At the end of December I made a list of 42 things I wanted to accomplish during this...my 42nd year. I won't bore you by posting the long list but I will be posting something about each goal as I accomplish them.
(River Road in the Salinas Area)
Every year the wineries on the River Road Wine Trail put on a Valentine's Day Passport event. For a small cost you get to visit all 14 wineries (I would not suggest this...LOL) for free wine tastings and food. Nate took me last year and we had a really fun time. We discovered some great wineries that we hadn't heard of. We spent some really great quality time together. And so.. one of the first things I put on my 42 things list was this event. It's a day I look back on fondly from 2011:)
It was definitely as fun as it was last year except that Nate really wanted to go to as many wineries as possible this year (he was designated driver so it was easy for him to want to see all the wineries...). We hit 12 wineries out of 14. I can tell you this is TOO many wineries to try to squeeze in . Even if the tasting size is 1 oz or less. The last few wineries were kind of a blur to me, not neccessartily because of too much wine but just because of the speed with which we hit each one:)
A few of the wineries stood out though:
Our first stop was Sycamore Cellars. This winery was the one we both wanted to return to because of the impression it made on us last year. They are a little off the trail (most of these wineries are all one right after another on the same road) but the wines we sampled last year were really, really interesting. Their Pinot Noir and Syrah both had a really smoky flavor to them which was attributed to a fire that burned in the area the year the grapes were grown. We picked up a bottle of each to share at some point with friends.
The second winery that stood out for us was not neccessarily because of it's wine (although it's very good wine...in fact we tasted a $50.00 bottle of Pinot Noir which was very nice and since we will NEVER buy a $50.00 of wine it was a treat to a taste it.) but for it's views. And its grapefruit tree. Which my husband stole two grapefruits off. Hahn Wineries has a really nice piece of land- with numerous tasting rooms and event spaces, all surrounded by vines. With a view of the mountains. I wished I had packed us a lunch so that we could have taken a moment and enjoyed the view while we ate.
(view from Hahn)
Another winery that stood out: Pessagno Winery- for their 2008 Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Chardonnay alone. So buttery and refreshing. We bought two bottles because it was on sale that day. Still more than we usually spend on wine but so worth it since we now have such an awesome wine to break out for a special occasion:)
Hand's down favorite though: Wrath Wines. For the food (they were one of the few to offer a vegetarian option- Vegetarian Cassoulet which was so good.) and view while we ate. Delicious wines. Sweet black cat that lives in the winery. Cheese from a local dairy (YUM!). We're definitely heading back to their place with a picnic lunch so we can enjoy an afternoon of food and wine drinking while sitting on their patio. Perfect afternoon date for Nate and I.
(old abandoned house near Wrath)
I'm already looking forward to next year's event but I think I will limit the amount of wineries we hit and also pack a lunch so that we can take advantage of the view from at least one of the wineries;)
jen
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