Paso Robles 2014, Something Old, Something New

Returning to a wine region you know and love but recognize has even more to offer poses a dilemma. So much wine, so little time. How do you balance returning to your old “fav’s” with continuing to explore the region. Our strategy for our 2 day trip was simple. We would have an old day, returning to our staple wineries and eating establishments, and a new day. As I am sure many already know, Terry Hoage and Kukkula are our go-to’s right now. Terry with his array of soft, incredibly balanced blends, and Kukkula with their blends, a bit bigger and not as soft but still very well balanced. Neither disappointed on our first Paso tasting day of 2014. The hardest part about tasting at Terry Hoage is picking a winner. Which would you pick if you could only have one. Fortunately we were not it that position. We left with a few. It has been fun watching Kukkula grow up these last couple years. They are now using only estate grown fruit and it shows. The consistency and balance, while always good from our perspective, is getting better and better. Same dilemma here resulting in the same solution. The trunk was already getting full. We also made a stop to Hearthstone. Our first trip here was during our GSM tour and we were very pleasantly surprised. This time our pour guild was Paul Ayers who was more than happy to deviate from the tasting list to ensure our questions and taste buds were satisfied. The GSM’s here are some of the best in the region and the 2012 Pearl was pouring very nice, a bright, clean Viognier blend with many layers of flavors both on the nose and on the tongue. I have a feeling we will be back soon and they will likely end up on our short “go-to” list. We also made a stop at Niner. When we first went to Niner we were impressed with several of the wines, especially the blends and the Malbec. Although on the larger side, something we often try to avoid, we were impressed with the member parties and cooking classes being offered to members. After allowing our usual cool down period and re-tasting the wine we decided to become members. Unfortunately we have not been pleased. Every time we try to sign up for the classes it seems they have already sold out before they even make the announcement. We have also been less than impressed with the wine the last couple times we have been down. We decided we would give it one more chance on this trip. Sufice it to say we were once again surprised and pleased. Maybe not enough to stay members, but we will be back for some of our favorites.
Our plan for day two was to have each one of the Four pick one new winery to try. That meant we had 4 we knew we would be going to and would maybe add one or two along the way depending on advice or tips we would get along the way. Once you get over 5 or 6 tastings in a day you reach pallet fatigue and everything either tastes great or bad. You really cannot discriminate. Our first stop on day 2 was at Robert Hall WineryRobert Hall WineryRobert Hall. We usually stay away from the bigger production wineries, and have not spend a lot of time on the east side of Paso, so this was a big break from tradition. There is a lot of money here. From the big fountain in front to the state of the art tasting and banquet area, nothing is subtle about this place. They have even won a recent California State Winery of the Year award. One of the things that sets Paso apart from Napa is even at the bigger production places you will find hospitality that is a rarity in Napa. Christina, our pour guild, was all smiles and very personable. About half way through our tasting she offered to take us on a tour of the cellar and production area. We were impressed with several of the wines here, and the price point is hard to beat. Not the big fruit bombs or the mass production soul-less list of many, these wines had a lot of complexity and distinction. We especially liked the ’11 Select Granache, the ’11 Meritage and the ’12 Cuvée de Robles. The tour was also very Robert Hall Wine Cellarimpressive, and if anyone has the means and is looking for an impressive place to have a party or get married, I would recommend looking into what they have to offer.
On a recommendation from Christina we made a small detour from our itinerary to make a stop at Mitchella Vineyard. They have a big list of wines they pour, and with your tasting fee you get several cheese samples to pair with several of the wines. A couple of the wines here were nice and we especially liked the ’12 Viognier and the ’11 Cheap Bastard, a blend of Petite Sirah, Zin, Syrah and Cab. It had a nice smokey, big flavor to it with a clean finish, not big on the tannins. Our experience here was soured for a couple reasons. The first was we like to share tastings, allows us to taste more wine and limit the pallet fatigue, and the pours here were very small. It was nearly impossible for 2 people to get two small sips (one before the cheese pair and one after) from the pour they were giving. The second was we were there with one other couple, who were obviously members and were getting most if not Vina Robles Tasting Roomall of the attention. After a short drive across the street we found ourselves at Vina Robles, another larger, out of character winery for the FTF. Bob, our pour guild here, despite being distracted by a celebrity author, did a great job of informing and entertaining us during the tasting. I was surprised at the complexity of the wines here as well, given the size. A big find was the ’12 Vermentino, a white wine that is almost like a Sauvignon/Viongier blend. It was very clean, with a lot of layers of both floral and fruit. It is also a steal at $18, a great everyday white that will pair nicely with a number of dishes. We also got to taste the ’08 and ’09 Syrée, a Syrah/Petite Sirah blend side by side. We were told that informal polling was at about 50:50 as to which people liked, but for me they were so different (interesting because they are essentially the same blend, just one year apart) that I could not compare them. I actually liked them both, the ’08 having some typical big Syrah characteristics, pepper, some leather, light tannin, while the ’09 was soft and smooth, what you expect for a blend.
From there we were off to our appointment at Denner Vineyards. A far cry from our morning tastings, not just because we were now in the heart of the west side, but also because it was much smaller. You also need an appointment and a pass key just to get Denner Vineyards Tasting Roomthrough the gate. I found it interesting that the initial feeling of this place was that it was Denner Vineyards Tasting Roomgoing to be somewhat private and intimate, given the appointment and gate and such, but when you get to the tasting room it felt like any other tasting room with several groups around one table being served by a single host. I was not sure why the appointment was necessary. With the exception of their ’12 Viongier, the wines they were pouring here were all blends. As you would expect with names like Ditch Digger, Dirt Worshipper and Mother of Exiles, these were big, earthy blends, all with big flavors but well blended so they all had a softer component to them as well. We were also introduced to the concept of wine making using concrete tanks although it was too busy to get the complete low down on the process.
Our next planned visit was just off the square in Paso Robles, so with a little time left we decided to make another detour and go to Jada Vineyard, just up the road from Denner, and we are glad we did. Ari, our pour guild here, greeted us as we walked in and introduced us to the two tasting menus and let us know that each would also come with a cheese pairing, our second of the day. Offering a number of creatively named blends, the first on our list was a ’12 XVC. The only white on our list, this was a very nice Grenache Blanc/Roussanne/Viognier blend, a lot of fruit without being sweet or syrup like. Another of my favorites here was the ’11 Strayts, a Merlot/Syrah blend. With about two thirds Merlot it had the dark cherry and other fruit flavors of a Merlot with the softer texture on the pallet but the Syrah gave it a bit of a punch in the middle. The cheese it was paired with did not change it much, but I will be interested to see how it pairs with something more substantial. Most of the wines here are very reasonably priced, my only disappointment was one of my favorites and one of the only single varietals on the list, a ’10 Estate Syrah, was a bit on the high end at $75. Although it was busy, and getting busier, Ari took the time to guild us through our tasting, answering all our questions and allowing us to deviate some off the list. He also explained their concrete aging process, which allow the wine to soften more than it would in steel, but does not add flavor to the wine as wood barrels will. Our experience at Jada epitomizes what we love about Paso Robles, tasting great wine, meeting great people and learning about wine and the wine making process in a relaxed setting.
Our final stop, Arroyo Robles Winery, is one of a hand full that are located right around the square in the heart of Paso. While I am generally a glass half full type of guy, I could not find anything redeeming about these wines. They all had a very similar taste, that of some additive that I could not put my finger on but had an artificial sweetener feel to it. Our pour guild here was very entertaining and did some very good impersonations, and without this we would have likely left before we got to the sparkling. I will say this, the Grand Cuvée was a nice sparling for $16, but not enough to make me want to return.
Dinner that night was not exactly a new experience, Brax and Hill had been there before but were more then up for a return visit to Buono Tavola. A small little Italian restaurant just off the square. We arrived early with the thought that we could enjoy a drink at the bar before dinner, but our table was ready. The drink menu had some interesting options, unfortunately none of us were impressed with the final product. The food on the other had was great, especially the pasta. My only complaint is that it was a bit Americanized. What do I mean by that, well if you have had authentic Italian you know that they do not put so much sauce on the pasta that you can barely taste the noodles. Here they had all the ingredients and flavor in the noodles and sauce to keep it authentic and achieve the balance between the two, instead they went the American rout and drowned the noodles with sauce.
Final thoughts. Our true favorites did not disappoint and their position remains unchanged. We may have some additions to the short list, stay tuned. Find of the weekend……Jada Vineyards. Exactly what we look for and love about Paso!

1st Paso trip of 2014 for the 4

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……

Best porn sites here

gaymaletube
galore xxx

Paso Robles and Cambria June 2&3

IMG_0869Brax and I took a quick trip to Paso Robles on our way to stay at a cute little motel in Cambria I found thru Living Social. We had a wine pick up at Kukkula so of course we had to do some tasting, never a disappointment. Kevin gave us some suggestions for a couple other wineries to check out. From there we went to my other boyfriend(Troya’s BF too),Terry Hoage. Evan was pouring so he filled us in on some of the new stuff we hadn’t tasted the last time, one wine being the rose which was lovely. Needless to say we belong to another wine club. Caliza was our next stop, one of the recommendations from Kevin. Pam was great there, very informative and friendly and turned out she was from Cambria so she had some good suggestions. Caliza’s wines were very good, they had a very nice rose called Pink, very crisp, fruity but not sweet.  They also had a very good Primitivo, we bought a bottle of both. Our next stop was Epoch, another of Kevin’s suggestions. Again good wines and very friendly staff, the girls was very friendly and helpful. Epoch had a nice rose too, if you haven’t noticed I am a big fan of the rose. It’s a great summer wine! They also had a GSM that was good but I think a smidge on the pricey side at $65 a bottle. The Estate Blend was also very good and not outrageously priced at $40 a bottle.

After we left Epoch we headed to Cambria. I had never been to Cambria but have several friend’s that have stayed and really loved it so I was really looking forward to it.

We made our way to Cambria and found the Cambria Shores Inn. If you like to travel with your dogs this is a great place to stay. We brought both of our dogs and when we arrived they had a welcome basket for the them. The room was very nice, nothing fancy but neat and clean. They put a sheet over the bed so your dogs can get on the bed. There was a fireplace, small fridge and coffee pot…necessities. The shower had the large overhead shower head that was pretty awesome. The motel is located across the street from the beach so a great view. The grounds have several grass areas with chairs to relax, drink some wine and enjoy the view. Unfortunately no dogs are allowed on that beach but a few miles down at San Simeon State Beach is dog friendly. Our dogs had a blast!!

We went to the Sea Chest for dinner, they only served seafood. Lots of fresh fish choices but I ordered the shrimp scampi with pasta and Brax had the shrimp and scallop scampi with pasta. Both were very good, huge portions. We had some very yummy escargot as an appetizer too.

The next morning there was a picnic basket hanging outside our door. It had fresh fruit, OJ, yogurt, little packaged pastries, and a bagel. I really enjoyed this motel, I’d definitely come back. I think with the Living Social deal it was $129/night so I’m not sure what it normally is.

We went to breakfast at Redwood Café which was delish!!! On our way out of Cambria we went to taste at Harmony Winery. A friend of ours belongs there so we wanted to try it out. They had a Pinot Gris that was very nice as well as a rose otherwise I wasn’t impressed. Of course on our way out of Paso we had to stop at Kenneth Volk because I’m on a quest for more Blaufrankish which of course they won’t have til maybe the fall. Needless to say we found a couple others we really liked like the Mouvedre, Touriga and Syrah. By the time we headed home my liver was thanking me. Until next time…..happy eating, drinking and travels!!!

 

 

 

 

 

FTF goes GSM in Paso

After a year of talking about it and several weeks doing our research and speaking with those that know more than we do the FTF loaded up to start our GSM tour of Paso Robles. The idea came to us last year as we were doing some tasting and talking about all the press GSM’s were getting recently. If you know anything about GSM in Paso you know it would not be possible to taste them all in a weekend trip. We needed to do some weeding out before the trip started. We also wanted to venture out and discover some new Paso gems. After doing our homework and discussing our options we put together our highlight list.
Our excitement grew as we headed south on 101, so much so that we almost missed our turn on San Marcus Road. Actually we frequently “almost miss” this turn and after several near roll-overs have decided that it should be much better marked. It was hard to pass up some of our usual stops on our way to Kukkula, but we were on a mission. We have all been here several times before, Brax and Hill are members, but they have a great GSM and we knew they are just starting to pour some of the estate grow vintages. On this day they were pouring both the 07 and 09 sisu (technically a SGM based on percentages, but who are we to quibble). It’s always fun to taste the same wine of different vintages to experience how different wine will be year to year. These two wines were tasting quite different on this day. The 07 had a very light berry bouquet, was well balanced on the tongue with a clean, smooth start and dark berry finish. The 09 had a more inky bouquet with a hint of fruit, and was sweeter on the tongue with a clean, slightly smoky finish.
Our next stop was Alta Colina. This is a very small winery we had never been to before. The Rhone Rangers had found a GSM there that was well liked so we figured we should give it a try. Their two blends, the 09 Mourvedre (MSG-Brax was hoping we would find one of these) and the 10 Baja Colina Rhone Red (SGM) were both much more of a Bourdieu style blend then many of the other fruit forward Paso GSM’s. We all found these a little rough but they would be fun to try again in about 3-4 years.
Then it was off to Villa Creek. Without putting the two together, we had made reservations at their restaurant that evening for dinner about an hour before. Great place, wonderful food in downtown Paso. They had not quite finished the tasting room here so we tasted in the cool dampness of the wine cellar. I mention this only because it is difficult to let a wine open up when you are tasting it in a 50ish degree environment. They were pouring 3 different blends that qualified for our tour. The first, the 10 Willow Creek Cuvee, at true GSM, had a very nice dark fruit bouquet and the same qualities on the tongue with a nice clean finish. The 10 Avenger had a little inkiness to the bouquet and some cherry flavors at the back end. Both of these wines were well liked but seemed a little steep at $45 apiece. The last tasting was the $100 High Road, The End of The Road. This was a very smooth well blended wine with no rough edges but again not quite worth the price.
From there we headed down Vineyard Drive to Hearthstone. This was our first time here as well. Josslyn, one of the managers, was pouring today and gave us a wonderful reception and an even better tour of what they had to offer. To keep things fair I will only mention the GSM in this blog, but definitely look forward to a full report on all of the various wines Hearthstone has to offer. The list is long with a number of different classics and interesting blends. Their GSM offering has a very light berry bouquet and has a predominant dark fruit/berry taste with a smooth clean finish. Exactly what you look for in a GSM.
Our last stop of the day was L Adventure at the very end of Live Oak Road. Not the type of winery you expect to find at the end of a long dirt road. All of the wines they were offering this day were blends and two of them classified for the GSM tour. The first, 2010 La Suite had a more earthy bouquet then many of the others with classic dark fruit on the tongue but also a little tannin at the end. Their signature GSM blend 2010 Cote a Cote had very similar properties but a bit smoother. All of their wines were well blended and smooth, but a bit on the high end at $45-$85 per bottle.
We figured it was a good time to check into the hotel while we could still walk in a straight line and formulate sentences. We were actually all very proud of ourselves as we shared tastings all day and even after five wineries we could still distinguish the various properties of what we were tasting. On second thought maybe we should be worried, oh well. In keeping with our theme of trying new things, we had made reservations at the Paso Robles Inn. In a nutshell, comfortable, clean rooms, not a lot of fan-fare. They do offer rooms with sulfa spring tubs, which we opted for, but the heating mechanism for the water was not working so we did not get to try this experience.
We were up early the next morning (for vacation) and after a quick breakfast at Joe’s, need we say more, we were in the tasting room of Zenaida Cellars by 11:30. Having never been here either, we were again surprised at the number of wines they offered. The GSM on their list, the 10 Wonderlust was a classic, well balanced, smooth GSM with all the dark berry flavors you would expect. A very nice surprise.
After a drive up Niderer Road, with several stops to admire all the roaming deer, we came to Pipestone Vineyards. Dedicated to sustainable and organic farming, they have a pair of draft horses they use to do farming in the vineyards. I have tasted at other organic vineyards before and honestly was expecting more of the same, somewhat rough, earthy wines. Those pre-conceptions will leave as soon as you start tasting their wine. Their GSM offering, the 08 Rhone Style Red is actually a Melange/Syrah/Grenache blend. It had a light bouquet but came alive on the tongue with a clean balance of fruit and a hint of tannin on the back end. All of their wines were much cleaner and smoother than I expected.
From there, along several other dirt roads, it was on to Terry Hoage Vineyards. Which brings up the age old question, can someone go from terrorizing receivers as a defensive back in both college and the NFL to making phenomenal wine? With an N of one, I will say yes. This was definitely the find of the weekend. Troya and I almost came to blows because she wanted to dismiss our rule of not becoming members at the first tasting right there and then. All of their wines are blends, and interestingly all priced the same. The GMS blend, the 2010 The Pick was, forgive the metaphor, a pick 6. Like all the wines here, it was velvety smooth, with a light pepper bouquet and balanced dark fruit and pepper on the tongue with a clean finish that lasts. The price is a little high at $48, but these are worth it!
After checking into the Hotel Cheval we walked around town a bit and then ended the GSM tour where the whole idea was born at the Parrish Family Vineyard. As I remembered, the 08 GSM Rhone Blend had a very jammy bouquet with well blended dark fruit on the tongue and a long berry finish.
My final impressions for the Paso GSM tour of 2013. Winner for the basic, everyday GSM would be a 3 way tie with Hearthstone, Zenaida and Parrish Family, all in the mid $30 range. Overall winner and find of the weekend, Terry Hoage!