Weekend in Paso - Part Deux
May 25, 2007 by vegasrenie · Leave a Comment
Windward has Burgundian-style Pinot Noir, which are flavorful and earthy with an amazing, food-friendly core of acidity that make these wines great for pairing. A discussion with Marc Goldberg revealed a man who is very passionate about his Pinots and whose vision is to let Americans know that a fruit-bomb Pinot is not a correct Pinot.
Castoro Cellars (1-800-DamFine – I love the phone number!) was there in full fun mode. Niels was autographing great posters (Irene is Dam Fine) while we savored their wines. They make a complete line of quality, moderately priced wines that were made for quaffing with friends. My favorite of theirs is the Rosato di Syrah (help me if I spelled it wrong!), which, unfortunately, they did not have at the Festival. It is an inky (for a Rose) wine with lots of Syrah character. I was introduced to their wines (and to Paso Robles) by a friend of mine and I have to thank her for the heads up!
It’s pretty obvious that I’m a fan of Hug Cellars. One of the reasons I became such a fan was because of his 2005 release of a Pinot from the Orchid Hill Vineyards. That wine with Thanksgiving dinner was absolute perfection. You can imagine how excited I was to find out that Orchid Hill is a winery in its own right. The only varietals they produce are Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier, and Zinfandel. Because they can focus on just a few items, they have been able to bring their entire portfolio to a very high standard. Their wines are delicious, but the Pinot (in my humble opinion) is a standout. Once again, it’s that mouth-bracing style that I like so much that makes me think immediately of Grilled Salmon with Capers as a pairing. Karen did the pouring honors and impressed me by giving kudos to Augie Hug for the fine job he did with OH grapes last year. See what I mean about Paso folks? By the way, they just opened up a new tasting room right off the park in downtown Paso. Gorgeous.
As I may have mentioned before, Villicana has the best Viognier (once again, in *my* opinion. YMMV.) and when we arrived at their tent, I quaffed a nice pour of it and once again felt that my assessment was correct. Then Alex made a challenge! He indicated that his grapes and those of Anglim Winery are from the same source. So away we marched, searching for the Anglim tent in order to do strategic Viognier testing. Um, *tasting.*
As it turned out, the particular Viognier they were pouring at that time was not from the same grape source as Villicana, but was fragrant and delicious, nevertheless. Because it was later in the day and I could feel palate fatigue creeping in, I limited my tasting to simply the Viognier and Syrah. Does anyone in Paso make a bad Syrah?
OF COURSE I had to stop by Tobin James’ booth. Toby was there in his glory, and they were pouring his wonderful wines. I took a couple of sips of Zin, a free cowboy hat, and was on my way. This is another winery that has a noticeable presence in my wine collection. My favorite (and I didn’t see it being poured), is the Fat Boy Zin, but I wouldn’t turn any of them down! Tooth-stainers, all.
There were several wineries that I tried for the first time, and there are three that really stood out. I’m not saying that the wineries are new (although I know that John Alan is relatively new), but they are new to me.
Hansen had a nice little crowd around their tent and I tasted their Syrah and Zinfandel. According to my notes, I thought their Zin was beautiful. Their website isn’t completely up yet, but promises to be up and running shortly.
John Alan himself was helping to man the pouring booth and makes a variety of very nice wines. This is a brand new winery, and John Alan is enthusiastic about his efforts. And he should be. As much as I loved his Syrah, he was very excited about the new release later this year which he stated would be even better. His Viognier had Viognier character (I’ve tasted too many that are either Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay wannabes), and his entire portfolio was promising. And yummy. Once again, we have website issues, but stay tuned for the unveiling. The website address will be http://www.johnalanwinery.com.
Another new winery – for me because I know they’ve been in Paso for a while – was Wild Coyote. WC had Zins, Syrahs, a Merlot, and a Zin Port that, unfortunately, was not open. When I say unfortunately, I mean unfortunately for *me* because apparently they’re about sold out of it. It’s in a wonderful bottle, and since my first real Port experience (American Port, of course) was a Zin Port, I only have love for Zin Ports! Gianni himself was there pouring, and exudes humor and friendliness. I will definitely make a point of visiting Wild Coyote next time I’m in Paso, which I hope is very soon!
Unfortunately, there were those wineries that I missed. And absolutely HATED that I missed! All of them are good, with a couple that are legendary in the world of wine. For instance, I missed both the Turley and the Linne Calodo tents. Both of these wineries produce incredible Zins and other varietals, are well-known throughout the wine world, and have a waiting list for those fans who want to be in their wine clubs.
Robert Hall is great, not only because of their nicely-priced and delicious wines, but also because of Robert Hall himself. He is quite a character, but I didn’t even get to stop by the booth to see if he was there on Saturday. I feel so ashamed! They have an expansive selection of wines, and there are several that are my favorites. By the way, they recently garnered a 93 score from Wine Enthusiast for their wonderful Vintage Port. Ha! I have a few bottles of it! By the way, when you are in Paso, you have to visit their winery. It is one of the most beautiful settings in the area.
Another booth/tent (whatever) I missed on Saturday was Carmody-McKnight. They have a very unusual history regarding the quality of their soils, and their wines reflect that quality. I own several bottles of their wine, including their new late harvest Chardonnay. Waiting for the special occasion! But I digress. They also have Pinot (which is ALWAYS gone by the time I’m ready to taste it), a great Cabernet, and Day in the Park, their unoaked Chardonnay.
And last but not least, I was able to stop by the Garretson tent, eager and excited to wrap my lips around some Celeigh – their Rhone Rosé – and was bitterly disappointed (like that?) that they had run out. Argh! As it turned out, that was the last tent anyway, and my palate had died by that time. If you’ve never checked it out, you have to check out their website. THIS IS A MUST!! Garretson wines are a love/hate relationship, and the fact that they give their wines Gaelic names makes for all kinds of pronunciation fun. The Celeigh, for instance, is pronounced “Kayley.” Their flagship Syrah, the Craic, is pronounced “Crack.” Want some Craic? LOL. This is Syrah with about 6% Viognier which makes for an amazing combination. It is a must to check out Garretson wines and decide for yourself if you love them or hate them. I love them. There’s nothing in between.
That’s about it! Whew! Obviously, I love Paso Robles. I really do … it’s my favorite, it’s local (as far as Wine Countries go), and the people are incredible.
To those of you who wanted to know, here is the link to take a look at Stanley Lambert’s Pristine Chardonnay.
Sorry about the posting being a day late. Oh, by the way - Marche Bacchus is having a Stanley Lambert tasting at their store tomorrow. Hope to see you there! Our buddy, Elliott, will be there as always.
Sphere: Related ContentWeekend in Paso - Part One
May 21, 2007 by vegasrenie · Leave a Comment
What a wonderful weekend I had!A weekend in Paso Robles during their annual Wine Festival was more fun than I could have imagined. What’s more, I got to meet and greet some old friends and find some new ones along the way.
The purpose of this Blog is to disseminate information about wine, food, restaurant, and other lifestyle events in the local Las Vegas area. However, it’s nice to take a sidebar and report on something a little different. Well, this week’s entry is the sidebar.
“Wine Country,” as you know, encompasses a lot of territory. Be it Southern California, Santa Barbara, Central Coast, Sonoma, or Napa, there are lots of options locally (relatively speaking, of course). The wine countries of Oregon and Washington are formidable contenders, as are the areas of Northern Michigan and New York State with their cold-weather varietals. Of course, there are those who think that outside of Europe, there *are* no wine countries – the others are just posers. We could go on and on, talking about the areas in Chile and Argentina, New Zealand and Australia, and South Africa. “Wine Country” is a big deal as more and more people start to “get” the European idea of wine as food.
This weekend in Paso Robles cemented in my mind why this particular Wine Country is my favorite. Not just because of outstanding wines (thank goodness they have been flying below the Wine Spectator radar…that means more for me!), but because of the warmth of the people and winemakers there. Yes, they are competitors, but they seem to be genuinely concerned about the welfare of each other’s businesses. And will go on record stating that those Paso wineries who have snooty attitudes (what I affectionately call the “Napa Syndrome”), won’t last too long there.
I visited a couple of wineries and tasting rooms over the weekend, and spent a little time seeking out new wineries at the festival. I’d like to share some of my experiences with you. My tasting notes and preferences are strictly my own. Your mileage may vary.
A quick trip into town to check out the Park for the next day’s festival found us at the Midlife Crisis Winery tasting room, located at 1244 Pine Street. Wines of note are their Pinot Grigio, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Roo Boy Red. Fun wines, and I especially enjoyed, well *all* of them. I also found a Wineaux shirt (I kid you not!), and a Wine Diva visor. I love the name of their wine club which is the Crisis Management Team. But don’t let the fun name and cutesy wine club moniker fool you. Their wines are serious, and the Zinfandel and Syrah are worth noting. Big, full-bodied and with the characteristics that the varietals are *supposed* to have. Their Syrah and Zin are both gold-medal winners and are starting to turn some heads in the wine world.We then went into the hills of Paso to check out some old favorites.
Two of the first places we went to were Mt. Olive Organic Farm and Pasolivo.
Mt. Olive Organic Farm has lots of fresh organic produce that they grow themselves. They also have an incredible number of olives, salsas, tapenades, dressings, etc., all of which are organic and delicious. They serve sandwiches, salads, pastas, juices, and more, and have a wonderful outdoor patio where you can enjoy your meal. They are located at 3445 Adelaida Road in Paso.
Pasolivo has olive oils that they press from their own olives from their own trees. I am a member of their club – The Press Club (get it?) – and have never once regretted joining. They are a wonderful, friendly group and will give you a tour of their pressing facilities. They have lots of olive-related products, and also carry an assortment of vinegars and salt. Once you have tasted their olive oils, the storebought stuff seems insipid by contrast.While at Pasolivo, we met Sabrina Kruse of
Jack Creek Cellars who was pouring her fabulous, Burgundian-style Pinot Noirs. Jack Creek was new to me, and it was a happy discovery since I am a self-described “Pinot Ho.”As I mentioned in last week’s entry,
Halter Ranch is one of my favorites even though I’m not a member of their club at this time. We stopped at their winery, located at 8910 Adelaida Road, and happily tasted through their lineup. Their two basic blends, Ranch White and Ranch Red are two of the best to consider as house wines; they are low cost and yummy! In fact, two of my friends and I had a heated discussion over who’d get to keep the single bottle of Ranch White received in a shipment! Their Syrah is fabulous, and their Estate Reserve Cab is also exemplary. Heck, all of their wines are terrific, and the girls in the pouring room are friendly and knowledgeable. And all are Alex Villicana fans. More on that later!
We ended the day at Villicana Winery, located at 2725 Adelaida Road. Absolutely wonderful wines, and the best Viognier around, bar none. Alex and Monica Villicana do an incredible job in making sure that quality and varietal distinctiveness are correct in each of their wines. Alex and Monica are also very cute and each has a fan club :-). They hosted a Friday night barbeque which was enjoyed along with the guitarist, some of their fabulous Zinfandel, and good friends. As a side note, there was a group there who said they were from Vegas. POSERS!! They were NOT from Vegas!! They were, however, Vegas fans and were thrilled that there was someone there who was *actually* from Vegas. They were a fun crowd and were quite obviously enjoying themselves. I felt like a celebrity!Anyway, my favorite Villicana wines are all of them. Which is why I’m a member of their club! I really don’t care what comes in the shipment, because I know all of the bottles are going to be enjoyable. My favorites (okay, okay, I do have some favorites!) are their Viognier, Rosé, and Zinfandel.
Before attending the Festival, my friends said, “Caves.” ????? As it turns out,
Eberle has tours of their man-made wine caves. Holy Spelunking, Batman! Although these caves are man made, they have developed characteristics of natural caves in that their ceilings are forming stalactites, which are natural limestone drips.They also have a bunch of great wines! I tasted their Viognier, Syrah Rosé, Full Boar Red, Syrah, Up Shiraz, Reserve Estate Cab, and Muscat Canelli. I bought two bottles of the Full Boar Red. Yummy, well-priced, and another great candidate for a “house wine”!
Then the Festival! It was nearly as zoo-like as UNLVino, but cheaper and outdoors. I connected with some of my old favorites, and found some new ones as well. I will talk about my oldies today and update on the new discoveries in my regular entry on Thursday. By the way, wine wasn’t for sale at the Festival, so taking copious notes was a must.
As I mentioned in the last entry,
Four Vines is a fun winery with great wines. Unfortunately, they didn’t have Naked Chardonnay with them on Saturday. I will admit to being a fan of buttery, well-oaked Chards, and have found that many unoaked Chards taste like fruit juice and lack the character that oak imparts. I don’t claim to know everything, but I believe that all white Burgundies are oaked (if you know differently, let me know and I’ll share with the readership). Other than Stanley Lambert’s Pristine Chardonnay (Australia), I thought all the rest were boring, Naked included. That is, until the most recent release (2005) which has hit the mark just right. It has all of the mouthfeel and taste of a lightly-oaked Chardonnay with none of the sometimes bitter finish. Obviously, I was disappointed that they didn’t have any there!They did have Loco, Anarchy, The Biker, Zinfandel Dusi, and my personal favorite, Heretic. Heretic is Petit Sirah, and so very wonderful! Rich, luscious, and tooth-staining.
Many of the Paso wineries are small, and they are focused on exquisite quality rather than cranking out wines by the tens of thousands of cases. One of the best examples of quality-driven winemaking is another one of my personal favorites,
Hug Cellars. Augie Hug and Edgar were manning the tasting tent and as always, their wines did not disappoint. They were pouring their portfolio of Syrahs as well as their wonderful Casa Mirales Romanze Rosé, to which I am hopelessly addicted. On my way home on Sunday, I stopped by their tasting room and *somehow* bought several bottles of their wines, including a bottle of the fabulous 2005 Rancho Ontiveros Pinot Noir, which has just garnered a 93 point score from Wine Enthusiast. Forget about finding this in your local wine store; if they have *any* left at all, it’s only available in person at the winery. Augie produces his wines in cases of several hundred at most, or as in the case of the Rosé, less than 100 cases were made. Most of the bottles are at my house :-). At any rate, if you can get to their winery and stock up, you won’t be disappointed. Do it now since they’ve been discovered by Wine Enthusiast (much more credible, in my opinion, than Wine Spectator). Damn. Less for me. Their tasting room is located at 2323 Tuley Ct. Suite 120 D, which is just off the 46E on the way out of town. Hard to find and well worth the extra effort.I love
Opolo! Their Mountain Zinfandel is legendary, and they are always surprising club members with a variety of new wines, many of which are only available through the club. For instance, in my last shipment I received two bottles of Montagne Mare, a blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Barbera. These are both big grapes and I wasn’t sure if I would be well served by opening a bottle. The verdict? Go ahead! It’s good now, or if I want to lay them down for a while, that would work as well. It’s fully approachable at this time so I won’t be disappointed. Hm. Time to plan a home dinner! This is another winery that has a great variety of wines, good prices, and are the some of the friendliest and most knowledgeable you’d want to meet.I think I’ve made your eyeballs bleed enough! In my next entry, I will talk about some more of my old favorites such as Tobin James and Windward and put the spotlight on some new ones (new to me), including John Alan Winery, Hansen, Anglim, and Orchid Hill. Stay tuned!!
Sphere: Related ContentWine Clubs! Or why my budget screams twice a year …or so
May 14, 2007 by vegasrenie · 1 Comment
There are wine clubs and there are wine clubs. There are those clubs that charge you a monthly fee and send you several bottles of wine every month. I belonged to one for a while. It was ugly. Each and every wine was, at best, mediocre. There was not a single one that I felt the wine was worth a repeat buy. Let’s just call it an expensive lesson.
Then there are the home wine tasting clubs. If you’ve been a part of this blog for a while, you know that my first wine club disbanded after many years in existence. This club was having home tasting get-togethers long before it became a part of part of popular culture. I now belong to the loosely-knit
And then there are the winery wine clubs. I belong to several, have quit a few, and wish I could belong to more. It would save in shopping. Sort of.
After many months of being on the waiting list, I was finally given the opportunity to purchase an allocation from Kosta Browne. I received my full allocation plus two, and was very happy. Quite broke, but happy. Kosta Browne has great Pinots and a new Rosé, by the way.
I also belong to Hug Cellars, Opolo, Robert Young Estates, and Villicana wine clubs. Robert Young Estates (the makers of Scion), is the only one located in
Hug makes Pinots. Surprisingly Burgundian in character with the bright fruit you expect from
My favorite wines from Opolo are the Sangiovese, Fusion, and Mountain Zin. They have a new one that’s only available to the membership (I didn’t see it on their website) called Montagne Mare. I haven’t opened mine up yet, but Don and Mark – whose palates I trust – said it’s pretty awesome. That’s true winespeak!
Villicana has astonishingly beautiful Viognier, Syrah, and Rosé. They probably have other stuff, but that’s what I love from them! Alex and Monica are the winemakers (they’re both very cute, and Alex looks like Clark
Robert Young Estates was the first wine club I joined, thanks to Khoury’s. Issa and Nura had gotten in a small shipment and had a tasting. I tasted the Scion and nearly died. They were able to order some for me, I joined the wine club, and the rest, as they say, is history. I just received my shipment of the 2003 Scion and plan on having a small vertical sometime later this year. I have five years of Scion (1999-2003), and I think that will be fun. They are largely undiscovered in spite of phenomenal ratings from all of the big guns of the wine publishing world.
I once belonged to Linne Calodo, Robert Hall, Peay, Halter Ranch, and Williams Selyem. The reasons I’m not members of their clubs vary. I “resigned” from Linne Calodo because they charged more for their wines than I could buy them retail. That made no sense to me! That was also a disappointment because I lust after their wines. But since I can satisfy my “Problem Child” and “Outsider” cravings at Khoury’s, resigning my membership was not a loss.
Peay and Williams Selyem are both wineries of extraordinary excellence. Unfortunately, my wallet is not. So it was with great reluctance that I withdrew from their coveted list memberships.
Halter Ranch has begun showing up in retail outlets recently (Valley Cheese and Wine), and Robert Hall has been a retail staple for years, so it wasn’t necessary for me to continue memberships in their clubs.
There are several clubs that I would love to be a member of just to get their wines! One of them is Four Vines. Yes, Four Vines is available locally, but they have such fun wines that I would love to be surprised twice a year. The Four Vines pourers at the winery are a hoot and make wine fun. The only downside is that their washable tattoos don’t wash off very easily. I had some explaining to do about the Naked and ZinBitch tattoos that were prominently displayed on my neckline. But that’s another story.
The other winery I lust after is Dain. Now, I haven’t had any Dain, but according to the Mark Squires Forum (of which David Dain is a member), their Syrahs and Pinots are supposed to be absolutely ethereal. Because they are a small, “boutique” winery, their wines are not available by retail. And since their wines are under $50 a bottle, they aren’t at the gouging stage, either.
Are there more? Tons! So many wine clubs, so little $$$$. To say nothing of my liver …
New discoveries!
If you haven’t been to the Bonjour Bistro on Eastern just north of the 215, you’re missing out on a lovely French experience. If you’re lucky, you’ll have “Tony” (we think he’s actually “Antoine”) who is a hoot with a wicked sense of humor and a great sense of taking care of the customer.
As always, if you have new discoveries, old standbys, tasting notes, or upcoming events you’d like to share, just let me know. Until next time!
Next week, a couple of reviews on places we’ve been, food we’ve eaten, and wine we’ve drunk (drank? drinked?)
To take wine into our mouths is to savor a droplet of the river of human history.
1902–1999
It’s Official! Wine Drinkers are Healthier. Period.
May 3, 2007 by vegasrenie · 1 Comment
Isn’t it wonderful when you discover that your favorite sin is good for you? Well, my passion for all things vino has led me into the budget-busting world of multiple subscriptions to everything, and my latest issue of Wine Spectator Online was just chock full of great stuff. Well, the latest issue just put a big smile on my face!
Before I get to that, however, I just want to throw out a little opinion about Wine Spectator. While I think the printed edition is a little pompous and the ratings somewhat skewed to the advertising dollar, I *really* like the online version. Much less arrogant, very approachable, and not so tannic. Kind of a like a really good red wine. I’ve been enjoying the issues for a couple of months now, and wanted to share an ongoing series that they’ve been printing.
According to an article written in the online version, wine drinkers are healthier than drinkers of beer and spirits. This is based on new research conducted on men living in Finland. That’s not too much of a surprise considering the lifestyles associated with each of the beverage types, but the study also suggested that moderate consumption of wine may contribute to a better, longer life. They cited a study done over the course of nearly 30 years which looked at the cardiovascular health of men ranging in age from 44-55 years. The study began in 1974.
Results. Alcoholic beverage preference tracked well during the follow-up. Total alcohol consumption was not significantly different between preference groups. Men with wine preference had the lowest total mortality due to lower cardiovascular mortality. With the spirits group as the reference category and age, cardiovascular risk factors, and total alcohol consumption as covariates, wine drinkers had a 34% lower total mortality (relative risk 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.45–0.98); relative risk for beer preferers was 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.68–1.14). In 2000, wine preferers had the highest scores in all RAND-36 scales; general health (p =.007) and mental health (p =.01) were also significantly different. (Cite: The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 62:213-218 (2007)
http://biomed.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/62/2/213)
And that’s not all! Another article indicated that the red in red wine kills cancer cells. Anthocyanidin, a natural antioxidant found in grape skins and brightly colored fruits and vegetables, not only kills leukemia cells, but it leaves healthy cells alone. As written in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, anthocyadins had no negative effects on healthy blood cells. (Cite: J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 18, 13468-13476, May 4, 2007). The abstract of the article is online at www.jbc.org.
Time to vote! I’m on a list of Blogs at LocalWineEvents.com. The exact page is here. Scroll down till you get to our Blog, and vote! Please! We won’t win anything, but it would be nice to have a little notice in the very big wine world. And why you’re there, take a look at some of the other blogs. There are a lot of talented people out there who are doing amazing things, and it’s worth taking the time (lots of time) to go through them.
Happy Birthday to Kristin Sande of Valley Cheese and Wine in Henderson. Her hubby, Bob, toasted her in the last email. If you haven’t visited them yet, then you are missing out on a fun, cute place. They have a lot of French, Italian, and Australian wines at very reasonable prices. But the cheese!!!!! You gotta go. Give them a call, check out their location in Google maps, and treat yourself!
I will finally get around to talking about wine clubs next week. I promise. Trust me. 
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