Wine Thread

[RickFLM4]

Another enjoyable bottle of Cabernet last night at Curate. Also anther G&T.

[Roman]

O
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G

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by Roman

O
M
G

Now on the list, thanks!

[RichF90M5C]

Back on the Bread and Butter tonight. I’m counting down the days to my Napa trip in 2025, as I need to find perfection.

[BMWGUYinCO]

We got back from our Paso Robles trip this weekend - I owe an update. Coming soon.

[BMWGUYinCO]

These updates are for you, hubbahubba

So we over-planned our Paso Robles trip, and unfortunately had to cut the visits to Niner, Tobin James and Donati Family

But more on why, later.

First up was a stop at Justin for a tasting and food pairing. The dish at the front was the most beautiful food I've ever seen prepared; it was sea trout with all kinds of flourishment and it was absolutely delicious. So fancy! But don't you also love the mound of fries with truffle sauce?

We were feeling pretty good after the tasting, so we joined their Isosceles Reserve Club (first shipment from the club comes in October) but got the tasting for free, and 20% off a one time custom order.

That order arrived yesterday, next post to follow with details.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Our order from Justin Winery arrived yesterday; it was very well packaged in a thermally insulated box with ice packs.

From left to right:
1 Rose
4 Isosceles Reserve Cabs
2 Platinum Reserve Cabs
1 Reserve Cab
1 Reserve Malbec
1 Trilateral Blend
1 Sauvignon Blanc.

We tasted those all (except for the Isosceles Reserves) and found each exceptional. Note that all the cabs are from 2019 which is considered an excellent vintage from Paso Robles.

BUT! Here is a pro-tip for all of you - 2023 is going to be, without a doubt, the BEST vintage from Paso Robles ever! Why? They had an exceptionally varied climate this year, with cooler than normal temps, plenty of sun and moisture. Every winery we visited told us to snatch up as much 2023s as possible when released starting in 2026

Normal temps in Paso this time of year are in the triple digits; we enjoyed both of our days at 82 degrees.

[hubbahubba]

BMWGUYinCO Great posts! That IS a great looking plate of food! Don't you just love how they present it all? Just makes it that much better. I'm glad you had fun, but sorry you missed the other 3 wineries. I guess that just means another trip is in order!

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

BMWGUYinCO Great posts! That IS a great looking plate of food! Don't you just love how they present it all? Just makes it that much better. I'm glad you had fun, but sorry you missed the other 3 wineries. I guess that just means another trip is in order!

Well, I promised to explain why so here it is: my wife booked some special tours which we had expected to share with a smaller group in shorter time formats - it turns out these were private tours just for us and took much longer than we expected.

For instance, we did something called the Patrimony Tour at Daou; that took over 4 hours! But I will say that it was an absolutely incredible experience. Same at Eberle. I will be making posts for each later.

The only winery we were kind of disappointed in, and didn't end up ordering any wine from was Austin Hope. They presented a wine menu that, in my opinion, really diluted the brand and offered little differentiation. Maybe it was the host, who was also trying to make the same pitch to at least 3 other tables (this was NOT a private tour).
In any case, we buy their Austin Hope Cabernet at Costco and it was less there at Costco than even joining thier wine club pricing. Oh well.

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Well, I promised to explain why so here it is: my wife booked some special tours which we expected to share with a smaller group - it turns out these were private tours just for us and took much longer than we expected.

For instance, we did something called the Patrimony Tour at Daou; that took over 4 hours! But I will say that it was an absolutely incredible experience. Same at Eberle. I will be making posts for each later.

The only winery we were kind of disappointed in, and didn't end up ordering any wine from was Austin Hope. They presented a wine menu that, in my opinion, really diluted the brand and offered little differentiation. Maybe it was the host, who was also trying to make the same pitch to at least 3 other tables (this was NOT a private tour).
In any case, we buy their Austin Hope Cabernet at Costco and it was less there at Costco than even joining thier wine club pricing. Oh well.

Totally get that, and it's awesome to get those private tours! Seeing the things and tasting wines that most folks don't is what makes it so special. Way to go!!!

[BMWGUYinCO]

After Justin, we visited the Eberle Winery. This place was cool!

One neat thing is that the owner was able to dig tunnels underground beneath the winery...but this is not allowed in Paso. So, how did he do it? He found a loophole where he bought a "mineral excavation license" for $12 and claimed he was NOT digging tunnels, but rather mining. My kind of guy.

Eberle is German for boar or pig, so you will see this mascot theming throughout the tour.

Can't believe I never took pictures of the actual wines, LOL. Instead we were busy drinking and tasting, and of course we ordered food from the right hand side of the menu. For the prices, we were very impressed. And if you take a tour anytime soon....ask for Kat! It was her first day doing a private tour. Her first clients of the day turned out to be a couple of "Karens" who gave her a really hard time. But then she loved us and told us her day went from "0 to a thousand" in her own words...

Here is what we ended up ordering:

1 2021 Reserve Chardonnay
1 2020 Le Petit Sanglier
2 2020 MGS Reds (this is their premier Cabernet wine offering)
1 2020 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
1 2019 Vintage Port
These will arrive sometime around early September

[BMWGUYinCO]

Since this is a BMW forum after all, here is an obligatory picture of the ride.

This was taken on Vineyard Road in Paso Robles. This is a long stretch that is really beautiful driving and it was perfect weather for top down driving.

[flybigjet]

My wife and I were up visiting my father near Seattle and weirdly enough, her BFF lives about 15 minutes away.

Said BFF is on a "no-drinking" kick, so she punted several bottles of wine to my wife (who flew home early for work). Now I have to pack them up and check them on the jet when I go home on Saturday.

Ugh. Yet another "Yes, dear" moment.

R.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

My wife and I were up visiting my father near Seattle and weirdly enough, her BFF lives about 15 minutes away.

Said BFF is on a "no-drinking" kick, so she punted several bottles of wine to my wife (who flew home early for work). Now I have to pack them up and check them on the jet when I go home on Saturday.

Ugh. Yet another "Yes, dear" moment.

R.

You reminded me of a story back from when I was dating my future wife (now 31 years ago). We lived in Florida and were planning a flight out to visit her older sister who lived in New Jersey. A couple of days before the trip, I was told we would be bringing her sister something...an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica books! I told my gf at the time "Are you crazy?! Let's just ship them to her!!!" Nope, she insisted we were bringing them and so I packed 4 suitcases with the entire set and carried those MFrs. One of the handles actually broke on a suitcase from the weight.

But I'm actually the crazy one - I ended up marrying her anyways.

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

My wife and I were up visiting my father near Seattle and weirdly enough, her BFF lives about 15 minutes away.

Said BFF is on a "no-drinking" kick, so she punted several bottles of wine to my wife (who flew home early for work). Now I have to pack them up and check them on the jet when I go home on Saturday.

Ugh. Yet another "Yes, dear" moment.

R.

SCORE!

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Since this is a BMW forum after all, here is an obligatory picture of the ride.

This was taken on Vineyard Road in Paso Robles. This is a long stretch that is really beautiful driving and it was perfect weather for top down driving.

So beautiful. I love the old oak trees. What a fun deal to have your own car to do it in!

[hubbahubba]

Just cracked this for tonight. Nickel and Nickel specializes in single vineyard wines. We did the terroir tasting, 7 wines up and down the valley from single vineyard wines. It is really amazing the difference from just the soil and terrain. Some we liked, some weren’t our favorites. This is one we liked.

Edited because I have fat fingers.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

Edited because I have fat fingers.

[cmyx6go]

hubbahubba

For some reason when I opened this thread, it went to Esteban laughing at your fat finger edit. I scrolled up to see what it was all about. I saw the cork collection picture first and I thought it was your personal collection at home. My hero! LOL

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

hubbahubba

For some reason when I opened this thread, it went to Esteban laughing at your fat finger edit. I scrolled up to see what it was all about. I saw the cork collection picture first and I thought it was your personal collection at home. My hero! LOL

Ha! I wish!

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

Ha! I wish!

Keep working at it... you'll get there.

[hubbahubba]

It’s funny in a sad way, but here is the current collection. It was much larger until a few months ago Mrs H made one of the few mistakes I can remember in 33 years, and threw away this canister full of corks. I had been saving them to make her a cork board…. Gotta drink more wine!