Monday 8/7: After a leisurely breakfast and relaxed conversation we headed out on the first wine stop of the trip. Niner Winery https://www.ninerwine.com/. The setting was great, we were overlooking “Heart Hill” and the wines were great. One of the lessons we learned on our multiple Napa and Sonoma trips was to make sure we had nibbles along with the tastings (and to limit the tastings to no more than 2 per day) so we had a charcuterie board along with the wines. All of it was a great kickoff to the week. Niner was one of my favorites of the trip, though I did not join their club as they are one of the few from Paso that we can reliably get here in SC. We were planning on a second that day, Broken Earth, but when I asked our “tasting guide” about his thoughts he said they were “unique” in that they specialized in sweeter wines, no one in the group enjoys that so we decided to simply scuttle it. Another thing he did tell us about was a great butcher and fish market (that will come into play later in the trip), so off we went to go back to the house with a detour to Albertson’s to stock up for the week (Tori had made a quick stop on her way in on Sunday just enough for the one morning), very convenient that CA stores sell wine, beer and booze alongside the groceries, truly one stop shopping. Upon arriving back at the house, Paul’s son (also Paul…henceforth referred to as Paulie) and his niece Ariella (Ella) had arrived to stay for a couple of days, so after unloading and putting away we all headed down to the pool to continue sipping and getting to know the “new kids on the block”. What a fabulous addition, they were so much fun to have, I’m sorry they didn’t stay longer! After having no dinner plans, Paul and Tori found a local family run Italian restaurant that was willing to take a party of 8 last minute. On the menu they had a mussels and clam dish and I asked if they would simply make a mussels fra diavolo. The chef said “sure” and what I had may very well have been the best tasting food I had in Paso, it was up there with my grandfather’s and my ex mother in law’s..it was so freaking good that while I finished the mussels, I kept the “juice”, brought it home and used it to make with my eggs each of the next three mornings…I can still taste it as I write. Some more sipping and then off to the land of nod….

Niner Wine Estate: Heart Hill

Tuesday 8/8: Just one scheduled tasting today (there originally were two….but Justin was taken off the list for today, more about that on Thursday…Today was Tablas Creek ( https://tablascreek.com/ ) A really nice, low key, tasting with a lot of interesting wines. I did join that club since they are not available here and I liked the variety of lighter reds (they, like many in Paso, do a GSM mix that is very interesting). While we were out tasting, Paulie and Ella had decided they were going to do a full on family meal at the house that evening and they went shopping…when we arrived home they were in full prep mode. Their menu was an incredible variety of antipasto, salads, and the shining star..a bunch of different pizzas that they were preparing and would cook in the wood fired pizza oven down by the pool. Everyone was helping, sipping, laughing and just having a great time. Getting the pizza oven up to temp was quite the adventure as the wood we had been left was not well seasoned and it became very difficult to get up to temp. Regardless, after much effort on many parts, the pizzas were made and enjoyed by everyone. (The interesting part is that the oven held the temp for another day and a half once it was finally fully fired). The postscript: the leftover pizza provided the base for more spectacular breakfasts (along with my mussel “juice”).

Wednesday 8/9: Sadly, Paulie and Ella were leaving today, they were so much fun to have join in, and frankly, they are such interesting, eloquent, funny, bright younger folks that it really does give one hope in this tumultuous time we live in. We all said our goodbyes as they were packing as we were leaving for our “two a day” trip…First up was Bianchi (https://www.bianchiwine.com/ ) chosen originally as it was pretty close to the house. We arrived just as they opened, and after spending a lot of time at the Koi pond (with Sue delighting in feeding the fish as they gave fish food prior to the tasting) we were pleasantly surprised at the wines, nothing spectacular but all tasty (and the pours were beyond “ample”). Again we made the correct choice to have some charcuterie and cheese to ward off the generous “revisits”. From there, just down the road, to Tobin James (https://www.tobinjames.com/ ) the only standing tasting we had all week…it was an atmosphere modeled on the wild west. The tastings were fun, the wine good. We did pick up some at each place as we constantly needed to restock the homestead. Then there was dinner….The Hatch was highly recommended so we had made a reservation there prior to the actual trip. To say it was a disappointment would be saying far too little. It was terrible. The service was great, but the food was less than mediocre. Tasteless apps, tasteless (highly touted main courses) we simply could not get out of there fast enough. Still don’t know who was writing the reviews. The ONLY upnote…I had a glass of Pappy Van Winkle 15 (they are a Bourbon focused place)

Bianchi

Tobin James