Still in Love

So yeah, second date with Paso Robles was as good as the first date. I'm still in love and wanting to marry it (metaphorically speaking of course). We had a fabulous trip. For the inaugural Forgotten Grapes Paso Robles trip, we couldn't have asked for a better group of folks or a better bunch of winemakers/ vineyard owners, or better weather or anything better. Okay, well, I could have had better hair...but I'm trying to just be thankful that I have hair again.

I was so proud of Chris and truly amazed at the trip he put together for this group. Really, really outstanding. So allow me to share some highlights:

On the first night, Mike Barreto of Barreto wines (that's him standing next to Chris) came to our house (well, the one we rented in PR) and whipped up a fabulous batch of paella that perfectly paired with his Spanish varietal wines. Fabulous food, wine and company.

And that's our group, left to right: Wendy, Michael, Becky, Mike, Chris, Pam and Peter. Yep, you got it. We were Peter, Pam, Michael and Wendy...were were missing John and Tinkerbell. So Becky played the part of Tinker Beck all weekend. Chris was more Captain Hook. And there was an evening of Lost Boys...but I get ahead of myself.

On Friday we toured DuBost vineyard and winery with Kate DuBost. Lovely people, a fabulous lunch, an "insider's tour" and hey, more great wine!

Judy Starr, grape grower extraordinaire and proprietress of Starr Vineyards gave us a tour of her pristine vineyards in her white chariot (aka pick-up truck). Oh right, some of us (those in dresses) were in the truck and some of us (those in jeans or khakis) in the truck bed. Beautiful from every vantage point.

Next up: Barrel tasting with Augie Hug at Hug Cellars. So much fun. And again, the wine was incredible (I cannot tell a lie; I bought 3 cases of his 2007 Viognier. It's a favorite of mine and that was pretty much all he had left. Mine. All Mine!!!).

The day ended (well, um, actually it went well into the night) with Ted & Lisa Plemons at Cass Winery again. OMG--the food!! The wine!! The hilarious stories!!!

And did I mention there was a camera crew following Ted around? Right. And us. And um....let's just say we now know just how it is that those idiots on reality TV can forget there is a camera following them around.  It involves wine. And we are those idiots. (Incriminating video soon to follow, no doubt).

The chef at Cass Vineyards, Jacob, was amazing. The absolute best braised short ribs. So tender and tasty you could hear everyone at the table moaning in gastronomic ecstasy.

and  the evening turned into night, and there was wine, and there was laughter, and there was more wine, more laughter, more wine, music, more wine, dancing....and um...that's all I remember. Or at least it's all I'm willing to tell....until the next posting.

Cheers to you!