We started the day out at Justin. We drove and drove and drove and were surprised how far it was. We had Justin wines before and they were just big and delicious. So we were excited to see what the whole experience would be like.
A perfectly ripe strawberry, a perfectly crisp apple, a perfectly stirred glass of Tang. These are elegant amazing wines. And that is why you can have your winery out in BFE, because if your wine is incredible, people will come from miles around.
The most popular of their lineup consists of blends, including their Isoceles, which is their most famous (and expensive) wine. They had very unique dessert wines also, less syrupy than others we had tried. And beautiful unique flavors happening throughout. And a delightful Malbec that started with violet floral notes.
We kind of knew in advance that we were going to end up joining their wine club, and we did. Also we knew the day was shot, in that, all future wines were going to have to be amazing to hold up to our Justin experience.
Our adorable wine wench at Justin recommended we try the European style French wines from Tablas Creek, just down the road.
So a short drive took us to a beautiful estate winery and tasting room. Our host through the tastes of Tablas Creek was a beautiful French woman, who explained Tablas Creek is the sister winery of Chateau de Beaucastel in France, and their winery is the result of a friendship between French, British and American growers and winemakers.
They have a wonderful tasting guide with pictures, maps to the French wine region, and descriptions of the grapes and their role in the blend, and did I mention the beautiful French woman?
She had the most generous pour of any tasting room. I felt bad pouring it out, but I didn't want to be hammered with so much more of the day to go. Their wines were in the $45 - $55 but were elegant and very European. It was a nice change from the hammer-like effect California wines can have on the senses.
Next up was lunch. We learned from our mistake and went to Artisan near the park. This was a great experience. Excellent food, and I knew we were short on time, and probably wouldn't make too many more wineries, so I ordered a wine flight, and decided to conduct my own tasting.
I received three big bold reds: Bodegas Tempranillo "viva yo!" '09, Enfold Zin/Syrah "Joseph's Blend" '11, and Shale Oak Zin '10.
All three were incredible. But the Enfold!
I saw Jesus.
These were all three superior in every way, but I stalked the crap out of Enfold. Unfortunately there was no way to get there on our current schedule, but it is now at the TIPPITY TOPPITY TOP of my list when I return, as is Shale Oak, which was just a dark earthy blanket of yum.
Now that lunch was over, we were on our way to what I was honestly most excited about: Graveyard Vineyard. I was excited about the wine, the labels, the merch and all the potential that someone with a wine label of Graveyard would have.
What a fucking let-down.
Their merch was generic. Nothing graveyardy about any of it. There were some Dia de los Muertos themed things, that were just ordered and plunked in the shop. Where were the commemorative coffin shaped wine boxes? macabre headstone labels? vague zombie references? It doesn't have to be dour, even a tongue-in-cheek approach could be fun and elegant, but I got nothing.
There was a life sized coffin in the corner with a sign that said, "For Sale. Used only once." Slow clap.
Their wines were just as disappointing. Each had been in the bottle less than a year. They were young, feral, tannic to the point of being undrinkable.
Then the girl poured a Viognier from the winemaker's private label, Bushong, which was also sold in the tasting room. This was by far the best Viognier I have ever had. Thus far, I have hated every Viognier I have encountered, so I was super skeptical, but this was very good. Smooth, not at all bitter. And it's a screwcap of all things. I bought one bottle. And despite feeling a little better about the experience, I just felt sad at such a huge missed opportunity.
Sigh. The world, and the way it would be if I were in charge.
Well that was supposed to be it for the wine tasting portion of our trip, but I didn't want to be let down by a lousy last tasting.
So we ventured into town to Bodegas, to find out more about the Viva Yo! from lunch.
They have a small tasting room in downtown, and the pourer, Max was polite, young, a little manic, and young. We were there with another couple and he seemed to have trouble managing two conversations at once. The easiest way is to combine them all together, forcing everyone to be friends. After the other couple left we made it clear we were ready to buy wine, but a father and daughter came in who worked in the industry.
We immediately became invisible despite the fact we were ordering up several bottles of wine. I don't know if he just became more at ease with industry folks with whom he immediately has stuff in common, or what. I'm willing to bet they didn't buy anything though.
Anyway, enough bitching about him, let's talk about their fucking good wine. Most of their wines are Spanish and Portuguese varietals. They had a beautiful Albarino, but it was only available by the case and even though it was on sale for $100 (for the whole case!), I just couldn't bring myself to buy that much wine. Though a small part of me regrets it now.
They have a couple of blends of Mourvedre and Tempranillo that were quite good, and their Viva Yo! (90% Tempranillo, 10% Cab Sauv) and Viva Tu! (100% Tempranillo) were amazing. They had a couple of wines made from Trousseau which is a peppery grape, nicknamed Bastardo. Super peppery! They also had a very interesting wine called Iberia which includes 31% Touriga, a grape used to make port. So it had a sweet port nose but wasn't sweet in flavor. It was very unusual and unique.
So even though Max didn't treat us as well as we'd hoped, he was still overall nice, and we still had a nice last tasting. And now even more so than the day before, my tasters were shot and I was definitely done. I mean it this time.
I even skipped having wine at dinner.
The next day we went to Hearst Castle and walked around. I tried to imagine having a mansion like that, and I just couldn't get further than a fantasy of reading a book in one of the corners. I am unable to even fathom the idea of being that rich (or really any level of rich).
We had dinner in Cambria and it was suggested I pair my halibut with a white wine called Butter. And it was! A nice lightly oaked Chardonnay from Sonoma. Apparently they also have a red called Jam, and a sparkling wine called Toast! I want to travel there based on this information alone. Plus our waitress was adorable. I bundled her up in a ribbon and stuffed her in the trunk so she can pair all my wine.
I can see it now: "Tonight's macaroni and cheese should pair with a nicely with a box of Chardy."
So that is the end of our trip, and now we get to play wine at home (it's one of my favorite games). And as I mentioned at the beginning, the one thing I have learned about this excursion to central-south-quasi-coastal-California, is that Paso is awesome, and you should go there. We went to 11 wineries and only have about 339 left to go. And aside from the wine, we had a lot of fun just being together, enjoying each other's company and just being in love. It was a great weekend and exactly what I needed.
Bottom line: Go create an adventure for yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment