California Trip

[Innkeeper]

Highlights and wines:

Feb 8: Arrived at San Ramon Marriott just before midnight. Each had a glass of '98 Colvito Collio Merlot from our wine tote before retiring.

Feb 9: Attended conference; finished bottle of Collio.

Feb 10: Finished conference Sunday evening; and drove down to Navy Inn in Monterey. Picked up a bottle of '97 Parisio Springs, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir enroute. It was on sale for $13, regularly $18. Drank it with an order of McDonald's Quarter Pounders!

Feb 11: Full day on the ground in Monterey area. The From Scratch Restaurant in the Barnyard in Carmel is a great place for breakfast before venturing out into the Carmel Valley. In the Valley we first stopped at the Talbott material outlet. I pickup up two beautiful ties for $20 each, and Bev got several bags of silk scraps for quilting. Then we went to the Talbott tasting room. They didn't let us taste the Cuvee Cynthia this time. Guess we were just lucky last time. We bought two bottles of the '98 Logan Pinot Noir which was ever better than the '97 we love so much. Then we stopped for the first time at Chateau Julien. We have always liked their first tier cab as an easy drinker. The pourer was an untrained airhead. We picked up one of the cabs and a gewurtz, along with a very nice pewter wine bottle coaster.

We had a nice visit to the Mission Carmel, and then changed for dinner at the Sardine Factory. They have a Monday night Italian special that runs through March 31. It costs $19.95 for a four course Italian meal. We started with an antepasto consisting of chopped roasted red pepper on bruchetta, a roll of Prosciutto, and a slab of Buffalo Mozzarella topped with tomato. Having a choice of starters, we both opted for the veal stuffed tortellini, in a truffle oil reduction. Our entree choice was Bifteca Milanese. The cut was what I call a Texas Sirloin. It's as if they cut a thick fillet off one side of the sirloin, and a similar cut from the "strip" side. They were three inches thick and four and half inches across. They were grilled perfectly and bathed with another reduction with artichoke hearts, tiny potatoes, and small onions (2 inches across) caramelized whole. For dessert there was homemade spumante with sliced almonds and Amaretto. They had no White Italian wine by the glass for an aperitif. So we had a nice Oregonian Pinot Gris. With the meal we had a '97 Stefeno Farina, Le Bocci (DOC), Chianti Classico, Riserva ($35). It was fantastic with both the tortellini and the steak. We had the same wine steward (John) that we had last time. A truly memorable evening.

Feb 12: Drove down to Paso Robles. Stopped at EOS and Eberle for tasting and tours, before checking into the Tobin James Guesthouse. The room was fantastic. All done in Adobe yellow Western/Spanish/Native American motif. Kingsize feather bed and hot tub were among the features. You have to belong to the James Gang to stay there, and the rooms (3) run $100 per night. However, you get $1 off for each $2 you spend on wine. We bought fourteen bottles that ran over $200 with membership discount, so our room was free! That night we ate a McFees in Templeton. We had fabulous racks of lamb, and washed it down with '99 Tobin James, Rock-n-Roll, Paso Robles, Syrah. Wonderful.

Feb 13: Drove down to LA. Checked in with Roberto in Santa Monica. Had a very nice chat with him, looking at the fabulous pictures of his recent trip to Rio. We purchased, with his expert assistance, a mixed case and one more for the road. We checked into the Sheraton Gateway hotel for a conference that would run through to noon on Sunday. That night we popped the bottle from WineExpo. It was the "98 Salvalai, Monile, Vino di Ripasso, Valpolicella. It was our very first Ripasso, and we loved it. They are a once fermented Valpolicella that go through a second fermentation on the pomace of an Amarone.

Feb 14: '00 Morgan, Monterey County, Cotes Du Crow's ($15). It is made from syrah (51%), grenache (46%), and petite sirah (3%). Very nice.

Feb 15: '98 Chateau Julien, Barrel Aged, Monterey County, Cabernet Sauvignon ($12). This is one of the best values in a ready to drink cab that we've had over the past couple of years.

Feb 16: '99 Eberle, Steinbeck Vineyard, Paso Robles, Syrah ($18). Very nice and more widely distributed that the Tobin James Rock-n-Roll at the same price. The TJ is better though.

Feb 17: Checked out of LA and drove down to Camp Pendelton and checked into the Ward Inn there. Were hungry when we got there, so we got a pizza from Dominos, and washed it down with '97 Arciero, Paso Roles, Nebbiolo ($10). Very nice. That night we went out to dinner with Lizardbrains and hubby (Elizabeth and Lt Jeff Sykes) to the Vera Cruz Fish House. Had a great meal. Bev had a Cajun catfish, and the rest of us had marinated shrimp and scallops on a skewer. Had a '00 Kenwood, Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc ($18) with the dinner. Matched very nicely with all the dishes. The minimal oak in the wine was handled by the strength of the food.

Feb 18: Picked up LB and headed for Temecula. Stopped at and toured the Mission San Luis Rey. We hit three wineries in Temecula. They were the Van Roekel Vineyards and Winery, the Maurice Car'rie Vineyard and Winery, and Mount Palomar Winery. All were very nice. Mt Palomar has gone through a total transformation since I was there last in '85. They are now a full fledged Rhone Ranger and also make high value Meritages as well. While there we picked up some wonderful cheese and crackers which we enjoyed with yet another bottle of TJ Rock-n-Roll back at the lodge that night.

Feb 19: Drove back up to LA and flew back to Manchester, NH and crashed with a daughter living there.

Feb 20: Got home.



[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 02-21-2002).]