Dream Vacation in Zin Country!

WOW! What a wonderful vacation we had in Paso Robles, CA last month. As members of the Tobin James "James Gang" wine club, we hiked out to Paso Robles for the Tobin James end of summer BBQ on September 12th. And, oh yeah, by the way, while we were there, we visited a few (ahem) other wineries and had a blast!

Thanks to traveling with our friends, Nancy and Michelle, the laughs started Thursday night when we arrived in LA and lasted 'til Sunday night when they left us in Pismo Beach as they returned home. The four of us made our mark on Paso Robles for sure!

Here's a few of the wineries we visited:
1. Laetitia: Nancy's favorite. This was our first stop on Friday as we headed north on 101. Good wine. Cool hats.
2. Calcareous: unbelieveable view from the top of the mountain! Thank goodness we went to this winery bright and early on Saturday morning. Friendly counter folks and delicious wine. There were even friendly dogs.
3. Robert Hall: impressive cellar with massive barrels! Good tasting room, very nice and friendly.
4. J. Lohr: probably the largest winery we visited. Lots of choices and really good whites.
5. Eos: All of us liked this winery if only for the port! Oh, and they gave us nice big glasses to take home with us. And we did.
6. Turley: Despite a rocky start in the tasting room, Chris Lasarte saved the day! She offered us a bottle of White Coat as we enjoyed lunch outside at a picnic table and it was amazing white wine!
7. Thacher: Amidst the blur of grapes, we visited Thacher. Can't remember much else.
8. Tobin James: of course! The BBQ was alot of fun and we clearly should have won the "traveled farthest" prize if they had given one out. Good food, lots and lots of wine. Who knew there were so many cowboys in central California!

Our lessons?
1. Have a good breakfast before you head out to wine tasting.
2. Drink water at each winery.
3. Make sure you eat lunch. Really.
4. Ask questions of the folks at the tasting counter---they love it!

This was a fabulous vacation thanks not only to our friends, but also because of the gorgeous weather, the fun people we met along the way, and the delicious wine we enjoyed. Stay tuned for more updates! And more vacations!!! On to France! On to Italy!

This Wine is a Doozy

Let me set the stage....this spring, Amy visited Chicago and really enjoyed a J. Dusi zinfandel at a wine bar. Like a good investigator, she went on-line and found Ms. Jonelle Dusi's winery in Paso Robles, CA. Turned out, Ms. Dusi had just started making her own wine even though for years prior, the grapes from her dad's vineyard were sold to create delicious zins. Wineries like Tobin James, Turley and Four Vines all have produced and marketed a Dusi Zin. And they were all yummy. Yes, we had all of them.

During our recent trip to Paso Robles, we were blessed by the wine gods to come upon two bottles of J.Dusi Zin at a lovely wine shop, 15 Degrees C Wine Shop and Bar in Templeton, CA. Tonight, we opened one of those bottles and it was a doozy!!!

Fruit forward, jammy, and smooth, this zin was delicious. Judging from the 3/4 bottle that the two of us sucked down with our lasagna and turkey meatloaf dinners, it was a winner.

With one more bottle to go, we will be reaching out to Jonelle Dusi and seeing how we can buy more of her new wines!