Pole Dancing and Punching Down in Paso!

If it weren’t for the fact that I was hosting the Fritz & Tex’s Wine Club thing at my home that evening, I would have been really, really jealous. But when Rod and his sister Bunny (they’re my California Contingent) decided that they simply *had* to go to Paso Robles, I will admit to feeling a little envious. Hell, I was downright green-eyed!!

Actually Paso Robles is a handy halfway point between San Jose, where Bunny lives, and the Lancaster/Palmdale area, where Rod lives. So they met in Paso, had breakfast, took care of business, and then hit the wineries. I stayed at home cooking and grousing.

The first stop was Midlife Crisis Winery, where Rod and Bunny happily reacquainted with Jill. They telephoned me, and Jill and I had the opportunity to kibbitz over the phone for a little while. R & B (cute, huh?) picked up a few bottles while there, stuffed them in the cooler, and then ran off their next stop, which was Villicana Winery.

It was time for the club shipment, and Rod was able to grab my allocation and still have time to visit with

Alex. According to Rod, he’s still quite cute, but he meant that for me and the other members of the Alex Villicana fan club. Rod happens to think that Monica, Alex’s wife, is much cuter. But I digress. I also got to chat with Alex for a few minutes - Bunny’s Verizon cell phone is the only one that worked in that location - and then Rod and Bunny were off to Hug Cellars, which would be their last stop for the day.

That’s when, according to Rod, the fun really began. At that time, I would have gladly dropped everything I was doing to be in Paso Robles at just that moment. Man. Life sometimes is just not fair.

They arrived at Hug Cellars and found Augie, Raquel (Mrs. Augie), and Edgar (Winemaker) waiting for them. Augie had put some pizzas into his wood-fired pizza oven (apparently a winery necessity), and opened up bottles of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir which he generously shared with Rod and Bunny. (By the way, ignore the green glow that you may see emanating from your screen. That’s just me. Wallowing in envy.)

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Hug Cellars Winemaker Tasting at My Home!

First of all, I’d like report that due to the overwhelming response to the new look of the website (average opinion: “Eww”), it’s been changed to something less, well, *vivid*! Brighter colors are still there, but it’s definitely easier to read. There’s also some information about upcoming services and the new logo.

And now for the main event: the report of the Hug Cellars Winemaker’s tasting at my home on Saturday evening, December 29. What a fabulous time!

The event was set up in just a few days primarily through MySpace and email. Augie Hug of Hug Cellars contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in having Edgar Torres, his assistant winemaker, stop by to showcase Hug Cellars wines. I hesitated all of, say, 1.5 seconds before I said yes. Edgar and I messaged through MySpace and got everything set up. I then contacted the Tex & Fritz Wine Club thing to invite them. I felt that those who were most knowledgeable about wines would be the best for the tasting. And was I ever right!

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