In an effort to dine at all 3000 San Francisco Restaurants( 800 and Counting) and visit all 600 Napa Wineries(350 and counting), my wife Linda and I recently traveled to Paso Robles home of 200 great wineries on the Central Coast.
From our home in Danville, it is an easy 3 hour drive and about an hour South of Pebble Beach and the Monterey Peninsula. We stayed in the heart of downtown Paso Robles at the famous Paso Robles Inn. It is walking distance from the park and downtown area, packed with many great restaurants and wine tasting rooms. The Inn also has a great Steak House and each room is named after one of the 200 wineries nearby. The rooms also have patios with a mineral bath tub overlooking impeccable gardens and modern 2 person swings to take you back to your childhood days and relieve any stress from the rigors of city life.
We chose to have a private tasting at nearby Justin Winery. In 2015, it was named Winery Of The Year by Wine Enthusiast. If you dine at their great restaurant, the wine tastings are complimentary. Also, if you are a Wine Society Member tastings are nearby at an elegant tasting room paired with various cheeses and very good prices to take a few bottles home with you.
There are also 5 spacious rooms available ranging from 600 to 1400 square feet if you want to stay and visit the many wineries nearby.
Our tasting host was very knowledgeable and passionate about sharing his wine knowledge. The cheese pairing with the tasting is very well done and adds to the richness of the wine.
We began with the 2013 Chardonnay that was aged in French Oak for 18 months, very refreshing on a warm day and retails for $40.
The 2013 Justification is composed of 58 per cent Cabernet Franc and 42 per cent Merlot billed as blending the old world and new world. It retails for $50 .
Our favorite was their celebrated Isosceles 2013 composed of 75 % Cabernet Sauvignon,16 % Cabernet Franc and 9% Merlot. We also tasted the 2012 Isosceles Reserve that is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot and 1% Malbec. Both were great with the 2013 retailing for $70 and the 2012 Reserve for $105 per bottle.
The final taste was the 2013 Savant composed of 65% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Grenache, and 4% Petite Syrah. It retails for $50.
The bottom line is that "Paso Robles Rocks" and is producing some great juice. We would highly recommend a visit to this wine making heaven on the Central Coast. The area is a very beautiful and has lots of great wineries to visit and it is not too far from Danville and the San Francisco Bay Area.
For more information and to schedule a tasting at Justin go to:
http://justinwine.com/
