We decided to start our third day with some familiarity. On our first visit in 2017 we joined one winery, Linne Calodo. This continues to be one of the most respected wineries in Paso. It is nestled in the forest and doesn’t have the sweeping views of some of the others, but it’s a lovely experience.

They were perhaps the most COVID cautious of any of the wineries. We had to fill out contact tracing forms and our wine host never came within 6 feet of us for any reason. It was a cool day but the sky was completely clear making the sun blazing hot. It was good to be able to taste the wines from our most recent shipment because Richard likes to wait a few years before we can open them up. (He’s right, of course, they’re better when they have some time in the bottle, but they’re so good it’s hard to wait!)

We were going to be a little early for our tasting at Kukkula, but they were kind enough to allow us to have a little picnic before doing the reserve tasting there. This tasting was a lot of fun at an amazing winery. Kevin, the owner and winemaker, is a first generation immigrant from Finland. We sat with him for a few hours while he shared his wines and told their stories. His amazing house sits at the top of the hill behind the winery. He built his house, the winery, and the barrel facility all with his own two hands (and a lot of money and some friends!) His wife and kids work in the winery as well, and it was a fantastic experience beginning to end.

With some time to spare before MY dinner pick, we went back to Paso and just behind our apartment to Straight Out of Paso. This was another project by Edgar Torres of Bodega de Edgar. These are the more typical Paso wines at a very laid-back fun tasting room.

We decided to get a Lyft to Tin City for dinner that night. Paso is a small city and Lyft drivers are scarce, as we were going to see on our ride home. Our driver came earlier than scheduled, so we decided to take advantage of the time and walk over to Tin City Cider for a palate cleanser before heading to MY pick of the trip. Dinner at Six Test Kitchen. I could do a full four part blog on this dinner alone. The tickets for dinner (yes, tickets for dinner) go on sale on the first of the month. According to the sommelier, they are often sold out by the end of the week. This is a three-man show, one chef, one somm, one sous chef. There is no support staff, just them. They do one seating a night, starting promptly at 6 o’clock, for a maximum of 12 people. All plating is done on custom made pottery right in front of the guests, and these three men do all the service.

It’s hidden in one of the tin buildings in a parking lot of the Tin City industrial complex. (Our Lyft driver called it wine Disneyland, which is the perfect name.)

You definitely wouldn’t know it was there unless you were specifically looking for it. But the atmosphere inside was beautiful and such an interesting experience. The dinner music was Pandora station ZZ Top playing the classic rock of the mid 80s. It made such an interesting dichotomy with the elegant plating and the food.

The food was fantastic! We love to travel for food experiences. We have been to multiple world-renowned restaurants, and this was one of the best experiences in my life, both in quality of food and in the experience of the meal. We have been to 1, 2, and 3 Michelin starred restaurants in many other places. This one matches and surpasses many of those. If Michelin made it to Paso, this place would be in the guide for sure!

After an amazing two hour extravaganza, we waddled out to the street to wait for our Lyft. This was more of an experience than we would have liked. First, one picked up, but canceled after about a half hour of waiting. We started to consider the 4.4 mile walk back to the apartment (which may have been a good plan after such a marathon meal). Still, eventually we found someone and made it back.

We thought about sitting out on the deck, but it was a little loud and little chilly so we sat inside and increased our buzz with one last bottle of wine before getting ready for our last day: Tin City day.