The final day was Tin City Day, starting at Turtle Rock. Don Burns got his start with Justin Smith at Saxum in 2007 and has been working for Justin ever since. Turtle Rock is another small producer that gets most of their fruit from the James Berry and G2 vineyards, which are some of the top vineyards in Paso. These wines have more body and fruit but have good structure to hold up to some aging. I like to call them "second label Saxum." Don's wife Claudia was pouring in the tasting room on Sunday because the staff needed a day off. They are another small 3,500 case producer who is looking into doing some distribution into Texas because they have so many customers here. Their 2018 G2 Syrah is amazing.
Next we sauntered down the street to Jacob Toft, where Jacob and his wife Kelly make 14 different wines from several central coast sites. We got to taste with their assistant winemaker Fizzell (yes, that's his name), and not only did their regular tasting, but also tried all of their spring releases (I think we got to do this because we always buy some wine from them. I wouldn't expect doing this if you aren't a club member or just drop in). Jacob's best wines are Syrah based, but everything we had here was excellent. We split some of the wines and did some side-by-sides because I was the driver and didn't want to get smashed knowing we had to leave early Monday morning.
Final stop in Tin City was at Desparada, Vailia From's winery and wife of Russell From of Herman Story. If Russell's wines are hit you with a hammer fruit forward, Vailia's wines are more elegant and refined, though I think Russell is having some influence over the red wines. The whites are where she shines, doing all kinds of things with Sauvignon Blanc like aging it in amphora and putting it in acacia wood barrels. If you're looking for something different and tired of drinking gsm wines for several days, make sure you stop here.
The final dinner of the trip was at La Consecha. This is a Spanish influence eatery from the same people that own Il Cortile, which is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever eaten at. La Consecha also has one of the best cocktail programs in town. We sat outside in their parklet, had some cocktails and appetizers, and split a paella over a glass of wine. We've never had a bad meal in Paso, and La Consecha keeps that streak alive.
Some final thoughts on Paso:
1. The 2018 vintage was spectacular, and 2019 is supposed to be great as well. Time will tell on 2020 if smoke taint shows up. If it doesn't, that will make three straight years with some great wines.
2. It doesn't matter if your politics are left, right, or center: everyone in Paso Robles is ready to load Gavin Newsom onto a rocket and launch him into the sun. For some reason, Paso and San Luis Obispo County got lumped into Los Angeles, so they've had to abide by the same restrictions that are completely irrelevant to a town of 30,000 people. The fact that Newsom hosted a party in an enclosed space at his winery while every other winery had to stay closed did not sit well with a town whose economy is primarily based on wine and tourism. The town had enough and told the wineries and restaurants that they weren't going to enforce any of Newsom's policies, but that they couldn't stop the county or state from doing anything. Most of all the businesses found a way to stay open buy either serving food (if you're a bar) or building parklets in the street or parking lots to have outdoor dining. Walking around downtown Paso Robles, you'd have a hard time believing there's any kind of pandemic except for the masks. We didn't find a single restaurant that closed due to covid, but most everyone is hanging on by a thread right now with reduced staff and cutting costs where they can. The hope is that the city will allow the restaurants to keep the parklets for a while after they go to 100% occupancy so they can recoup some of their losses.
3. Very few wineries are doing any kind of elevated tastings or tours right now because of covid. If those experiences are important to you, you might want to wait a bit. But if you just want to go drink before it gets hot, go now. We never had more than three parties at any tasting except for Calcareous, which I really wouldn't recommend going to anyway. Flights to San Jose are super cheap right now, as are the rental cars. Do not flight into LA or Burbank, because you are required to quarantine. I don't know how or if that is being enforced, but San Jose does not have that restriction right now, and it's the same drive time to Paso from either airport. You can also fly into San Luis Obispo right now for a very reasonable price if you want to cut out two hours of driving.
Since this was our third trip hitting nearly 30 wineries, we probably won't go back for another two years unless someone else wants to go with us and we can take them to our favorites. If anyone wants to go soon, I can give you a list of places to go and places to eat.
Next we sauntered down the street to Jacob Toft, where Jacob and his wife Kelly make 14 different wines from several central coast sites. We got to taste with their assistant winemaker Fizzell (yes, that's his name), and not only did their regular tasting, but also tried all of their spring releases (I think we got to do this because we always buy some wine from them. I wouldn't expect doing this if you aren't a club member or just drop in). Jacob's best wines are Syrah based, but everything we had here was excellent. We split some of the wines and did some side-by-sides because I was the driver and didn't want to get smashed knowing we had to leave early Monday morning.
Final stop in Tin City was at Desparada, Vailia From's winery and wife of Russell From of Herman Story. If Russell's wines are hit you with a hammer fruit forward, Vailia's wines are more elegant and refined, though I think Russell is having some influence over the red wines. The whites are where she shines, doing all kinds of things with Sauvignon Blanc like aging it in amphora and putting it in acacia wood barrels. If you're looking for something different and tired of drinking gsm wines for several days, make sure you stop here.
The final dinner of the trip was at La Consecha. This is a Spanish influence eatery from the same people that own Il Cortile, which is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever eaten at. La Consecha also has one of the best cocktail programs in town. We sat outside in their parklet, had some cocktails and appetizers, and split a paella over a glass of wine. We've never had a bad meal in Paso, and La Consecha keeps that streak alive.
Some final thoughts on Paso:
1. The 2018 vintage was spectacular, and 2019 is supposed to be great as well. Time will tell on 2020 if smoke taint shows up. If it doesn't, that will make three straight years with some great wines.
2. It doesn't matter if your politics are left, right, or center: everyone in Paso Robles is ready to load Gavin Newsom onto a rocket and launch him into the sun. For some reason, Paso and San Luis Obispo County got lumped into Los Angeles, so they've had to abide by the same restrictions that are completely irrelevant to a town of 30,000 people. The fact that Newsom hosted a party in an enclosed space at his winery while every other winery had to stay closed did not sit well with a town whose economy is primarily based on wine and tourism. The town had enough and told the wineries and restaurants that they weren't going to enforce any of Newsom's policies, but that they couldn't stop the county or state from doing anything. Most of all the businesses found a way to stay open buy either serving food (if you're a bar) or building parklets in the street or parking lots to have outdoor dining. Walking around downtown Paso Robles, you'd have a hard time believing there's any kind of pandemic except for the masks. We didn't find a single restaurant that closed due to covid, but most everyone is hanging on by a thread right now with reduced staff and cutting costs where they can. The hope is that the city will allow the restaurants to keep the parklets for a while after they go to 100% occupancy so they can recoup some of their losses.
3. Very few wineries are doing any kind of elevated tastings or tours right now because of covid. If those experiences are important to you, you might want to wait a bit. But if you just want to go drink before it gets hot, go now. We never had more than three parties at any tasting except for Calcareous, which I really wouldn't recommend going to anyway. Flights to San Jose are super cheap right now, as are the rental cars. Do not flight into LA or Burbank, because you are required to quarantine. I don't know how or if that is being enforced, but San Jose does not have that restriction right now, and it's the same drive time to Paso from either airport. You can also fly into San Luis Obispo right now for a very reasonable price if you want to cut out two hours of driving.
Since this was our third trip hitting nearly 30 wineries, we probably won't go back for another two years unless someone else wants to go with us and we can take them to our favorites. If anyone wants to go soon, I can give you a list of places to go and places to eat.
