After a hot 3 hour drive from the Bay Area, ZinfanHubby & I checked in to our hotel in Paso Robles then set off for a day of wine.
Donati Family Vineyard (http://www.donatifamilyvineyard.com/)
Our first stop was Donati Family, who had warmly invited us via Twitter. They had one of the widest tasting selections ZinfanGirl has ever seen at a winery-- major kudos there! 8 tastes for ten bucks?! I knew even before tasting their wines that this would not be our last visit.
After choosing our 8 tastes (ZinfanHubby got the bulk of the tastes, as ZinfanGirl drew the short straw and was stuck behind the wheel), we embarked on a delightful tour of Donati's grape juice. Standouts included:
- 2007 Pinot Grigio: absolutely delish! A much more golden hue than I usually see in PGs, and a lovely touch of honey that stops just short of sweet.
- 2006 Claret: the gentleman providing us with the tastes referred to this one as, "having a Dr. Pepper flavor," and I couldn't have described it better myself. Luckily, Dr. Pepper happens to be my favorite soda. The 45% Cab Sauv was definitely noticeable but not overpowering.
- 2007 Late Harvest Cabernet Franc: as you all should know by now, I'm not a fan of the sweet stuff. This one was ZinfanHubby's
doingchoosing, but even I must admit that for a sweeter wine this one was more than tolerable. It had a much lighter mouthfeel than a traditional Port (read: I didn't feel like I was drinking maple syrup). We snagged a bottle of this treat to take home.
OK, since I've made you people wait long enough, here's some pics:
ZinfanGirl & ZinfanHubby check out the vines. They look good.
Whoa! Wine-o's crossing!
Turley Wine Cellars (www.turleywinecellars.com)
Oh Turley, I'd like to hate you based on your pretentious reputation alone but your wine is just too frickin' yummy. And you love Zinfandel just as much as I do. And since we're members, we had to swing by.
Though not as friendly as Brandy & the crew at Donati, the tasting room staff consisted of a couple of pleasant ladies. ZinfanHubby & I sat quietly to the side while the women told the less knowledgeable people about why Turley is so great. They were pouring four wines that day, all Zinfandels. Yummm! We almost always have a bottle or two of Juvenile on hand, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I most enjoyed the 2006 Dusi vineyard, with its nearly-perfect blend of jam & spice. We were also treated to a couple of tastes not on the tasting menu, which both happened to be my favorites:
2006 Ueberroth Vineyard Zinfandel: a little bit of everything! This wine, made with grapes from a 120 year old vineyard (that's old. Really old. Like, older than ZinfanHubby old.) contains notes of tobacco, spice, herbs and dark red fruit. The finish is like satin. What a treat.
White Coat: I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Turley makes a white wine. It's called White Coat and it is only available for purchase at the winery. This blend of rousanne & granache blanc has a nice, clean finish and very low acid. We nabbed a few bottles of this.
However, the real deal of the day was the Pesenti red wine. I guess Turley had too many non-Turley-worthy grapes and created an inexpensive red blend named after their Pesenti vineyard. At $10 a bottle, we had to buy a case (again, available for sale only at the winery).
Intersection at Turley. Which way do I go?!
I don't think we'd have been able to taste if they weren't...
Four Vines Winery (www.fourvines.com)
Brandy at Donati Family recommended this one to us, and... well let's just say we walked away as their newest club members (called the Four Vines Incident-- how cool is that?!). If I had to recommend one winery in the area to visit, this is it. GO. Do not think twice about it. Their tasting room was under construction, and a good sized crowd was gathered in a dinky back room, but the fun energy was not at all compromised. First of all, they give you their customized wine glasses (collect all 6!) with their rockin' logos on them. ZinfanHubby got one with the anarchy symbol on it, and ZinfanGirl got... wait for it... zinbitch. I have arrived.
OK, cool glasses does not a great wine tasting make. The staff was part biker bar, part Coyote Ugly. With names like Naked, Heretic and Loco, we just knew these wines would be a force to be reckoned with. By this point ZinfanGirl had to slow her tastings down, but wow did we get a lot of tastes! I can't single out one or two or even four as being my favorites; Four Vines as a whole was the highlight of our entire weekend. Fortunately, we ended up joining the Four Vines Incident and walking away with almost a case of wine, a magnum of the Loco, a "zinbitch" shirt for yours truly, a handful of temporary tattoos and of course, our glasses. The one thing we did not leave Four Vines with was pictures-- next time, for sure.
Castoro Cellars (http://www.castorocellars.com/)
Come evening, it was finally time for some dam fine wine (hey, that rhymes. HEY! That kinda rhymed too!). Castoro was nice responsible enough to send a shuttle to the hotels so us wine lovers didn't risk that horrible drinking & driving stuff. My inner child giggled when their shuttle turned out to be a big yellow schoolbus.
Brief history lesson here: the reason ZinfanHubby & I fell in love with Castoro is because of Horace the beaver. Horace has lived in ZinfanHubby's car since before we met. According to ZinfanLegend, Horace controls the weather by keeping the rain away (did you know beavers build dams because they are psychologically disturbed by running water?!). Yes, ZinfanHubby is a special guy, but that's why we I love him.
It wouldn't be a true Castoro party without our little castor, so Horace came with. The big yellow bus pulled up just as the sun was setting. Castoro-ites moved down the line offering andouille & musard apps, and glasses of their Viognier poured straight from a Rehoboam-- that's like six bottles in one! I knew those cave tours during my stint in Champagne taught me something. One helluva way to get the party started!
The evening progressed with more apps & a delicious BBQ dinner, which was the perfect belly buster for Castoro's selection of red wines (which were flowin' freely, natch). The fun continued with a raffle (we didn't win) and music trivia (we left before the winners were announced). The band was rockin' and everyone was having a good time. ZinfanHubby & I sat back and enjoyed watching the scene. We caught the big yellow bus back to our hotel and called it a (frickin' awesome) day!
ZinfanHubby meets the Rehoboam!
Horace enjoys the dam fine wine from his bretheren.
And the band kept the party going well into the night!
Wow! What a post! So there you have it kids: our weekend in Paso Robles! Can you believe we'll be back down again in November?
Keeping drinking the dam fine wine, from Castoro or wherever. Cheers!
-ZFG
P.S.- If you're a glutton for punishment and need more "ZinfanGirl Does Paso Robles" pictures, please go here: www.tinyurl.com/mbn2yo
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