No Snapchat filter here… that’s me… in all my blue toothed glory after 2 1/2 days of some wonderful wine and spirits in Central Coast California… Richard looming in the background looking equally worn out.  So that picture is day three… but this story will tell you of day one…

This is unusual for me… no introspection… no deep thoughts… just a travel blog because I wanted to do one…  Peruse or don’t peruse at your leisure.

The bear and I began our love affair for one another and our love affair with wine at right about the same time.  All of our first dates were spent at The Tasting Room in Houston, Texas.  They have two locations… and we started learning about all the differences when we were there.

After moving to Austin, we got most of our wine education from Jane Nickels who shared her knowledge with us at a little wine bar downtown, Cork and Company.  (It’s closed now, but will be opening at a new location00we hope.)

We spent our honeymoon 10 years ago in Napa and Sonoma.

That’s us… first trip… end of another blue tooth day at Sterling ten years ago.

We went back twice after that…

Healdsburg, Napa, Sonoma in 2009

And again

back to Napa and Sonoma in 2014.

You want to take a trip there… we’ve got suggestions… we’ve got places.

But this time, we wanted to try someplace new.  Our good friend Steven went for HIS honeymoon just about 18 months ago… and had nothing but great things to say…  so off we went.

Now, Paso Robles is new on the respected wine scene… they have only been producing their big names since the mid 1990s…  They focus on the Rhone varietals (Syrah, Mouvedre, Grenache and the like).  It’s also pretty nice that the “entry level” wines for big names in Napa are around $100…  in Paso that’s the very top end.

Day 1

We wanted to spend as much of the day doing things as possible, so we took a flight at 6 AM out of Austin.  Now, this was also the day right after daylight savings had started, so that early morning flight felt VERY early.  We left for the airport at 3:45 AM.

Our flight left in plenty of time, and off to our halfway stop in Denver…  Quick 45 minutes in Denver… then in the air again…  to Bob Hope airport in Burbank/Hollywood. I had never been to this airport before and really loved it!   It’s super tiny…  the baggage claim is outside.  It felt like we walked a mile to get our rental car.  Poor Richard had to fold his body to get into the little Kia Sorenta… but all was well.

It’s 9:45 California time and off we go to our first stop–Santa Barbara. We’re there just before noon.  Several of our friends had suggested that we eat lunch at Cold Spring Tavern.  This is an adorable little spot… something of a Santa Barbara landmark.  The drive up through this hills into the heavily wooded area is just gorgeous.

We stopped at Sanguis where a few of our friends are members, and we were given the royal treatment.  It’s a TINY place and everything is done right there.  It’s only been around for about ten years and their wine scores hover in the mid 90s… for non- wine drinkers, that translates as REALLY darn good.  Because they’re so tiny, they’re quite difficult to find.  The winery is in a semi-industrial area on a nondescript road in Santa Barbara… the name isn’t on the door… just a number.  In homage to their biodynamic techniques, you pull an animal horn to ring the bell before Peter comes to the door to greet you.

We got a tour of the pristine facility with the most pristine crush pad I’ve ever seen… The walls are lined with vinyl records just sitting on the floor.  Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis and the music is blaring through.  The tiny tasting room is just for the two of us and set up with a picnic table…

Each wine is more wonderful than the last.  Richard and I bought Pilgrim and Misfit…  I’m not going to do wine notes other than to say that these were DNS  (translation:  did not suck   The highest compliment you can give a wine  🙂  ).

We moved from here two hours up 101 to Paso Robles…  Sadly, the whole time we were along the coast, all we saw was fog… on both sides… but I THINK there was likely beauty beyond.

We rented Park Place right on the square in Paso Robles.  I HIGHLY recommend this spot if you don’t mind dealing with early morning ( 6 AM ish) street noise from all the delivery trucks.  Its location couldn’t have been more perfect, and it was completely adorable.

For years, I’ve been trying to sell Richard on the fun of restaurant hopping, and he’s never been into it.  He likes to sit down and get the whole meal experience.  I convinced him to do it my way… I likened it to doing a pairing menu with foods from many different chefs.  He said, “You should have explained it to me that way in the first place,”  because he LOVED it.)

We walked just steps from our front door to begin at Artisan.   Now, our friend Steven had told us this was a foodie town… but we didn’t know HOW foodie.  Richard and I both ordered a local beer (well, mine was cidre… but same idea)… and both were excellent.  While eating the best fish taco I’ve ever had (the pineapple salsa was KILLER) and a bacon tater tot, we asked the bartender about other places to continue our experiment.

He sent us on next to The Hatch where we enjoyed duck meatballs and the MOST amazing maitaki mushrooms that have EVER existed.  While there, we sipped on some of the local wines and confirmed our reservations for the next day.

We finished up at Fishgaucho for cocktails and chips and salsa…  Homemade chips and three different kinds of salsa greeted us… and Richard also got half a dozen oysters.  This is one of those laid back types of places… but the bartenders here are quite serious about their craft… Setting things on fire on the bar… and using only the freshest ingredients.  Every taste was perfect.

Finally, we went to the place that became our regular to end the night…  A Taste in the Alley which quite literally WAS in the alley.  Just a tiny wine bar specializing in local fare.  You could have a taste of any six open bottles for $15… or buy a glass or bottle of your choice.  The prices were right in line with retail price… and the owners congenial and knowledgeable.  We let our fatigued taste buds try about 12 more things before we called it a night.  (There was a Malbec from the Caymus family that was quite wonderful).

But after nearly 24 hours of being awake it was time for bed.

We had a BIG day on Tuesday…  It was to be a five winery day…

But I’ll save that blogging for tomorrow.  Time for a little vino now…