Day 4 - Monday, August 3rd Paso Robles

Paso Robles was a real treat. In hind sight, we actually wished we were staying her an extra day. There are hundreds of wineries and tasting room everywhere here. And everything appears to be much less expensive. I know. I know. Wait till we get to Napa and Sonoma. Our first stop was Castoro Cellars. Their specialty is Zinfandels and we tried 4 of them here. The wow factor came when we tried the Zinfandel Port. He asked us to take a sip, then eat a rich dark chocolate truffle and then take another sip of the Port. It was amazing. We bought a bottle. We tried several Zinfandel ports later in the day but adding the chocolate made all the difference. We also purchased a bottle of their Zinfusion, which had a lot of fruit with a smooth, velvety finish.
Next on to Peachy Canyon Winery who was also known for Zinfandels. Unfortunately their 6 Zinfandels didn't compare to Castoro Cellars, so we moved on. Next was Red Soles Winery. This is a small boutique winery, but I have to say this is the first winery where we actually like EVERYTHING we tried. It was hard to pick just one. We settled for a blend "Kick Off" which was a 40% Zin, 40% Sirah, and 20% Cab blend. Of course, they don't distribute anywhere and only sell out of their tasting room. So it will be difficult to purchase wines from here again.
Next we went to Four Vines. We had had an amazing "Biker" Zinfandel, while staying at the Ballard Inn on Friday night. We were disappointed to hear they had sold out of the "Biker". I've sent an email to find out if we can get "Biker" at home.
Next was Turley which was quite hard to find thanks to the Nuvi steering us wrong again. Turley had 4 Zinfandels to choose from and each one was better than the previous one and better than everything we had had all day. We settled on their "Dusi Vineyard" Zinfandel which is the BEST Zinfandel either of us has ever tasted. We'll need to find out if they distribute in the Cincinnati are or not.
By this point we were still looking for a great place for a picnic. Several wineries recommended Calcareous Winery for the great views, which was on the same road as our B&B. So we did a taste and were able to each get a glass of their Meritage and ate our picnic lunch while enjoying the terrific views.
Last night we ate at Artisan and had a wonderful meal: crab cakes followed by Veal with an asparagus risotto for me, Meatball and gnocci followed by a Hanger steak, trumpet mushrooms and a crock filled with scalloped potatoes for Travis. Paired with dinner we decided on a Chandon Blanc de Noir bubbly. Sparkling wine is not just for New Year's and we are celebrating.