Category Archives: Wine Regions

WBC 13 Day 1

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wpid-IMG_20130606_184701_567.jpgTravel day. No real issues but word to the wise, do not believe the status board at Seattle airports. Better to ask an agent where your departing gate is. For some reason they do not update the board frequently, which means you could be left riding around on the airport tram between gates. Flying into BC you realize what an incredible area this is, hills and mountains that look painted and lake after lake. The drive to Penticton is more of the same, just up close. The welcome reception for WBC 13 was like an around the world tour of wine tasting with booths from Uruguay, Spain, South America, BC and Napa. Then on a bus to SeeYaLater Ranch. There we had food an wine tasting at 8 different booths from local wineries. No details, 8 different wineries after all, but very pleasantly surprised with some of the wineries. Looking forward to tasting some of the more boutique wines up here.

Side note, for this conference we have two goals. One is to meet others in the field an wpid-IMG_20130606_202656_044.jpglearn how to be better blogger for you, the other is to report on the BC area wines. Results from day one, the info we are getting and contacts we are making are invaluable, and BC is looking like a true destination for travel/wine. Hope to get more info on the food options while we are here.

Second Chances

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Three years ago I participated in my first Santa Clara Valley Wine Passport Weekend.  We visited a few wineries, one being Sarah’s Vineyard.  The young ladies pouring that day must have been tired of the numerous participants trampling through their tasting room staying only long enough to finish their tasting.  When my little group approached the counter, we were greeted with snarls and exasperation.  Not a good way to start off.  I admit we arrived 30 minutes before closing.  They were only pouring three wines so I believed we had plenty of time for the tasting.  The crowd was thinning out and only my group remained at the counter.  We waited.  We waited patiently.  We were finally approached by a young lady that requested to see our passports.  She stamped them and poured our first tasting.  I”m not sure if it was my first impression of the tasting room or the wine but I was not a fan of wine.  I have not been back since.  Fast forward to the present.

A friend invited me to go to Solis with her to pick up her club shipment.  I’m not one to pass up an opportunity to taste Solis wines.  While standing at the tasting counter, another wine enthusiast told us he had just come from Sarah’s Vineyard and he really liked their wines.  I was surprised to hear that.  I just assumed everyone had the same experience I did.  After listening to him talk about their Rhone blends I was intrigued.   So off we went. But not without apprehension.

I opened the door to the tasting room and the first thing I heard was, “Hi guys, come on in.”  We followed the voice and that was when we met Megan.  A big smile and as sweet as can be.  She introduced the wines to us and asked us where we wanted to start.  Megan is a Sommelier and very knowledgable about their wines and wines in general.  I really enjoyed their wines and we had some great conversation with Megan.  So here is to second chances.  I am now a Sarah’s Vineyard wine club member.

 Cheers…

 

 

Picnic At The Windy Oaks

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wpid-IMG_20130601_130951_912.jpgIt was a magnificent weekend in the Monterey Bay area, high 70’s to low 80’s, no fog, no clouds. We do not get a lot of those. Troya suggested we take advantage and have a picnic lunch so after a quick stop at Deluxe Foods to stock up on some Irish cheddar and a little slice of triple cream Brie, boar meat sausage, rosemary garlic sourdough, some almonds and fresh strawberry’s we headed up to Windy Oaks winery. Having been there before, we were familiar with their long list of amazing Pinot Noir’s, a little pricy but worth it on special occasions like this (see our prior post on Windy Oaks). We had not explored the property last time we were here but were told they had a great little picnic spot. We choose a bottle of Diane’s Block and headed out on the trail. After a moderate 5 minute hike to the top of a Knoll they have several tables set up between grape fields and under several oak tree’s giving the perfect amount of shade. The view down into the valley is spectacular. Great food, great wine, great location, the only thing missing was Brax and Hill (suckers had to work).

Windy Oaks

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Troya and I took a little time out from our weekend chores to attend the annual Pinot and food paring at Nicholson Vineyard this weekend. They have your standard Santa Cruz Mountain varietals, but specialize in Pinot Noir. Their wines started out very good and have been improving over the years, getting more refined and complex. I will not go into any great detail but tasting them side by side was a lot of fun and we were able to taste the nuances of each different Pinot.

 

On our way out we saw a sign for Windy Oaks Estate. We have tasted the other wines in the Coralitos area and have not been overly impressed, but had not been here before. Its a little bit of a drive, but if you are not rushed its beautiful. The winery itself is on an incredible property (picture above) with hiking trails to a point that you can look out to the ocean. They also specialize in Pinot Noir. Troya and I both enjoyed the tasting although she liked some different ones than I did. They are all classic SCM Pinots with subtle differences in flavor and smoothness (is that a word?). We would have been much more interested if their prices were more in range with the others in this area, $39-$60 being a little steep, but still work checking out.