Wine Space Review of Four Vines by Ron Anderson

Here's what Ron has to say about his 4 Vines tasting... (www.thewinespace.com)

4 Vines Tasting Room and Winery Visit…….Winery #6 Paso Robles


This was our final stop on our Paso Robles wine region trip that led us to none other than 4 Vines Winery right on Highway 46 in Templeton, Ca. We had experienced high end, family run, and commercial style wineries, so the laid back sort of cool atmosphere was a fun way to conclude our tasting tour…..

When we entered the parking area at 4 vines we noticed an adjacent vegetable garden in raised boxes. Apparently 4 vines will have a farmers market with organic produce grown on the site, in the near future………....Great idea!

When we entered the tasting room, we realized everything was under construction….Our loss, but a “curious” gain to those who are fortunate to visit once it’s completed. We could tell by the atmosphere, the classic rock playing in the background and the fun and wild names on the wines, that this tasting room was full of life! We were greeted by one of the tasting room staff members. Conversation was lively, fun and our pourer was pleasant, informative and began explaining the wines. With wine names like “Naked” Chardonnay, “Maverick” Zinfandel, “Sophisticate“, “Biker“, “Dusi“, “One tree hill block“, “Killer Canyon“, “Peasant GSM“, “Anarchy“, “Heretic“, “Loco“, And “Monarchy…….we knew we were in for a interesting time. Actually we know this winery will be a lot of fun when the construction is done, and a must stop at location to experience when driving through, while in or around Paso Robles wine region.

http://www.fourvines.com/

We were asked what glasses we would like to sample the wines from. They had a collection of wild named glasses to sample wine. These glasses match a lot of the wild names of all the wines,. Somehow KD was convinced by the staff that the Zinbitch glass was going home with her (That took some convincing). Ron picked Heretic and away our tasting began! We sampled Maverick, Sophisticate, One tree hill block, Killer Canyon, Anarchy and Heretic……and by the time we got to Heretic wine our palates were completely gone!!!!!

As our minds were somewhat clouded from the previous testing’s at the various winieries, (even though we did not “Drink” everything we were poured) we needed something bold that would stand out and give our systems a jolt. 4 Vines wines did just that. Their bold reds and their naked chardonnay were just what the crazy ass doctor had ordered! Our palates however were going into overtime and we quickly realized we needed to come back when we could start here first!

As a side note: We did feel like Right Said Fred was serving our wine “Sing with me” (I’m to sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my wine, to sexy oh yea!) all in a days good fun and a great way to have a unique wine experience thrown into your day of tasting. Then again maybe it was the wine talking……..

The only thing missing was a monkey on a grinder wearing a Harley jacket drinking a bottle of ANARCHY singing AC/ DC‘s Black in Black!!!!!!!!!!

The bottles that made it home with us from 4 Vines Winery were……….

4 Vines The Heretic Petite Sirah ‘07 Cost approx. $40.00

4 Vines Sophisticate Zinfandel ‘07 Cost approx. $25.00

4 Vines Syrah ‘07 Cost approx. $40.00

4 Vines Anarchy Rhone Blend ‘07 approx. $40.00



We will describe the wines wine more in depth as we pair them with an entrée in the future.

We rate the Wine (Good)

We rated our experience………… (Great)

Here are our Ratings: / Pass / Fair / Ok / Good / Great / Fantastic

Disclaimer: Just because we like or dislike a wine or winery does not mean that you will have the same experience. Of course it’s always worth a try………tell us what you think………..in other words post a comment!!

Aloha,

RON & KD


Four Vines Winery - Paso Robles, California
Source: www.fourvines.com

Wine Tasting Dinner & an Order

I attended a wine tasting last night at a local resturant. The owners are good friends. The back room was packed with xenophiles & foodies eagerly awaiting the tasty treats.

*Blogger's note: Alas, I didn't have the foresight to bring a notepad with me. I wrote my notes on the order form. Since I ordered 2.5 cases, my notes went with the order. I've reconstructed all this from memory. I'll try & add to this post when the wine arrives later this week (by Friday, it is hope).

Porter Zana (?) Lambrusco served with Polenta cake topped with a hearty bolonaise sauce. A dry Lambrusco - can you believe it?! Fruit forward and full bodied. A nice apertif to start the evening.

Four Vines Naked Chardonnay served with a creamy Cesar salad. Wow! At last a California Chardonnay that tastes like something other than oak or butter. I have friends who absolutely rave about Toasted Head Chardonnay. While it is a great wine for a small price, I think it has a heavy, melted butter flavor. I want to eat butter, not drink it. (Of course, when I was in high school, one of my friends suggested rubbing butter on herself for sunbathing, but, ewww, that's just gross.)

My friend, Ron Anderson, actually visited the Four Vines Paso Robles vineyard earlier this week. He & his wife came home from that tasting trip to a crashed server. Ron's been scrambling to repost all the blogs. (I'll include his Four Vines blog in a later post.) Here's his blog anyway: www.thewinespace.com

The next course featured Sicilia Nero d'Avola served with a wild mushroom risotto. This is an Italian grape varietal that's becoming more popular. It had a nice bite to it.

Cantele Salice Salentino served with a beef stew, potatoes & steamed broccoli. A heavier wine almost similar to a cab, but without the mouthful of red. One of my fellow foodies thought my husband would like it. "It's a good wine for those who like beer," he said.

Dessert was tiramisu with a tawny port. (Obviously I wasn't impressed with the port. And I love, love, love port.)

All these wines are inexpensive and ready to cork and drink now. It was a delightful evening. I promise to remember my notes for the next wine adventure.

How Preschoolers Play Hide & Go Seek

Once they agree to play. Ian bossily tells Joe, "You will count first while I hide. But you must count to 83."

Joe is confused. He's never counted that high. Instead, Joe counts to 8.

"Ready or not, I'm coming to get you!" he shouts.

Ian, who has "hidden" himself in the soccer goal's netting, waits until he sees Joe crashing through the flower bed. Ian then runs around the yard at full speed while Joe chases him.

Then, by some miracle, they decide Joe will hide. Ian announces he will count to five.

Ian counts backwards from five while Joe scrambles to hide under the picnic table. When Ian finishes counting, he shouts, "I counted in reverse from five."

Joe shouts back, "well, it's time to find me."

Ian says, "Not now, I just counted in reverse from five." Ian then proceeds to count to five. Joe asks Ian if he's coming to find him yet. Again, Ian insists he again needs to count in reverse.

"Are you ready yet?" Joe impatiently asks.

At last, Ian is ready. He runs to find Joe.

Joe sees him coming and runs to his mother.

A safe place. No more tag. And no more hide and go seek.

G-Force - 3D-style

My kids & I have become 3D movie junkies. This is different from when I was younger. Now you wear sunglasses that turn the screen into the 3D world. No longer do you have to fight with cardboard glasses and colored film lenses.

To date we've seen Up! (Me: great story/message for all ages. Kids: Too slow)
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Me: yawn. Too many intestinal odor-related jokes. Kids: 4-yo took off glasses and buried his face in my shoulder. 7-yo loved the jokes I didn't like).

We eagerly awaited G-Force. Jerry Bruckheimer is a great director and I loved his suspenseful, clever films. The kids told me they loved the fast-pace. My husband thought it was finally a "real 3D movie," that things actually appeared to fly off the screen toward you.The animation was good.

I was bored. I thought it would be funnier & the plot dragged.

The down-side to 3D movies are the ridiculous charges - $8 for a matinee! And that's without popcorn. But there is a bin for recycling your glasses (which you still have to pay for new pair every time you attend). Maybe next time we'll just hold onto the glasses & see if we can opt out of the charge.

Now I'm looking forward to "X-Games 3D the Movie"(limited release on Aug. 21). The kids want to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Quest

Dined at Todd English's Olives last week in Vegas. Had a strawberry-rhubarb crumble that was simply out of this world. It's led to a new obsession. I've found a new-to-me cooking web-site I'd like to share: http://smittenkitchen.com. I'm off to find some fresh strawberries.

The Notebook

Caught the last 45 minutes of the movie, "The Notebook," tonight. Schmaltzy story line aside, it had some rather poignant thoughts.

Should she choose between her fiance or her first true love? Someone who will take care of her, whose personality she knows or someone who is a wild card but passionate and meets her mind on ideals?

Of course in the movie, she promptly "finds herself" and knows her needs. It's not so simple in real life. There are responsibilities: community, family, children, etc. A person gets used to shoving his/her needs aside while going through the daily motions. Then a wake-up call arrives. You find yourself wondering, now what? It's more than just two people. And it impacts many varied things.

You need to take time to think, figure out your needs, weigh options. Not involve the other person because it's simply wrong (though on some level it seems right).

Then your're also left wondering, I hope I didn't lose a dear friend.

April's Full Moon

For whatever reason, I wound up sleeping in the guest room the other night (ok, snoring once again after a late guy's night out). It took a while to fall asleep, but it was nice listening to the rain on the eaves. I woke later because of a bright light. Lightning struck our area, taking out the computer modem and our weather radio.

The modem took a number of hours to fix. I swear I am still turning on and off the computer, plugging in and unplugging the chords. I found an extra adapter that was still installed in the power strip, yet not attached to anything. It was left from the last modem we replaced - 3 years ago.

Now we have a smaller modem, with easier instructions.

And after being up until 2 am most of this week, I bid you adieu.