california, here we come {again}: paso robles wine country & the pch
after a relaxing night, we got up fairly early. if there’s one thing we learned from northern california wine country, it’s that the tastings start early. like 10am early. we packed up & hit the road, winding through the countryside until we hit justin winery. the wineries are pretty spread out in this area, but [...]
california, here we come {again}: paso robles
oh hi. remember the time we went to mexico & california & i totally forgot to finish recapping the trip? here’s the rest… from montrose, we drove about three & a half hours north on the 101, through santa barbara & the wine country from sideways, up to paso robles. somewhere among the winding road [...]
california, here we come {again}: LA
after parting ways with our friends outside of lucha libre, tom & i set off a little ways north to spend the night in escondido. i was a little nervous about the place we had booked…a two star rating, $55 a night, the word “motel” in the name, but it was the #1 rated hotel in [...]
california, here we come {again}: san diego
so, the one advantage to traveling really freaking early in the morning, is that a little after 10:00am, we had landed in san diego. by 11:30am, we had our luggage, rental car & were well on our way to ballast point brewery. the first people in the small tasting room, we set ourselves up with [...]
wine wednesday: chappellet
{2006 napa valley petite sirah} “bold, ripe, rich and fleshy. seductive in its own way, showing tiers of wild berry and blackberry, with hints of vanilla and baking spice. packs in a wallop of fruit, yet it’s remarkably elegant and polished.” -chappellet tasting notes basically it’s a fabulous wine, as is anything made by phillip [...]
wine wednesday: plumpjack
i know we mentioned it already in a honeymoon post, but this chardonnay deserves it’s place on wine wednesday.{plumpjack 2007 reserve chardonnay} fermented & aged in stainless steel tanks, as opposed to oak barrels, this is pure, unadulterated chardonnay with crisp fruit aromas leading way to striking acidity. we picked it up at the winery [...]
when foodies honeymoon: day five
in an attempt to make up for the mediocre dinner the night before, we packed up & headed for the bouchon bakery before we left napa. {gourmet bird, pumpkin cupcakes & spider shortbread, bouchon bag} we should have just gone to the bakery in the first place. the cupcakes were adorable, the cookies looked fantastic, [...]
when foodies honeymoon: day four
well, we woke up extremely well rested, after having accidentally slept for 15 or so hours. & we were off for an early lunch at mustard’s grill, a little place that looks so unassuming from the road. we drove past it several times & may not have stopped, if not for a recommendation from a [...]
when foodies honeymoon: day three, part two
so after our fabulous lunch at bottega, it was off for a marathon of afternoon tastings. life is hard. first up: plumpjack.{plumpjack, plumpjack 2007 reserve chardonnay} lovely wines from both plumpjack and cade wineries. & apparently an influx of nc people had come through their doors on that very same day. hmm. we picked up [...]
