On our first day, we decided to start at an east side winery with west side wines…Those experienced in the wines of Paso know this is part of the largest region in California. They really only started growing wine in the 1990s. To be honest, some of this area is used for making the bulk wines that go into boxes and the cheaper grocery store varietals… BUT many of the west side wineries are dedicated to quality wines, often Rhone varietals, that can age with the best of them.
Our first day, however, we traveled to Spain in California by going to Bodega de Edgar. The reason we chose this winery actually had nothing at all to do with wine. The first time we traveled to Paso, we kept passing by the winery when their tasting room was on the west side… and were drawn to it because of Edgar Allan Pup. Now known as the dearly departed Edgrrr… who we were lucky enough to get to have for 12 years.
Our second day started in an industrial area. The views were for later that day. The tasting was in a beautiful little concrete garden area outside. It was brisk but sunny. In general, I don’t talk about the wines much in my blog. I’m not a Sommelier. I just like wine. These were different than a lot of the wines we had in other places… instead of French varietals, these are Spanish. Still, they have the very juicy quality that is typical of Paso, just applied to Old World grapes.
We had the chance to chat with Edgar himself for a bit. We asked if we could picnic there, but with COVID restrictions and for various other reasons, few of the wineries allowed that this time around. We knew we had to go back through downtown Paso to get to our next winery anyway, so we decided to go to picnic at the park. We had 20 minutes to do that… so there was no leisurely picnic. Still, it’s a beautiful square and a place to be. I didn’t get any pictures from THAT day because we were shoveling food in far too fast to stop for photos… but I wandered around the square on a cloudier day. It’s so hard to get pictures that show how cute and charming it is.
Our next stop was Calcareous. Any time any part of the address says Peachy Canyon or Adelaida on the address, you will know that the place you’re headed is absolutely gorgeous. Calcareous was the only winery that was SLIGHTLY disappointing to me on this visit. The place was absolutely gorgeous, no complaints there. It was, however, pretty busy; and the service had that rushed corporate feeling that I don’t really like. I like the smaller more boutique type places where the wine hosts are invested in the wines. I’m not a fan of the “Here’s your wine; this is the blend” approach where they just drop it off and run on to their next table. Still, the weather was PHENOMENAL and the view was outstanding. The wines and the experience were just okay.
After there, it was off to Alta Colina. Very few winery “experiences” were available because of COVID. In general, I like to do something beyond the regular “these are our wines” tastings. That’s one of the reasons we hesitated from going. I would have loved to do one of their experiences. Still, this was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. While it didn’t have the sweeping views of Law or Dauo, it was still a spectacular drive to get there and a wonderful tasting. We had seen the name of the vineyard on some of our favorites wines, so it was quite a treat to taste their take on their grapes.
When we were younger and dumber, we used to run through 6 or 7 wineries a day. Now, three is pretty much our max. We take the time to enjoy the experience. We could choose to experience more things like zip lining, shopping, the beach… instead we do nothing but wine all day. Three days is about the maximum our palates and livers can handle! After a wonderful visit at Alta Colina we made our way back to town. We still had awhile before our dinner reservation and were feeling a little peckish, so we walked across the street from our apartment to The Alchemists’ Garden. This one is new to us this time in Paso. It used to be the Villa Creek restaurant. This is a very cool, woman owned, craft cocktail centric bar/restaurant. We enjoyed two wonderful types of popcorn, deviled eggs and some funky cool drinks.
From there, it was on to Richard’s number one pick for Paso restaurants: Les Peitites Canailles. (If you’re a Paso local, you call it LPC.) It’s a little French restaurant with a heck of a pedigree. The chef, Julien, is classically trained in France. (He also happens to be the son of one of the premier winery owners/wine makers in Paso, Stephan at L’Aventure). He was a sous chef at Joel Robuchon in Vegas before becoming the executive chef at Guy Savoy. His wife also excelled in the hospitality industry. Eventually, they returned to Paso to raise their family and open their restaurant. It was less than half a mile from our apartment, so we walked down the street and dined outside under a tent. I loved that there were dogs EVERYWHERE, including at this lovely little restaurant. I’ll be honest, I’m not generally a huge fan of traditional French fare. I’d like to grow the appreciation, but it’s all a little heavy for me. Still, our mushroom tart was excellent, and who doesn’t like Joel Robuchon potatoes? The wine list was quite extensive… more than 40 pages. It includes wines from the whole world but was definitely Paso centric.
On our way back to the apartment, we made a quick detour to Taste in the Alley. This was one of the things I missed most during the COVID trip. Normally, it’s a wine bar where you can pull anything off the shelf and open it up and have a glass. If you don’t finish it, it just goes in the tap for others to order glasses later. It’s a super cool concept. Usually, we finish every night there. Now, however, it was reduced to just a wine store. Still, they had some great past vintages, and we picked up a bottle of Denner which was one of my favorites from trip number one.
Full of wine and food, we went to bed ready for day full day #2.
Part-Time Teacher; Full-Time Human 