"On the Road" Went On the Road!

By now, you all know my intense love for Herman Story Wines. I'm mean, truly. I'm in awe - and deeply in love.

People call me a "Picky, picky palate." And yes, I suppose that's true. But you know, I simply don't like drinking mediocre wine. For example, the other day, when we were tasting a French wine that had brett, I simply said, "I'm sorry. Call me picky, but I just don't like "poo" in my wine." Isn't that fair? I mean really, who likes poo in their wine? I don't.

So folks that I work with always say, "Well, Sarah, what do you like?" And I now answer:

HERMAN STORY.

So the other day, I brought in Herman Story's "On the Road" Grenache for an after work tasting so that they can finally get an idea of what type of wine I love. After just pouring the wine out of the bottle to start the breathing process, my buddy Seth grabbed the glass from me, smelled the bouquet and said, "OMG! This is exactly what I would expect a perfect Grenache wine to smell like." There were so many layers of complexity: beautiful cherry/raspberry fruit, spice - I even picked up a soft baby powder. Now Jennifer Hoage has said about one of her wines, that you could smell baby power in the bouquet. I had thought, "Why would you want to smell baby powder?" But you do. It's in the Herman Story Grenache and it is FABULOUS. (Please imagine in your head that I said FABULOUS in the high-pitched singsong voice.)

I proceeded to tell him that when I drank this wine as well as the Herman Story "Nuts & Bolts" wine, I started to tear up. He said, "Never, ever admit that you cried over a wine. That is just pathetic. If you do, keep it to yourself!" Well, he had a few sips, even though the wine hadn't fully breathed, and was totally in love. He left the room, and then came back crying like a baby - "This wine is amazing! It makes my dreams come true! I never realized a wine could be like this! How can I get more?" (Ok I realize I'm paraphrasing here, but he really was sobbing like a baby - hee hee!! )

Eventually, after the wine had opened up (Russell recommends that the wine decants for about an hour) everyone got to try the vino. Everyone was in love it with! Everyone, except the pickier, pickier Lindsay, that I work with. He's even pickier than me. "Yes, it's good" he said. "In fact, it's as good as any $75 bottle of wine I've tried (keep in mind the "On the Road Grenache is $42.) but I would prefer to taste the wine in about 5 years." Well, sure - I'd agree with you on that. This wine will become better and better with age. But to answer him, Seth and I said - "Good. You bottle age your wine, while we'll enjoy it and drink it all up right now!" In our minds, it's perfect and ready to go.

To mention, the other day I was lucky enough to taste the 2008 Bone Rock Saxum, 2008 L'Aventure Cote a Cote, a 2008 Booker Syrah & a 2008 Justin Focus. All were good (with the Saxum being my favorite) but the Herman Story 2009 On the Road Grenache blew them ALL away. Yeah, it's that good, in my not so humble opinion...........

Sadly, I had to save enough for Boyfriend as this bottle was our bottle to share. But I do have to admit, I saved only about 20% of the bottle as we were all fighting to get as much of this wine as we could. Poor Boyfriend.

I met Boyfriend at my local favorite wine bar for bubbles, and we hung out with our best buddies for a while. I had the Herman Story Grenache in my bag and kept telling folks about how amazing it was.

Now Mr. Robbie from behind the bar and I were talking about the Villa Creek Grenache and since 15C had it on their menu, I had to have a taste of it. Now it is quite good, but I told Robbie it wasn't quite as good as the Herman Story Grenache. "And by the way, I have it right here. Do you want to try it?" Robbie said - "Hell yes!" and pulled out as glass immediately.

Robbie took a drink, closed his eyes and took it all in. "OMG - this is AMAZING." He also said this wine would be even better in a few years, but totally loved it now. My other dear friends, Stew & Michelle, tried it and were in awe. Stew kept thanking me for bringing the wine in and letting them try it.

Boyfriend got a few sips, but that was it. I have a feeling we'll have to get back to Herman Story to get another bottle for just the two of us. Vailia said that only have one pallet left of the "On the Road" Grenache & the "Nuts & Bolts" Syrah so if you want to try them, get over there asap!

So yes, I took the "On the Road" Grenache One the Road yesterday so that many folks could try this amazing wine. I'm thinking to do a mini-movie on it all - Sarah taking the "On the Road' Grenache all over the country to show people what good wine tastes like. I could maybe make a short documentary about it and submit it to Sundance. Are you all on board? Funding, anyone?

In the meantime, you'll probably find me on the side of the road, drinking my "On the Road" Grenache, mumbling about how fabulous Herman Story Wines are......

Yeah, not many wineries get a second blog post right after one another. You really, truly may want to check out Herman Story Wines.

Love to Russell & Vailia!

(Wish I had more photos but it was a spontaneous day of friends, love and sharing fabulous wine with those you respect. And now, hopefully they respect me a bit more because of my fabulous taste with Herman Story wines - tee hee!!)

Lemoncello in the Morning!

Last night while we were having bubbles @ 15C, Marty promised to bring me a jug of the lemoncello that he and his wife Vicki made. Now keep in mind, when we're drinking, we all know that we all make many promises of what we want to do, but the next morning those promises fade away in a foggy haze....So when Marty promised, Boyfriend & I started placing bets on if he would show up or not. When we got home, I figured it was just a 10% chance that he'd show up.

Oh ye of little faith.

This morning while we were getting ready to open the tasting room, a car showed up, and a man started walking down the pathway with a cooler in his hand. Could it be? Was it truly him? Yes! It was Mr. Marty! He didn't forget me & followed through with the lemoncello. In fact, he gave me a whole jug of it! I couldn't believe it. Now just a little of this can put someone totally under the table - so the jug he gave me should last me a long, long time...well, it should, but you guys know me. Hopefuly it will last till the end of the week - hee hee!

Here's a photo of me with the fabulous Mr. Marty, drinking lemoncello at about 10:30 am. Hilarious :)

Long live lemoncello!!!

Bubbles @ 15C!

Monday night @ 15C is Industry night - woo hoo! Us industry folks get an extra discount for putting up with all that we have to in this crazy wine industry :)

Boyfriend and I had set up to meet Lindsay Boy, my co-worker from the winery I work at, just to hang out. We got there before him and ordered our typical bubbles. Before we even sat down, Michelle had champagne flutes out on the table, ready to go for us. Does anyone think we're in a rut?

While we were sipping bubbles, I noticed Michelle unpacking the Torre Oria Cava from Spain that we always order. I ran to her saying, "This is like Christmas Day for me! Can I take them all?" Here I am in my jubilant state:

Here's a close up of the bottle - Torre Oria from 15C - only $10! I love it as it is just an easy bottle of clean, crisp bubbles. I could drink this all day long. Seriously. No really, I'm not kidding.

So Linday + Sarah + Sarah's friend Lydie show up to hang out for the night. We're catching up, having a good time when suddenly my buddy Marty from 15C sits down to the left of me. "I'm bored!" he says. "You guys are having a good time, I wanna crash your party." I say, "Marty, you're drinking bubbles?" He said, "Yeah - I saw that you guys were having so much fun, I told the ladies - I want what Sarah's having!" Apparently my obsession with bubbles is spreading amongst the crowd. Here's a photo of Marty & I doing cheers to our love for Torre Oria:

So we all ordered a cheese plate to share - really people? Do you really think my waistline can take that? But I have to admit, it was quite good.

We then all decided to share a bottle of something or another. After much deliberation, we decided to get a bottle of bubbles. Oh dear, what bottle? So Sarah and I ran over to the refrigerator to contemplate our choices. After much deliberation (as well as heckles from the crowd as glasses were empty) we chose the Graham Beck 2008 Brut Rose. A great price @ $22. The consensus was that we all loved it! 80% Pinot (but without much earthiness) and 20% chardonnay. Here's a photo of us celebrating:

Not sure you can see the gorgeous color of the bubbles but it was a sublime salmon color. I have to admit, I was in love with it before I even tasted it! Here's a photo of the label:

Now I have to give major props out to Adrienne (left) & Michelle for putting up with us tonight - as well as making us a fabulous cheese plate & a phenomenal La Espana sandwich (jamon & manchego) for Boyfriend & I (as Michelle says, we are the worst vegetarians ever....) You ladies rock!

Another night @ 15C for the record books! Well, sure...I know I may be there again tomorrow.... tee hee!

On another note: fabulous news! I'll be going to the Taste of SLO Event this Wed. as "Media Celebrity" to blog about it all. This year's event this is "Cirque du SLO Leil." Can you imagine? It is going to be absolutely fabulous. I highly recommend for you to go if you can. You can find out info about it HERE.

Cheers to everyone! - & long live bubbles!! :)

I HEART Herman Story!

Ok all - I apologize that I haven't posted in a while. There has been so much going on! It's so funny - I'm pretty "back-blogged" - but I promise to get back on track asap :)

So though I'm pretty busy, I finally insisted that I had to stop my life, and go wine tasting at Herman Story this last Thursday. Now I had been told about Herman Story by an extremely knowledgeable wine taster that I had helped at Cypher Winery. He dubbed Russell P. From (the winemaker of Herman Story) as the next Justin Smith (you probably know that Justin Smith is the winemaker fro Saxum Wines. If you don't know that, what rock have you been under????) After tasting Russell's wines, I have to agree. Now I admit, I haven't had any of Justin's wines, but.....I do know that Russell's wines are the best I have ever tasted so I have a feeling that "the nest Justin Smith" title fits!

Russell named his winery after his Grandfather. I think it's so great - on the back of every bottle, Russell says this: "Herman Story was a rancher, logger, swapper, banker, philanthropist, a teller of tales, and my Grandfather." I love it.

So Boyfriend and I showed up at the new Herman Story tasting room which is located downtown Paso Robles. It is off the beaten track though - in more of the industrial area on Paso Robles street off of 13th. Luckily it is near Farm Supply so I can get feed for my chickens and then go wine tasting afterward  - ahh, the joys of living in Paso :)

The industrial feel of the area is perfect for their tasting room. The tasting room is a perfect blend of feeling modern yet old, with rustic metal lining the front of the bar.

We walked in to meet Vailia, Russell's girlfriend. She was pouring for us for the day - and I have to say, she was absolutely fabulous! So much fun & extremely knowledgable about wine & other wineries in the area.

Vailia started us out with the "Tomboy" wine. Now this wine had caught my eye @ 15C because of the amazing label. The label shows the back pocket of faded blue jeans - it just works. Why do I feel I just entered the coolest place in the county?

Vailia talked about how they had an amazing marking team from San Luis that helped design all of the labels and yes, that team did an amazing job.

The Tomboy wine is 83% Viognier & 17% Roussanne. To be honest, they are just not my favorite grapes. That said, this wine was probably the best Rhone Wine I've ever had. It had an AMAZING mouthfeel - so rich, buttery & smooth with toasted notes - I could tell it was a an amazingly beautiful wine, even though it wouldn't be my personal first choice.

Then Vailia poured us "On the Road" - 100% Grenache. Grenache is my favorite varietal - and I'm in the process of compiling a blog comparing local grenaches. This one will definitely top that list. I immediately told Vailia, "This is the best Grenache I've ever had!" I can't even begin to describe the velvety mouthfeel and gorgeous fruit. I think Russell sums up the description best from the notes off of his website:

"Driving up and down the Central Coast throughout harvest has it’s perks, sure I now know more places to find legit burritos than I ever thought possible, but aside from that I get to spend countless hours mulling over the best way to blend my Grenache lots. The 2009 On the Road may be the best Grenache party I’ve ever curated. The wine smells a like a sensuous, low-lit evening: chocolate creme pie, spiced raspberry compote, cinnamon stick, leather and velour pillows. The palate carries the evening into the night and the next morning with dark coffee covered cherries, sweet tobacco, strawberry rhubarb waffles, blueberries and crisp bacon." Oh yeah, baby.....

Vailia then gave us the tour of the facility. It's pretty neat - this harvest, Russell will do the full harvest at this new location in downtown Paso. Vailia said they are the only folks that are doing the full crush & fermentation downtown - cool, huh? They even gained access to a second space out back where they're putting in a tiny sleeping area and shower. Vailia & Russell live in San Luis & during harvest it will be too exhausting to be driving back & forth - so they'll park it in Paso in a garage. They call it the crash pad :)

To mention, Russell doesn't have any of his own vineyards, but rather sources grapes from different vineyards in the area. He has a cool map on the back of the tasting sheet that shows the locations of the vineyards - a couple highlights are the Denner & James Berry Vineyards.

Here's a photo of their barrels, all in cold storage, of course:

And here's a photo of Cameron waxing the new GSM bottles for wine club.

The label was so cool - a huge flower with a hummingbird on it - I wanted the bottle just for the label! I asked Vailia about it, but she said that wine was only for wine club, and that they cannot accept anymore wine club members at this point as they need to make sure that they have enough wine - arrrgh! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can in some way, shape or form, get my hands on that GSM. "Will work harvest for wine" may somehow apply here.

So as we returned to the tasting room, Hank, Russell's dog HAD to join us! He thinks the tasting room bar is his domain :)

Back to the vino. Next up on the list was a Cote Rotie style Syrah, "White Hawk Vineyards Syrah" where they co-ferment Viognier with the Syrah to make a "bigger" Syrah. Really nice wine. Technically, the wine is sold out but they found a few bottles - so it was our lucky day! I really liked this wine.

But...here it is...Ta dah! The best wine of the day for me was the "Nuts & Bolts." It is 100% Syrah. And I am so embarrassed, but it is true: I teared up when I tasted this wine. It is absolutely amazing and probably the best wine that I have ever had. Literally. Truly. Mr. Russell From - I am your new #1 fan. Here's a photo of me in my newfound happiness in finding this wine:

This is what Russell says about this wine:

"Single vineyard wines are sort of like kids on the Ivy League track; you just have to make sure that you don’t do anything that throws them off and you’ll see them succeed. Blends like Nuts & Bolts are a bit more like me, it takes some well timed advice, a bit of hand wringing and a lot of love to see them come into their own; but when they do they always take the limelight. The 2009 Nuts & Bolts is the best testament to my parenting skills that I can imagine (ladies please don’t get any ideas.) A nose rich with red currant preserves, kirsch, nutmeg and a hint of coriander opens into a palate bursting with ripe plum, open pit bar-b-que and persistent, dusty tannins."

Now on the tasting notes, Russell says, "Questions, critiques, accolades & drunk dials can be directed to winemaker & proprietor Russell P. From."  OK Russell - be on notice: when I drink my gorgeous "On the Road" Grenache or the fabulous "Nuts & Bolts" Syrah, expect a drunk dialing call from me with me in tears, saying how much I love your wines. I have a feeling this happens regularly & you're probably already expecting my call :)

I HEART Herman Story! And highly recommend that you check them out asap. Herman Story will definitely be added to my list of "What's Hot in Paso." Great job, Russell!

That's my Herman Story & I'm sticking to it!

Herman Story
1227 Paso Robles St
Paso Robles, CA
805.237.2400
http://hermanstorywines.com/

2,500 Page View Celebration - Not So Much...

Well, we went to 15C to break open a bottle Anselmann and there was something just not right with the bottle. It wasn't corked, but everyone agreed that it wasn't right. So... Miss Stephanie (from the fabulous Broadside, Giornatta & Il Campo Labels) suggested we try Adami Prosecco as it was so crisp, tangy & tart. We did and were very happy with our celebration bubbles. Here's Boyfriend with our dear Stephanie:

Here's a close-up on the Prosecco:

And here's me, celebrating this small accomplishment - woo hoo!

And lucky me, my buddy, Lindsay who is now the fabulous Tasting Room Manager for Thatcher Vineyards showed up with her beau, Nick and we all celebrated with bubbles! Bubbles are kinda our thing....

But embarrassingly I tipped over a glass which broke, and as we were cleaning it up, Boyfriend also tipped over his glass and broke it s well! Oy vey! Time to go home, apparently! Not sure what happened, but it was one for the record books :)

Through it all, we still celebrated 2,500 page views! Thanks to all of you who looked at this little blog! We'll celebrate again at 5,000 page views - woo hoo!

L'Aventure Rose

I work at a winery that lets folks who sell wine for them stay on the property as a "thank you." Hence, here comes Chuck & Jenny to stay for the weekend - Chuck works for Titan Distributors down in Southern California & he sells tons of wine.

So today, Chuck was headed down to L'Aventure to do some wine tasting as he sells the L'Aventure vino. I mentioned - "Hey, please check out the GSM rose as I haven't had it yet." Chuck countered, "I have had it as I sell it and it is FABULOUS. I'll bring you back a bottle." What?

Sure enough, Chuck comes back and delivers a bottle of the L'Aventure Cote A Cote GSM Rose into my hands - what a guy! I was thrilled as Boyfriend and I have been wanting to get over to L'Aventure to try it but haven't had the chance.

But alas...poor Boyfriend didn't get a chance to try it as we all killed it in the tasting room before I made it home - woo hoo! :) OMG - this rose was amazing. It's Mourvedre based GSM rose that is still light on the palate and doesn't have the earthy, heavy, barnyard quality that so many Mourvedre based roses have. I'd go on about all the details except for the fact that Boyfriend & I are planning to hit L'Aventure on Monday to try all of their wine & I will blog about it, + I'm about to post my blog on roses and this wine will surely be featured.

In the meantime, Here's a photo of the generous Mr. Chuck with his gorgeous wife, Jenny:

Notice my new haircut & color? Isn't it fabulous? That should be a blog post all on it's own - but let's just say that Danica @ Bluebird Salon in SLO rocks!

Back to the vino - here's the bottle of the Cote A Cote Rose:

I simply adore L'Aventure wines. I ponder, why can't all wines be this good? As I've said on this blog before, "Damn you, Stephan! You have ruined my palate! I now judge all wines by your marker." Soooo looking forward to Monday & catching up with the folks @ L'Aventure.

In the meantime, Au Revoir! & a BIG thanks to Chuck & Jenny for the rose :)

Tasting Room Celebrity Owling!

Today Lindsay's (aka Tasting Room Celebrity's) sunglasses fell on the pavement and the lenses fell out. I immediately realized that this was the perfect opportunity for an Owling photo op. But alas, Lindsay was a wimp and didn't fully go for it - this was the best I could do to make her look like an owl:

Now for those of you who do not know what owling is: where on earth have you been? I mean, my goodness, owling is the most important thing happening out there in the world today!

Here's the history: first there was planking. People laid down in random places looking like a plank, photo was taken, it was put on the web and went viral. But alas, now planking is passe as it was replaced by leisure diving (my personal favorite.) People do fully staged scenes diving into pools but looking as natural as possible - it's hilarious. Leisure diving even has it's own formal website: leisuredive.com. Please check it out for a good laugh.

But now, now there is owling. Wikipedia says, "Owling is the practice of crouching "like an owl" in unusual places." Here's an article about it with photos: DailyMail

I'm sure you can understand my distress when I asked Lindsay to owl and all she did was fluff her wings. Oy vey!

But my favorite owler of all is my dear rescued rooster, Mr. Rooster (clever name, eh?) Here's a photo of the master himself:

Lindsay - you've been outdone by a rooster! Shame on you..... tee hee :)

And woo hoo! We're getting close to 2,500 page views! Boyfriend & I are planning to break open a bottle of Anselmann Sparkling German Riesling on Monday night @ 15C to celebrate! Help us get to the 2,500 mark to make our celebration honest :)