood out here, but all of their wines View from Esterlina (2)were a little rough around the edges. I will be interested to see how they taste after maturing for a couple years. It was still worth the stop for the views from the tasting area down into the valley. From there it was off to Goldeneye. Part of the Duckhorn Vineyard group out of Napa, the tasting experience here is a great balance of Napa pomp and Medo warmth. Doug, our pour guild, took pride in remembering and addressing everyone by name and quickly getting to know you and making you feel comfortable.

We were served our 6 tastings out on the back patio overlooking the vineyards and hills of the valley. It was a warm sunny afternoon and we could have stayed there all day had we brought a picnic lunch. The wines also deserve mention, soft, well balanced Pinot’s with classic dark fruit flavors. The price point here was a bit higher than many others in the valley, but for the most part you are going to pay in the $40-$50 range for your typical Anderson Valley Pinot. After our obligatory stop at Roedere Estate, what more can you say about their famous bubbly, our last stop was at Handley Cellars, and were glad we did. Here we found a lot of variety not found in a lot of the other wineries, did not taste a bad wine, and they had a great price point.
 Sunset from Ledford HouseOn our way back we stopped in at Ledford House for a pre-dinner cocktail. Situated right on the coast with panoramic views of the water, I highly recommend coming here at least to enjoy the sunset. We did not stay for dinner, but they had some interesting selections on the menu. For dinner that night we chose the Mendocino Café, and interesting coastal/Asian fusion place. Our soup and salad here were great, but the entrées left a little to be desired. Sort of felt like they had not really found their identity yet.
Final thoughts, I enjoyed our time in Mendocino much more than I anticipated. As I have mentioned, we prefer Paso Robles over Napa because of the experience, the terroir of tasting, and we found the same feeling in Mendocino. It is definitely worth the drive. Find of the weekend, Phillips Hill, great wines that are a little under the radar, for now. We will be back, hopefully with Brax and Hill and hopefully soon.