The Adventures of Erwin and Michael: Part Three

One nice thing about vacation is that you get to sleep in. I think we woke up about 7 AM (my normal wakeup is 5:25 AM), cleaned up, and went to breakfast. Ah, but not the typical "continental" breakfast at the motel (where you have to guess it is on which continent you would actually EXPECT a breakfast like that). No indeed. As we were on vacation and looking for the exotic we headed to Solvang, "Sunny Field" in Danish. Solvang, land of windmills, "The Little Mermaid", and dozens of bakeries... but especially that fantastic institution, Paula's Pancake House where we both had the yummy, wafer thin Danish pancakes. After becoming fully loaded with sufficient carbs to absorb the coming wine we were off for more wine tasting. Of course the first decision is where to go:



We thought about going to Foxen, but just after starting we changed our mind and thought we should start at the beginning and hit Firestone. The first entrance to turn around brought the first fun surprise of the day. It was the driveway to Curtis Winery. Now I had never heard of them before and in the spirit of adventure Erwin suggested we stop and try them out. What a treasure! The lady who waited on use, Ellen, was a gem. Even Matt Kramer says they are someone to watch and if they get any better they may rival Brander in my opinion. They are producing some beautiful handcrafted Rhone-style wines. The tasting offered six wines, two of then 2004 Syrahs. The 2006 Viognier was nice, light hints of white peach with a slight mineral finish and the Syrah's did not disappoint. Then the wonderful Ellen went "off menu" and poured four more wines for us (between my "wine-savviness" and Erwin's cuteness we must have been a killer combination in wine country). Ellen provided us with tastes of a 2005 Roussanne (the only one I have found thus far), their 2004 Heritage Cuvee (which wound up coming home with me), their 2004 Mourvedre (nice, earthy taste), and their EXCELLENT 2004 Syrah Crossroads (which followed the Cuvee to my wine rack). So here we are with Ellen at Curtis:





After joining their wine club we then went to the sister winery, Firestone. Now to be honest, Firestone has never impressed me. Oh, their wine was OK, but never on my list of "gotta have" wines. I have to admit, I found something nice here to bring back with me. First, they do a nice, dry Gewurztraminer. When I say they were tasting the 2006 I said I just had to try it. With less than 1% residual sugar is was much more pleasing to my palate giving a clean finish. I had to admit I also liked their 2003 Vintage Reserve (which included Cab Franc and a Malbec in the mix) which had a nice little mint/licorice taste. And once again, Erwin smiles and the young lady behind the bar says that she has something special for us to try... their 2003 Cab Franc Reserve. Very round with some firm tannins left (it's 98% Cab Franc, 1% Merlot and 1% Cab Sauv). I think in the next year or at most two it will really peak into an outstanding wine.

OK, two wineries and about 20 tastes... the pancakes are beginning to become saturated but we do one more for the morning and go to Fess Parker. Like Firestone, I never expected much from ol' Fess, but having grown up watching Disney I still remember Fess Parker as Davy Crockett and in fact the logo is Davy's coonskin cap. Once again, I was glad we went because this was the only winery we hit that was tasting a Riesling. Their 2006 White Riesling was quite nice. Normally I don't care for the sweeter stuff but with a residual sugar of less than 2% it wasn't syrupy and the finish was pretty refreshing. My favorite though, and the one that followed me home, was their 2004 Syrah named "The Big Easy". Black cherry with notes of licorice and mint combined with a really nice finish made this a keeper.

For lunch we decided to give Fess a little more of our money and we had a very light lunch at Restaurant Marcella at the Fess Parker Inn in Los Olivos.



After a light lunch and rest we decided to give Fess just a little tiny bit more time and headed to Epiphany. Actually, we went there because we received a card for free tastings there when we hit Fess Parker earlier in the day. But it was nice and close, a short stagger across the street. Six tastings with their dry 2006 Grenache Rose begging to come home with me (it did) and their 2004 Grenache close on its heels. Then again, we went off menu. The pourer brought out some spicy dark chocolate and popped open their 2004 Petite Syrah. What a fantastic blending of flavors!

We decide to hit one more before going back to the hotel for a nap and decide to travel out to Foxen, only to discover that unlike the other tasting rooms that close at 5, these guys close at 4! Saddened, we took their advice and drove up to Kenneth Volk. Again, glad we did because Mr Volk is actually doing a Negrette! Wow! Six wines on the tasting including the Negrette (berry and black licorice) which jumped in the car with us. Their 2005 Pinot Blanc had wonderful hints of caramel and vanilla was a delight. I was also pleasantly surprised with their 2005 Chardonnay, Santa Maria Cuvee (very mellow and almost no alcohol in the taste).

We made our way back to the hotel and took a short nap, then cleaned up for the finishing touch to our "Sideways" trip... dinner at Los Olivos Cafe, where Miles and Jack dined with their dates. To complete the experience we both ordered from the "Sideways Menu" and ordered (in honor of Miles) the Pinot to accompany it. Oh, it was sooo good, but the dessert was just a little too much.

We made our way back to the motel and tucked ourselves in for a good rest. We'd need it, tomorrow was Hollywood!