So we were driving down the 101 towards Los Angeles, and I noticed that it ran through Paso Robles.  I looked up from the phone I was using to plan our entire 7000 mile trip on the fly. “Why don’t we book an extra night at the Kampground there and check out the wineries?”  To say a plan was hatched is perhaps a bit ambitious.  The only things we knew about Paso Robles wines were that frequently the words “it’s a red from Paso Robles” were associated with good experiences and that Justin Winery was located there.  We looked up Justin on the GPS and headed there with a plan to wing it from there.  When we got there, what we found were not just excellent Justin wines, but warm and welcoming people who, when we asked them what else we should taste in the area, gave us some really excellent recommendations for wineries that we wouldn’t have heard of in Seattle.  And if you ever find yourself in Paso Robles, I solidly recommend the strategy of starting at Justin and working your way back in from there.  We were utterly charmed by the experience.  That was two years ago.

Last month required another trip to Los Angeles, this time for a memorial.  One of my cousins suggested that we make a trip of it by starting in Napa and going south from there.  She described her experience in Napa in the 70s, and it sounded like a lot of what we’d found charming about Paso Robles.  A plan was hatched, and we made our way to Napa.  Napa is perfect and beautiful in the same way Disneyland is.  The wineries are all textbook illustrations of beautiful wineries, and the vineyards roll right up to the roadways, providing a continuous display of beautiful scenery wherever you go.  Driving around is a feast for the eyes.  Thus charmed, we rolled up to our first winery, Stag’s Leap.  Oh the wines were incredible, and the tasting experience involved our personal wine educator plus a lovely view.  We asked where else we should taste, anticipating some hidden gems.  They came back with Caymus and Duckhorn.  Solid choices, but hardly a local find.  We made our own path, which led to Hall, which was a bit of a disappointment, and Cliff Lede, which had served its last tasting about 10 minutes before we got there (you’ll want to be there before 3:30, for what it’s worth).  The next morning, we decided to check out of our hotel early and head for Paso Robles.

I’ve since been told by a friend who went to Berkeley that if you want to have that casual Paso Robles sort of insider experience in that area, you really want to go to Sonoma.  We definitely want to go back to Napa, but we’ll have different expectations next time.  For one thing, we won’t have the kids with us.  For another, we won’t depend on the wineries there to tell us where we should go, we’ll have our own plan.  And that plan will probably be in the form of a day trip to Napa from Sonoma.