A Little Gravel In My Travel

Special thanks to the 3 country music stations that cranked out hit after hit while we put dust on the tires cruisin through 94 miles of Paso wine country. I can't decide if Rascal Flat's, "Banjo," or Rodney Atkins, "Take a Backroad" should be crowned "Anthem for the Weekend," so I'll call it a tie. Both were fitting for roads with faded center lines that may or may not ever be repainted.

Great trip. Lots of good wine, some new wineries. Lots of swirling, sipping, a little spitting, but always splitting. That's key for us; no matter the tasting fee or how good a place's wine is, we split a tasting. There's no way either of us would make it through the day(s) without it.

Day 1 - Eastside Loop:

J Lohr (Always free, always nice pourers, always good/affordable bottles)

Silver Horse (Cool new place. excited to try a bottle from there)

Tassajara (Connected to Silver Horse)
Ranchita Canyon (Eh. Great 1 man band- owner/maker/pourer
J & J (Boo)
Pear Valley (Pretty, but, boo)

Tobin James (Over it)
Derby (Blah)

Day 2 - Westside Loop:

Adelaida (Nothing special but they open at 10!)

DAOU (Gorgeous)

Whalebone (Just aight)
Villa Creek (Best sips we had on the trip. Love tasting in the barrel room)
Manassian-Young (Awesome)

Calcarious (Beautiful. Really good too, took fantastic bottle of their Zin to dinner)

Jada (Probably the snootiest vibe I got all weekend)
Proulx (Cool new place. Awesome pourer/CDM grad)

Zenaida (I liked everything we tasted. Cool place too)

West side Paso > East side Paso. For sure. Not really even close.


What I learned:


I learned that someone's trying to take this blog down. This can't happen. Long live Purple Tooth!

I learned prices are coming down. A few places offered free tastings, but the majority waived their tasting fee with a purchase. I bought a little more wine than I normally would have, but also spent less than $20 on tasting fees. I approve of this trend.

I learned that some good wine is being made in cement barrels. They cost the same as a wooden barrel but can last like, forever. Sounded kinda cool.

I learned that wine from the James Berry Vinyard is delicious but getting to try anything from Saxum is a pipe dream. Saxum's James Berry Vinyard 2007 was given a 98 point rating and named Wine Spectator's 2010 Wine of the Year. Robert Parker gave the same bottle a perfect 100 point rating. Even if I could afford it, it's nearly impossible to find. They made only 320 cases a year which are sent to members only.
Thankfully, other wine makers buy grapes from the James Berry Vinyard (Villa Creek) and it is damn good.

I learned that DAOU has the most beautiful tasting room and grounds I've ever been to. Their wines were unimpressive though.

I learned Silver Horse gets my vote for favorite new winery. Proulx takes 2nd place.

I learned Di Raimondos Italian Market makes and sells the best bread/baguette I've ever tasted. Their cheese is pretty phenominal too. I think I love midday picnicing almost as much as a day of wine tasting.

I learned I don't ever need to go back to Tobin James or Pear Valley.

I learned I need to go to Zenaida again, but not as the last stop of the day. It's good enough to be an early stop.

I'm excieted to drink what I brought home, and write about it. So the mission of jump starting the blog, accomplished.

Its Been Awhile

Spring Break trips to Arizona and Park City, Utah proved to be much more conducive to beer drinking than wine consumption coupled with my in-laws current stay, and Purple Tooth has been left dancing to the sound of crickets chirping. Normally a Joe and Marie visit would create a bottle-a-night environment, but I was alleged to have aided to Joe's gout issues from too much red wine on their last visit to SoCal. I'm amazed by his discipline to stay away from the vino, but that doesn't make for a very topic. Hence this write-up so far.

That's about to change, hopefully. Beth and I are heading out and up to Paso Robles Friday to recharge this blog.

Wish us luck.