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Vol. 2 No.3

Central Coast - Paso Robles

Visits in This Issue:

11/25/94	11/26/94	11/27/94
Maison Deutz	Justin	Babcock
Talley / Saucelito	Adelaida
Edna Valley	Peachy Canyon
Wild Horse	Fratelli-Perata
Creston	Eberle
York Mountain	Tobin James
Norman	Meridian
Castoro Cellars

(Journal notes on trip to Central Coast. Regarding tasting notes, each wine was scored using the requisite sight, smell, and taste impressions. Scores reflect an alpha-oriented rating system. "n/n" indicates no notes by one of the tasters. Although extensive note-taking took place, specific descriptions are not included.)

Friday, November 25, 1994

Making our usual post-Thanksgiving visit to the Central Coast areas of Paso Robles and Edna Valley. Since our last trip two years ago had also included the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valleys, we were looking forward to a more comprehensive visit to Paso Robles. Started raining just south of the Santa Barbara. This being Thanksgiving weekend, we are fully expecting moderate-to-heavy crowds at each stop.(top of page)

First on our list was Maison Deutz, the sparkling-wine house south of Edna Valley. Arrived 10:47AM; munched on some bread to "freshen-up" our palates as we waited for their 11:00AM opening. Only 2 other groups waiting for opening time, so at Deb's lead, we were able to get the prime table location by a nice warm fireplace. 2 staffers were tending the room, which got progressively busier as time passed. No tasting fee, instead, the arrangement here is to purchase one or more glasses of the sparklers offered at $3.75-5.00 per glass. Furnished with this is a small plate of cheese, crackers, and condiments. Yep, glasses of bubbly in front of a nice warm fire. Wanted to just relax, but we were burnin' daylight. Finished up while crowd continued to build, and left at 11:35.

Tasted at Maison Deutz:

Arrived at 11:48 at Talley and Saucelito Cyn tasting room(s) to a slightly busy room. Tasting room in small Victorian house doesn't hold much of a crowd anyway. Tasting of Saucelito Cyn wines are in another room, owing to something in ABC code about "multiple brands" being served on same premises. Cheerful, if somewhat apologetic, staffers handled the pouring (they were unable to serve the popular Pinot, which was available for sale). But, what meager pours they were! Between the two rooms, served 5 varietals N/C. Made a couple of purchases (Saucelito Cab & LH Zin); left at 12:16 for next stop.

Tasted at Talley:

Saucelito:

Arrived Edna Valley at 12:25 to a nearly empty room. Not overly-impressed during previous visits to this winery, we were up for giving it another (in some cases, last) shot. Pleasant staff (somewhat stuffy in the past) guided us thru 4 very reasonable pours N/C. Crowd slowly increasing (a forerunner of things to come?) This visit was definitely more satisfying for Deb and I than those of the past, though MP probably wouldn't agree. Finally departed at 12:58, after short tailgate picnic. Note: the Edna Cellars label is a second-label offering.

Tasted at Edna Valley

Out of the Edna Valley, we headed for the Templeton area just south of Paso Robles for our next stop at Wild Horse. Arrived at 1:35 to a quiet room with just one couple at the tasting bar. Not much signage as to direct us (street sign only). Ranch-house tasting roomwith lattice/trellis entryway. First-ever visit to this winery, which has quite an eclectic lineup of wines. Friendly staff; large room with lots of gifts and mdse. Pouring 5 wines N/C, with a large array of selections from extensive list. Crowds appear to be steadily increasing during each of our visits, luckily after our arrival. This visit proved no exception, with Deb seemingly getting crowded out at the bar. Made some purchases (Trousseau, Negrette &endash; seldom-seen Rhone varietals) and left at 2:08.

Tasted at Wild Horse:

Moving just across 101 to the other side of town, arrived at Creston at 2:15. Light rain starting to fall again. The Creston tasting room really appears more like a road-side condiment shop, than what we've come to expect of a winery tasting room. Small quarters. Alex Trebek (I'll take wines for 1,000, Alex) is a principal in this winery. Quite a selection of wines to taste, though. Very friendly staff poured 9 tastes N/C. (MP thought veggie, carrot specifically, came thru on most of the varietals. Could improve one's eyesight though!) Already crowded, and getting even more so, browsed around and out at 2:50.

Tasted at Creston

Headed a little further west, and into a beautiful wooded glen just off Hwy 46. Arrived at York Mountain at 3:00. This winery is frequently suggested as a "must see" (by both wine writers and other wineries in the area), and I can partially see why. The lovely large rustic wooden bldg fits very nicely into the surroundings, and looks more like a mountain steakhouse, or what it would look like if the Kenwood Winery were transplanted to the Russian River area. The place was jumping, too. Barely found room in the parking lot. Deb decided to pass, and waited in car. Big crowd at bar, and all around room for that matter. Lots of kids too. Odd group of tasters though. With the obvious exception of the kids, the clientele looked a little more like the Jim Beam crowd than wine tasters. $2 for 6 tastes from their list was the deal. Unfortunately, all of the reds were ice cold!! The bottles were kept below the bar, so it was difficult to see how they were being stored. But the whole pouring procedure bore a stronger resemblance to the serving of shots of booze, rather than tastes of wine. The bottles were probably being stored in a metal trough in front of the bartender...er, I mean wine pourer. But, how they became so ice cold, I dunno. Nevertheless, at this chilled temperature, they were wholly unpalatable. Further, the pours were woefully inadequate, too, not that we were totally saddened by that fact. Considering this was the first place we'd been to that charged for tasting (at Maison Deutz we actually purchased glasses of wine) it was just more salt in the wound. We couldn't figure out how this "recommended" stop could be anything but an interesting architectural diversion. Out at 3:25.

Tasted at York Mtn:

On to bigger and easily better things, we headed for our next stop. Finally stopped raining. Arrived at Norman Winery at 3:42. The large tasting room, complete with fireplace, piano, and the requisite cat or dog, is located on the 2nd floor of this newly christened winery. The Normans used to sell their fruit to other Central Coast wineries, but have decided to start making their own wines. Very friendly lady doing the pouring of 4 wines N/C. She also pointed out that the symbol on their label, a mountain lion, is there as a tribute to that animal's assistance in keeping the deer in check. It seems that deer have a fondness for grapes! As it turns out, our pourer was Mrs. Norman, who later asked her husband to stand in for her while she went to retrieve some software for someone (our good fortune, as it turns out). We had seen both he and presumably his winemaker in the kitchen area of the tasting room, fumbling with an unlabeled bottle of wine. Hmmm. Now what do you suppose that is, we wondered? When Art Norman came out to finish our pours, he brought along the unlabeled bottle. As it turns out, he has the only Barbera vineyard around the area (Eberle has an exclusive on this fruit). He explained that the bottle was an experimental '84 Barbera, and offered us a pour. As we finished, he casually asked if we were interested in tasting a barrel sample of Chardonnay. Would we? Does York Mtn serve cold Cab? Sure, twist our arms! So, downstairs to the winery we went, where Art used a wine thief to grab each of us a bit of Chardonnay. Lovely! Nice treat. Art then wondered if we'd be interested in a barrel sample of his first Pinot? Uh...Sure! Really lovely! He mentioned that he was considering "...bulking it out." No, no, don't do it, we thought to ourselves. Meanwhile, the script continued. Were we Zin fans?, Art wondered. Would we like to try some Zin from the barrel? (Okay, where's the camera; are we on TV?) Why...sure! Wow, what fruit! Could we guess what the alcohol level was? 14.0 or 14.5, I said. Nope, try 16.0! Whoa! And not a trace of hotness! Art Norman is quiet, very personable and a genuinely likable fellow. It was certainly our pleasure to have him show us his wares, and I'm sure he did so because we showed a high level of interest in wine in general, and his wines in particular. Fabulous visit.. Especially so, since Art was apparently just back from a hospital stay. In fact, our barrel tasting was probably cut a little short when friends arrived to visit with him. Made a couple of purchases and finally out at 4:40. What a great stop!

Tasted at Norman:

Still have time to make one more visit today. Though not on today's schedule, decided to run by Peachy Cyn since it was on the way to our next stop. Closed! So, off to Castoro Cellars. Arrived at 5:05. They've built a nice new tasting room up the road about 1/4 mile from the old location. Spacious and attractive looking room. Previous location inside a small house was more quaint, but quite cramped as well. Our friendly pourer offered the choice of: 3 tastes N/C, or 7 tastes for $2 incl glass. Did the 7 taste option, picked up some restaurant suggestions for dinner, and left at 5:45.

Tasted at Castoro:

Dinner at the Vine St Grill in Paso Robles. Good totals for the 1st day: 9 wineries incl Saucelito, with some 50-odd tastes. Actually got to one more winery than expected. Obvious highlight was Norman, what with a slug of homemade '84 Barbera poured by Art Norman, followed by a little trip downstairs for barrel tastings of Chardonnay, Pinot, and Zinfandel.

Saturday, November 26, 1994(top of page)

Off at 10:00 for 1st stop. Still cold and windy, but rain has stopped.

Arrived at Justin Winery at 10:25 to empty room. Justin Baldwin substituted for our pourer at one point. We also had Justin doing the pouring on our last visit to the winery two years ago. Doing 6 pours N/C. Not much had changed. He still seems a little hyper about it all. Wines were great as usual, but sadly we got no personal tour this time. Got a glimpse of a cellar man or winery worker with a stupifing moustache. This thing resembled mutton chops, but with much more mutton! Plus, they finished-off with a set of handlebars that nearly prevented entry/exit thru doors. Ah, but I was forestalling the inevitable. I just had to ask about my wine shipment. (Because we were headed up to PR anyway, I had called and asked them to hold both EA's and MP's scheduled November shipments of wine. Disregarding my instructions, MP's shipment was indeed sent to him. Luckily, it arrived intact and at the proper location. My shipment didn't arrive though, so it was logically still at Justin. Or was it?) I explained that I had called and asked them to "hold" my shipment for a November pickup, and that it should be ready for me. Well, not really, said Justin, they don't usually keep things on hold (big surprise). So, he and I went through the process of compiling a half-case. Yep, everything's still normal at Justin. Out at 11:05. Note: the Rustica label is apparently a house brand made for Rustica restaurant in West LA, and this is either surplus stock, or the restaurant went belly-up. The wines are really the '92 Justin Cab and Char.

Tasted at Justin:

Arrived at Adelaida Cellars at 11:30 to slightly busy room. Tasting room is a stand-around-at-the bar affair inside the winery, which is entered through the front office. Friendly lady started us off with our 4 N/C pours. Owner/winemaker John Munch had been conducting a short tour in the back, and after showing them out, stayed up front to assist at answering questions. Apparently, we asked the right ones, because he led us back to the tanks for some more tasting. Each initial draw from each tank was discarded, as John explained that the fruit flies loved to fly up the spigot. The juice from the Carver Zin tank practically stained the glass with its inky extract! The '91 Cab was due to be bottled in the next few days. Very nice visit, and effusive owner makes this a really enjoyable Central Coast stop. (Note on the HMR Vnyd: this used to be the Hoffman Mountain Ranch, once a label on its own. But with new owners of the property, it's been changed to Hidden Mountain Ranch.) Made a couple of purchases (Cab, Zin), and out of winery at 12:25. Still cold outside, so we tailgated, 'er gloveboxed, inside until 12:47.

Tasted at Adelaida Cellars:

Arrived at Peachy Canyon at 1:15 to only slightly busy room. Off winding road on hilltop with great Eastward view of countryside. Very nice new-looking tasting room located behind residence. Great looking ce-ment pond (swimming pool) in front, too! Our original pourer was relieved by Doug Beckett, owner/winemaker, who continued with what turned out to be 7 N/C pours (the Estate Zin pour was a special for the weekend). Nice digs, interesting guy, good visit. As we were leaving, Doug recommended we pay a visit to Fratelli-Perata winery, since they weren't always open. Purchased a Zin and Merlot, and out at 1:50.

Tasted at Peachy Cyn:

Arrived at Fratelli-Perata at 2:10, after taking a suggested "short-cut" over a dirt-gravel road. This is a very small family operation. In fact, they hand-label all of their bottles. As we followed the signs that led us around to the back to the barn-like winery, Mrs. Perata exited the back of the house to meet us and lead us into the winery. Very friendly as she poured 4 N/C tastes. Quite a few fruit flies in the air, plus the wines were perhaps a little too cold for aromatic qualities to appear. But, the wines were all a little too harsh on the palate anyway. Out at 2:35.

Tasted at Fratelli-Perata

Arrived at Eberle at 2:50 to a busy room. How come every time we pull in here, there's a Limo in the lot? (I'm not certain, but I've got the feeling that, if not unique to California, this method of wine touring probably originated here.) Gary Eberle, a former winemaker at the now defunct Estrella River Winery, has carved out a big niche here in Paso Robles. Pouring 9 tastes N/C. They always do a very nice job at Eberle. Friendly, reasonably knowledgable, informative, and generous. What more could one want? Well, it does lack the intimacy of many of the smaller wineries. But like Meridian, a visit here provides a nice contrast to the smaller operations. Out at 3:20.

Tasted at Eberle

Drove a little further east on Hwy 46 to next stop. Arrived at Tobin James at 3:25 to moderately busy room. Pouring 6 tastes N/C. Western/Cowboy motif very much in evidence here. From the background music to our pourer's twangy accent, it seemed more like the Lone Star Cafe than a winery tasting room. MP thought it was more a cross between "Gilly's" and the Roy Rogers Museum, with the cute "Please wait to be seated" sign in front of the womens' restroom. The wines were merely average, with some unusual background flavors (BBQ sauce?). I had added this stop to our itinerary because I'd heard good things about the wines produced here. MP thought less of the wines than I did, but our opinions still contrasted heavily with the advance publicity. It did seem obvious that the overall atmosphere had a detrimental effect on our tasting experience. Not necessarily unusual, our original pourer opted out on us and turned us over to another about half-way through the tasting. Out at 3:45, after it appeared that we weren't going to get our last pour, a Zin Port. Disappointing visit.

Tasted at Tobin James

Backtracking west on Hwy 46, we arrived at Meridian at 3:50 to a busy room. Another solid stop. Lots of varietals, very generous pours, and friendly staff. This winery took over most of the vineyards of the former Estrella River Winery, and has a fairly high production level. Pouring 8 N/C. Out at 4:21.

Tasted at Meridian

Skipped a planned visit to Mission View, since we had already added Fratelli-Perata to the itinerary, and headed instead for our scheduled last stop of the day. Arrived at Linn's at the Granery at 4:32 to a their small gift shop/bakery/tasting bar. Not much action here. Passable gift shop, but the tasting bar was only serving things we'd tasted thus far. They had been billed as a place that pours for wineries that don't have their own tasting rooms, but there really wasn't any winery featured to which we hadn't already been. Browsed around, and out at 4:50.

Tasted at Linn's

none

Dinner at McPhee's Grill in Templeton. Bravo! The wine lists at both Vine St and McPhee's are mostly filled with just PR area wines. Another good day for totals. 8 winery visits, and 45 individual wines. Cerainly Adelaida was the highlight of the day, and vied with Norman for the best of the trip. Disappointing visit choices would be hard to rank. Tobin James, Fratelli-Perata, maybe even Justin and/or Peachy, based upon our "great expectations." Overnight in Santa Maria.

Sunday, November 27, 1994

Departed from Santa Maria at 10:10, and headed for one last stop on the way home.

(top of page)

Arrived at Babcock at 11:00 to small quiet tasting room. Always wanted to visit here, but somehow its "remote" location away from other wineries in the area seemed to make it a difficult visit. From the tasting bar, our pourer, Terri, poured 6 tastes for $3 &endash; not incl glass. After checking out the uncorked bottles in the tasting area, it looked to MP like we were going to get more additional tastes, but no such luck. Two other couples in room moved on, and we had the place to ourselves. Chatted for awhile about the winery, and the family (the senior Babcock is a retired dentist from Seal Beach, where they own Walt's Wharf restaurant there also). Really wanted to try or buy some of the Estate Pinot, but all they had were magnums. Made a couple of purchases, and out at 11:40. Note: the Fathom label is apparently a house brand primarily for restaurant use of their Cab and Merlot.

Tasted at Babcock

Lunched at the Wine Bistro in Montecito. Arrived home at 4:45. Totals for trip: 654 miles, 18 wineries, 103 tastes. Another great trip! A least one stellar cellar visit per day, and in most cases, one-on-one with wineakers and/or owners (Art Norman, Justin Baldwin, John Munch, Doug Beckett). Very intimate visit at Fratelli-Perata, although the wines didn't quite measure up.