Perhaps a rhetorical question to you, but to me the answer is a resounding NO!
Please be warned, very little wine information follows (in italics below) so you may want to skip reading this, just as you might your neighbor’s slide show of their summer vacation in Iowa. Just peruse the tasting schedule on that page.
Seriously!
So off on a road trip I went, wondering why I had never done this in years past before I realized that this was the first time that I had a servant - I mean my sister - Elizabeth to cover for me for several days in a row - WooHoo!
Down to U.C. Riverside I drove with my son, if only to see if his sophomore year apartment looked any better than his freshman dorm room. Well, I would have to say that it was a slight improvement but his shared bedroom looks similar (those are two mattresses on the ground separated only by fairly hygenic trash which I threw away - undoubtedly only to return).
Thank goodness that the common living areas were better, even if the stove wasn’t, and none of it really matters as I had a wonderful time on the drive, talking with my son and then hanging out with him and his friends in Riverside for a couple of evenings.
In between I decided that I should see Palm Springs and, with nobody to say otherwise, pointed the car in that direction along Highway 60. On through the scenic, twisty “badlands” of the low lying mountains and out into the valley’s Wind Farms (think the Altamount Pass but more spectacular) and onto Palm Springs where I’ve never before been. Who knew that only an hour away from Riverside there was spectacular hiking on Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indian land (look up Indian Canyons) to go along with that iconic 1950’s downtown! OK, probably a few of you did and now so do I.
The next day after an early lunch with my other sister Sarah (unfortunately she’s not my servant either), who works for U.C.R., I headed off in the direction of Temecula.
For the last twenty years she has been telling me that the area has a nice little wine country and I was determined to see if it truly existed or if she was pulling my leg. Besides I figured, there must be a tax deduction in there somewhere! It turns out that wineries do in fact exist there. I had a nice time driving through many and stopping at a few including Mount Palomar Winery which has a gorgeous little hilltop location and
respectable wines to boot. Unfortunately almost none of the areas wines are distributed up here and we’ve only had one wine from the region in the shop. No matter, if you ever find yourself heading south on Highway 215 jump off and head east on Rancho California Road for a few miles and see what’s there. Its fun and different than Northern California and you can still make it to a nice beach in no time flat.
Speaking of which, after an evening and morning visit and hike with my father in law in Vista (a finer, more interesting or amusing man doesn’t exist - I mean that sincerely) I headed off to Encinitas Beach. Way back when this was the first Pacific Coast sand my family ever saw after moving to North San Diego County from Princeton N.J. when I was eleven. Despite all the intervening years and continued development of this stretch of coast down to Pacific Beach (my next stop) it is
lovely, fun and filled with far too many overly fit people. More importantly its home to my best friend and his family whom I barged in on for an evening of pizza, talk and, unfortunately, bad wine before leaving them to their humdrum, non road-trip filled lives.
Back to my father in law’s house for the night and then on north early the next morning for the trip home. This was also very enjoyable with a side trip to Ojai and Ojai Winery Tasting Room (more places I had never visited) topped off with a road trip necessity - a detour! My foray to Ojai put me back on Highway 101 just in time to find it completely closed in both directions due to an accident which necessitated some wandering along Highway 1 and other roads in order to continue north. This seemed entirely acceptable to solitary ol’ me even if it added two hours to the trip to San Luis Obispo and meant that I couldn’t stop at more wineries along the way.
In fact it also gave me the excuse for yet another road trip must - a stay in a flea bag motel!
In my mind the trip couldn’t have gotten any better especially when I saw how vibrant San Luis Obispo is on a Thursday night. That’s due to their downtown Farmer’s Market which shuts down the city’s main street and turns the area into one big party enjoyed by students, children, merchants, tourists and road trippers alike. All in all a fitting launch to the next morning’s final 3.5 hour leg home in time for a quick workout before picking up my daughter at school and a nice glass of wine at home while I pondered my delaminating back door.
The next day it was back to work for a fun Saturday and Sunday at The Wine Mine with many of you. The glow of my journey lasted well into this week with little diminishment but couldn’t completely survive all the house projects that filled up my time yesterday - although that door certainly looks better now.
And thus ends the tale. Whew - you, and I, made it to the end. Take care and visit us soon even if your road is a bit shorter.
Wine Art
Many wine geeks consider making wine a form or Art - ahh the brilliant purple robe, heady aromatics, tightly structured palate, the underlying hints of minerality and floral overtones … etc, etc.
Well, down in our cave we consider it a fine and interesting craft from which we benefit immensely but Art? Hmm, we’ll have to think about that.
We do, however, know that that we consider the following creation a fun piece of wine art (notice the lower case “a” as further honing of the medium may be required before using the upper case). Obviously the artist, Jackson, has carefully considered his subject and interspersed taut lines with rounded forms to successfully portray the underlying tension and dyanmic interplay of fruit and soil to achieve … Mohawk Dude.
One would think that the advanced construction techniques used signify a highly practiced artist but, given that Jackson is in 6th grade, I think this piece exhibits nothing but pure talent. Perhaps a bit of boredom also came into play as he and his sister, Mattea, were busy producing pieces during our recent Cabernet Tasting while their mom sampled California’s finest. Evidently Jackson enjoyed the Ghost Block best as did many others in that tasting - actually strike that, the ABC would not approve. All in all I have to say that the entire family seemed to be entertaining themselves quite nicely which was great to see.
I can’t say that every tasting produces wine art but perhaps you can create some of your own on the next trip here or at home. Enjoy a bottle and see where inspiration takes you!
By the way, we would put Mohawk Dude up for sale but unfortunately he met an untimely end after gracing our cash register for many fulfilling days. However, we would be happy to provide you with Jackson’s contact information if you would like to commission him for another piece of art.