My father's side of the family has a huge reunion every summer out in Cayucos, CA where there is a shamelessly gaudy 4th of July parade and lots of beach time. And...sometimes.....some illegal fireworks. This year we steered clear of one of my favorite pastimes as it is generally ill advised to participate in activities that generally result in high fines or incarceration.
Although I jetted out there for the reunion, I was NOT travelling almost 3000 miles without stopping by at least a couple of my food and wine spots. Turns out, time only permitted two, but beggers can't be choosers. So I chose my top two spots within driving distance of the house and made it happen!
1. TURLEY WINE CELLARS
2900 Vineyard Drive, Templeton, CA
The first stop was a wine related one. I've been trying to keep up with all my latest wine stats through Decanter and Wine Spectator every month as I study for my Sommelier Level I exam at the end of the year, and found that Turley's latest vintage zinfandels had largely scored over 90 points (on a scale of 1-100...Wine Spectator has their own rating system that is similar to Robert Parker's, on both scales they rated highly). I figured, as this was a 20 minute drive from our beach residence in Cayucos, this would do nicely!
I dragged my mother and father along with me-as much as they protest they really do love it when I take them out to do these things :). The tasting rooms were beautiful! Pine and oak bars with trussed ceilings...it really was a cozy step away from the central coast "beach" vibe. It was quiet, and we had the full attention of the very warm and friendly bartender. We ended up swapping European travel stories and our favorite wines of the world...was a great bit of fun. Only reason I didn't spend the whole day there was that little detail of "other commitments."
The tasting list was great. You could pick a few out of the list to taste for a small fee, but the barman ended up letting us taste the whole shabang! The whites were basic. Nothing unpalatable, but that wasn't what I had come for anyhow. The zinfandels were really superb. Depending on whether they were sourced from their Paso or Napa vineyards, they ranged from lighter and spicy to full bodied and jammy. All was balanced and well blended, and I ended up walking away with about a case of mixed bottles.
One special thing about this winery, that my father really loved, was the Pesenti Red Velvet wine they carried. Not ACTUALLY a Pesenti wine, but a tribute to the original, this took my Dad back to the table wines when he was growing up, particularly that which was used in and served with spaghetti.
I would highly recommend a visit to this gem if one is out in the Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo area. Really talented at what they do best, the zinfandels are truly a treat to taste and, in my opinion, are great value for quality!
2. FIRESTONE WALKER BARRELWORKS
620 McMurry Rd, Buellton, California
The second and last stop was to Buellton to see Firestone Walker's Barrelworks Brewery. I love Firestone Walker generally, but their barrel aged beers are truly something special. These beers are EVERYWHERE in California, and you can't go to a bar without the 806 pale on tap. As they are extremely rare to find on hte east coast, I was dying to taste as much of the forbidden FW fruit as possible. On my way back to Los Angeles to catch my flight, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop off the highway for a quick look in.
Well.......we all know how a quick trip into a brewery can be............
Roll on the tasting menu. Four at a time. And it was delicious.
There really is too much to cover when it comes to the specific beers I tasted while there, because I could probably write an entire post about each. And well, I'm not a beer blog. Some of the beers were straight from the cask and some had been kegged. Beers from the barrelworks are aged in a variety of barrels....bourbon, red wine, sherry, white wine....new oak even. Each one was distinctively different and outstanding. They even had a Mikkeller collaboration which I always get excited about as the Mikkeller beers are always masterful (another one to try is his Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout...*salivates*).
Unfortunately they did not have a great selection of large formats for sale in the tasting room, but I did get my hands on their 17th Anniversary blend. Ended up opening that up with my "beer boys" about a week later, and holy moly does that thing pack a rich punch. We were all very glad we split it between seven people...I don't even think I could make it through a full tulip (well I could but I wouldn't be happy about it later...).
The bartender ended up giving me most of my tasting for free when he found out I was industry, which was a really awesome gesture. Overall a really great experience, but I wish I could have brought more home with me! I did walk away with an awesome t-shirt though :)
So, although limited on the booze factory excursions, both that I did visit were extremely rewarding. I did also get to zipline over a vineyard....and I may have stolen my cousins puppy in attempt to bring him back to the east coast...but unfortunately TSA frown upon those sort of things.
Until next time, cheers!
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