I was fortunate enough to meet Alex Villicana several years ago on one of my first visits to Paso Robles. What struck me then was that I thoroughly enjoyed every wine on his tasting list. I've returned several times and have loved every wine of his I've tasted.
This man exudes passion. He's "been around the world two or three times" first with the military and then on a culinary adventure. Military food was "horrendous", so he'd often go AWOL with his buddies for good food. He loved to cook pancakes and barbeque for the barracks.
Excited and proud Northeasterners came in droves to visit the beautiful château with its elegant tasting room and learn about how wine is made and produced on its guided tours. The rest is beautiful history - the warm, sunny days, cool evenings and low rainfall created ideal conditions to grow grapes in the Columbia River Valley with continual successful harvests.
The Palace Grill has been a downtown Santa Barbara fixture for more than 25 years, serving a wide array of food choices, but with a focus on Creole and Cajun. We started with a Cajun martini, marinated with jalapeño and served with cherry peppers in a Mason jar.
Jim and Judi called it "excellent! Tastes like the grape it's made from." Brian called it "smooth and dark like a sultry night that you want never to end."
For a small boutique winery, Beach House’s wine tasting list is impressively extensive with sixteen varietals of whites and reds available to taste and purchase. Kimberly explains that “we wanted people to come and enjoy themselves, so, we’ve created something for everyone’s tastes.”
“Desert rats”. The sand dunes 5 miles to the west of town offer months of fun for Quad riders, motorcyclists and dune buggy enthusiasts. For “River rats”, the Colorado River, 30 miles to the north offers a variety of water sports from waterskiing, inner tubing to sitting on a sand bar and watching the world go by.
The wine is primarily Nero D'Avola with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon blended in. It's a bold, old-world styled wine with earthy floral notes and the nose and red fruit on the palate.
He's working on an Angelica sherry which he let me taste and I'm excited to see it when it's released. His wines won 14 medals last year and have already received five more this year.
Because there are over 30 wines by the glass available on the menu, we were able to select a different glass of wine for each course. We sampled two whites, the Villa Tavernango Campo Blanco Pinot Grigio with its dry pear and citrus flavors and minerality, and the San Felice Tenuta Perolla Vermentino and Sauvignon blend with tastes of green apple and lime.
