Summer usually begins with Memorial Day Weekend, and this year was no different. Orange County "opened back up" just in time for the first official long weekend of the summer. Though of course, by this time, it had felt like we had all been experiencing the longest staycation weekend of all time!
Quick Stop in Morro Bay
Birthday month offered us the opportunity to go to one of our favorite places: Paso Robles Wine Country. It was Father's Day Weekend and it was delightful to have visited our winemaker friends at a time that was special yet not crowded at all. The road up to the Central Coast was bare, so much so that we made it to Los Olivos in just two and a half hours - a whole hour ahead of our usual schedule. That allowed us to take our time - stopping in Morro Bay just after 10 am for an early helping of delicious and creamy clam chowder from Giovanni's Fish Market. By the way, GFM has an online shop and will ship your seafood.
Dilecta - Still Waters - Alta Colina Conversations
It was cloudy down the grade in SLO County but warm and sunny by the time we arrived on Vineyard Drive in Paso Robles. Our first stop and appointment was with Orion at Dilecta. This will always be a special property because it will always bring back memories of a week-long stay there, back when it was Paolilo, and as we were preparing for our move to SLO County. Orion has done a tremendous job with the renovations of the tasting room, which was open, clean and safe. We opted to sit outside because it was a beautiful day, and it gave him a chance to share his stories while looking towards Vineyard Drive. Watch his The Wine Down Wednesday interview on our Instagram TV, above and learn more about him at www.dilectawines.com.
Day One was capped with a visit with Kiamie Wine Cellars, one of our favorites, and a casual dinner in downtown Templeton.
On Day 2 and after our usual exploration of the Templeton Farmers' Market, we made our way to our first appointment of the day at Still Waters Vineyards on the east side of Templeton. At first this appointment felt too structured (Pepper & Bogey could not run freely as they used to) and unusual for former locals like us but by the end of our time there, it actually felt good to have slowed down, taken our time and know that our next appointment gave us enough time to linger. And linger we did. We interviewed Paul, the proprietor and winemaker, for The Wine Down Wednesday. It was a lovely and natural conversation which he allowed us to record for our InstagramTV. Watch out time together below.
Our final stop of our first day was at Alta Colina, and we enjoyed a leisurely visit with Bob and Lynn, the wonderful owners. It just so happens that they were set to celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary the following day. We recalled the special sparkling wine Bob made for Lynn for their Golden Anniversary the year before. We talked about wine, Paso Robles, history and Bob's interesting and hysterical yet accurate list of global crises. While we didn't have formal interview per se, you can eavesdrop on a short excerpt of our two-hour long visit with two of our favorite people in Paso Robles Wine Country, see below.
On the way back to Orange County the next day, we stopped in Los Olivos, about an hour or so south of Paso Robles, as we always do. We spent time at Liquid Farm, which makes unique white wines. The Wine Down Wednesday interviewed winemaker and founder, Jeff Nelson. Watch his interview on our Instagram TV and learn how he started his business while working in the world of champagne.
Follow us on Instagram and on TikTok under TheWineDownWednesday and PepperBogey. See you again soon for more Hot Summer 2020 stories!