Here’s an excerpt from the Zin Fest article written by Hayley Thomas who interviewed us. Although there was *one* slight error – they wrote that one of Rod’s favorite wineries is Hunt Cellars instead of Hug Cellars – it’s pretty right on. And so that there won’t be any misunderstanding, we also like Hunt Cellars! And my girlfriends and I do love Alex Villicana. Rod and his friends all like Monica. We figure they’re the cover couple of Paso Robles, lol.
You can see the entire article by doing a search on Zin Fest 2010 at the Paso Robles Press website. Enjoy!
Swirl, sip, celebrate: 2010 Zin Fest blends wine, food, friends
As 7 p.m. rolled around and a long line of Zin Fest guests snaked around the Paso Robles Event Center, things heated up inside and outside of the lavish wine tasting experience. Wine was poured, cheese skewered and cigars lit in the outside lounge.
Rod Stoneburner of Temecula enjoyed a stogie with friends and a full glass of zinfandel.
“We come [to Paso Robles] regularly; we came here last year for the Wine Festival, and we have our favorite wineries here,” Stoneburner said, adding that he adores Hunt Cellars, Opolo Vineyards, Four Vines Winery and Tobin James Cellars, among others.
“We also love the boutique wineries here, and if I could move here and stay I would,” he said. “[Paso’s} history of wine starts in the 1860’s, while Temecula wines started in the 1960s and ’70s, and they are wonderful wines, but they are not Paso wines.”
Las Vegas resident, wine etiquette teacher and creator of wine blog www.vegaswineaux.com Irene King also agreed that there’s something special about Paso – namely – a combination of good wine and friendly service.
“I’ve been coming to Paso for several years, and I love it here. I like Paso because it is not like [wineries] (Note from Irene: I said “Napa”) say, ‘I’ll give you the privilege of tasting our wines for a lot of money.’ You go into these wineries and they want you to try the wines and they are extremely friendly,” King said.
According to the blogger, Paso Robles winemakers like past Blendmaster Alex Villicana are celebrities within her own circle of girlfriends back home for this very reason.
“We have been friends with some of the different wineries and winemakers here, and I write about them and promote them,” King said. “But I don’t get anything out of it at all except for the pleasure of knowing that other people will discover how good the Paso wines are.”
