“You have to promise me that you’ll leave the laptop at home. Please.”

(see reluctant “ohhh kayyyy”)

With those words, the Wineaux Guy set the parameters for a getaway weekend to Paso Robles.  He didn’t feel like coming to Vegas again, and ditto for me going to So. Cal.  So we compromised and met in Paso.  But – because whenever we go there, I always have a laptop going – he insisted that we actually vacation and actually relax. So we did. Mostly.

So I didn’t argue (!!!) and decided to go with the flow. I did a mantra or two (whatever that is), and actually relaxed.  Really!  Even though I spent a lot of time driving, it was well worth it.  We made some new discoveries and actually got to hang out with friends without feeling the pressure of schedules, interviews, or anything related to Vegas Wineaux.

We stayed at the Melody Ranch Motel, a quaint, older, very Route 66-esque establishment on Spring St. at 9th. Cute as a button, well maintained, and absolutely spotless, it’s a homey place to stay. Because it’s an older property (about 45 or so years old), it lacks some of the extras – Wi-Fi, microwave, mini-fridge, for example – but it’s reflected in a lower price for an evening’s stay.  It came very highly recommended, and I have to concur.

… Continue Reading

Why in the world would I make up something like White Zin in South Africa? Actually, it’s been around for a while.  But, as in many traumas that we experience in life, I had blanked it out of my memory.  A series of events over the last several weeks brought this dismal (my opinion) fact back to my consciousness, and I’m finally addressing it head on.

When the Wineaux Guy and I went to the Paso Robles Zin Fest last month, the one wine that we didn’t taste was the Zinfandel Rosé.  And it’s not because we turned up our respective noses to it; it’s because we just didn’t get to any of them in the crush (haha) of people and while tasting the wines of some fifty-plus wineries.  Even our livers are limited.

Being in the middle of all of that Zin and all of the followup postings reminded me of a South African wine writer who visited the United States some time ago and was enthralled with a new, slightly sweet, refreshing wine made from uniquely American grapes.  You guessed it. White Zinfandel. What? You didn’t hear my scream of anguish as  I read those words?!?

Well as it turns out, Zinfandel is a new star in Africa and as of two years ago, one producer began making White Zin as a serious part of their very respected portfolio of wines.  Not only that, but apparently there are a bunch (haha) of up-and-coming young South African winemakers who are doing to White Zin what we wish that American winemakers had done years ago; they’re tackling it head on to make it a serious contender in the Rosé – and overall wine – world.

Gasp.

Let’s go back to the first winery I was speaking of just a minute ago.  Its name is Blaauwklippen, and they began their White Zin experiment with the 2007 vintage.  What’s interesting – at least to my eyes and is the complete antithesis of American White Zin producers – they are using a green bottle and though I’ve only been able to look at it in pictures, the wine actually looks, well, *white*!  One more bit of trivia is that while the words “White Zinfandel” appears on the label, they describe it as a “Zinfandel Blanc de Noir” in their written material.

All of my searches could find only this one winery with a current vintage, but more are certain to follow if the success of Blaauwklippen is any indication.

And I’m going to do the unthinkable – tell the story about the Rosé tasting that the Vegas Wineaux Wine Club had last year.  I know I had it *somewhere* in the lost files , but I’m writing this as a reminder.  We had a Sunday brunch blind tasting of six different pink wines, one of which was a (aieeee!) White Zin.  It’s pretty fair to say that quite a few of the members of the club are palate snobs…myself included.  So the pressure was on.  Without naming names, less than half of the participants figured out which one was the White Zin.  ’Nuff said.

Tonight I’m going to be enjoying turkey breast, a salad, and a nice, budget-friendly Pinot Noir.  Not a drop of White Zin in sight.  But that doesn’t mean that it’s the end of America’s best-selling wine varietal in this blog.

Later on I’ll tell you about the site that has many recipes based on White Zin.  Oh the humanity!

Stay tuned!…

Oh! I almost forgot!  I got some of my information from this really terrific little site called Stellenbauchery, a South Africa Wine Adventure, the diary of a young American woman named Julia Burke who relates her adventures living in South Africa during the current harvest season as an intern.  This story is South Africa’s take on White Zin – Zinfandel Blanc de Noir – is a terrific read, as is the rest of her blog.  Too bad her internship is coming to an end.  She makes the adventures there fun.  I’m telling you – it’s a movie in the making!

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Paso Robles Wine Fest 2009 - the hotties of Vihuela!

Argh!

I will not be able to make it for my annual pilgrimage to the wonderful Paso Robles Wine Festival this year!

As it turns out, I’m going to have knee surgery which will suck up my sick/personal time at the day job, leaving no time available to visit Paso for one of my favorite events.

Just like wine events all over, the Wine Festival consists of winery activities throughout the long weekend, with the “Grand Tasting” on Saturday afternoon. Last year, we took a lot of video, did interviews, photographed everything, and had a wonderful time. This year, circumstances just won’t cooperate. Dang it.

However, I had a thought (dangerous), and wanted to make a request of anyone who’s going this year.

If you have pictures that you take and want to share with everyone, please send them my way at info(at)vegaswineaux(dot)com. I’ll post a slideshow of the best and showcase them right here. Even better, if you want to be a guest author to tell about your Wine Festival adventures, then the stage is yours! I can vicariously enjoy your fun weekend, and still be able to share the special-ness of the Wine Festival to all readers. And you’ll get to be a star (more or less) in front of the whole world!

And just because I’m not going to the Wine Festival (or Vegas Uncork’d – boo hoo) doesn’t mean that I don’t have plans in the making. There are a lot of Central Coast events and activities coming up at the end of September and for each weekend in October. There are a few that are brand new, and if I’ve hit the lottery by then, I’m going to each and every one. Reality, on the other hand, says that I’d better pick one and be happy with it. Dang it again.

For those of you who are going to the Paso Robles Wine Festival, I send you off with best wishes, envy, and hopes that you remember to keep the shutter clicking!

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The Zin Fest in Paso Robles was an incredible weekend of food, wine, and fun.  And I mean FUN!

After a quiet Friday evening, we visited several wineries, but ended up spending most of the day and early afternoon at Hug Cellars.  It wasn’t just because of the wines – although that had a lot to do with it – but it was because of the Wild Game BBQ that Augie hosted.  So it was our stomachs that made the decision for us.

What a shock, right?

With that being said, there were lots of activities that entire weekend with the different wineries which we had to miss.  However, it was not all about food.  It was also about reviewing some of the wines in the Spring shipment of the Hug Cellars Wine Club (Club Hug).

Oh man. What a treat!

Rather than go on and on about how wonderful the wines were, just watch the videos!  There was enough footage to make a mini-movie, but unfortunately, YouTube is pretty strict about the whole ten-minute thing.

The first three videos all take place at Hug Cellars where we taste the wines, pair the wines with the food, and find out what a “mystery” wine was.  Lots of tape on the cutting room floor!

Zin Festival Fun – Tasting at Hug Cellars Pt. 1

Zin Festival Fun – Tasting at Hug Cellars Pt. 2

Mystery Wine Revealed! – Tasting at Hug Cellars Pt. 3

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Tasting from the barrel at Hug

I just posted the first of several tastings and tasting adventures videos on YouTube from our Zin Festival weekend in Paso Robles a couple of weeks ago. We had a blast, and I think it shows. We met some of the greatest (and craziest!) people there, and you will get to meet some of them.

We spent a lot of that weekend at Hug Cellars, mainly because we were staying in Cambria (about 30 miles west of Paso) and had to make some hard decisions on our wine tasting/partying schedule for the weekend. Rod and I wanted to do some tastings inside of a winery, and Augie gave us free access. We hope to do more of these in the future, but with so many great wines and winemakers, it’s not going to be easy!

This video shows us in the early setup stages of getting ready for our upcoming, three-part mega-tasting inside of the winery at Hug Cellars. This one is about a minute long and shows some off-the-cuff comments about one of the wines we were preparing to review. As a member of the wine club (one of the first wine clubs I joined), I’m very fond of these wines and it shows.

As an aside, I didn’t know the camera was rolling when we did this. While it may appear that I’m looking directly into the camera at a couple of points, I was actually looking at some guys who were trying to fix some barbeque-related item after a mishap of some sort and who were walking back and forth behind the video setup.

During this series of videos, you will be introduced to some wineries that will probably be new to you. Like Hug, Villicana, Vines on the Marycrest, and so many others in Paso Robles, many of these are boutique wineries that have a very small, limited production and whose wines you may never experience unless you’re there or a member of their club. Boy do I wish I were rich.

So enjoy this little preview of what’s to come, and stay tuned for more!

Pre-Tasting at Hug Cellars

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