On the Road Again
As our old friend Willie used to sing, we’re “on the road again”. The snow just isn’t melting quickly enough and I am beginning to see the reason for so many domestic disturbances:.cabin fever. Hopefully a quick trip through California wine country will be the cure.
We visited the Paso Robles area and meandered out Adelaida Rd. to Tablas Creek, where winemaker Neil Collins, along with the Haas and Perrin families, are making Rhone style wines from clones of French grapes. For a very interesting read, visit the Tablas Creek website and read the wineblog for details of their grape-to-wine processes.
Traveling down the Salinas Valley on Hwy 101, we counted ten solid miles of grape fields, all at least a mile wide. And that was just one spot. I do sometimes think of the food that could be grown there.
Locally, we tasted some very good wines during the Valentine’s weekends. Martin-Scott was teeming with visitors, many of whom tried the combination of Schocolat’s fine chocolates paired with several of the wineries popular and delicious wines. While in East Wenatchee we also rekindled our love affair with Horan Estates 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon.
In Peshastin I had to stop at Wedge Mountain and have a truffle with the Roses and Rubies. It’s the only wine I care for with chocolate, and it was good!
At home in Leavenworth, at Ed Rutledge’s new tasting room, the family was very busy pouring some of Ed and Nat’s excellent wines. The Riesling is outstanding and the Raspberry Riesling was making friends very quickly, while those preferring reds were very happy with the Merlot, the Montage (my favorite), the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Sauv Reserve. The beautiful mural and other artwork and wood working completed the ambiance of the new tasting room.
I just read a recent blog by Food and Wine’s Senior Wine Editor Ray Isle on Amarone and appreciated his comments on what food can do to help – or hurt – wine. “The older vintages (of Amarone) were all from Campolongo di Torbe, in honor of its fiftieth anniversary. I found the ‘97 Campolongo a bit overly ripe and raisiny—”gormless” was the word I used in my notes, which means brainless; mostly I meant it was a bit hulking. However, it came to life paired with White’s delicious short-ribs. Context, y’know; it’s a pretty crucial consideration.
Right now we are in Pasadena CA for a few days, and you’d have to pay me a whole lot to live here. Everyone rushes and pushes, and no one strikes up a conversation in the checkout line. It does make us appreciate home. I do wish, however, that our local Grocery Outlet could get some of the wines we have found down here. Maybe it would help if you who shop there would talk to Bob and ask for more and better wines such as are found in other Grocery Outlets. And while I am a strong supporter of our local wines and wineries, I make no apology for seeking out more affordable wines for everyday consumption.
The March dinner is coming up, and will undoubtedly be a gourmet feast. Then, before we know it, spring barrel tasting will be underway. Those of us so inclined will be digging and planting, and plotting new ways to defeat the ever-present gophers. At upcoming events we’ll be tasting new wines from near and not-so-near wineries, and enjoying the pleasures of spring.
I can hardly wait!
Joanne Saliby