I Love California Tour Part 2 - The Wineries

You may not know this, but besides my love of photography, animals and nature I also love wine!  I work at a wine shop part time too, and that comes with a few perks.  Like getting the hook up at wineries whose wines that we sell!

We visited Zaca Mesa  in the Santa Ynez Valley where they farm sustainably and have the oldest Syrah vines in Central California along with a beautiful Viognier.

We went to Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles where they treated us like a King and Queen.  I seriously thought they thought we were someone else!  We hung out in their reserved tasting area just for us while our charming host Niklas talked to us about the wines and vineyards and brought us beautiful treats as we drank their delicious wines!  This place is heavenly!

We also visited the beautiful Ridge Winery at their Monte Bello location in the Santa Cruz mountains.  Lots of twisting, winding roads up and up into the mountains at an elevation of 2,300 feet!  Ridge Vineyard’s 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon achieved international fame for its fifth-place finish in the 1976 “Judgement of Paris” wine tasting.  We got to try their 2006 Monte Bello, which I just googled right now, and starting prices are at $130.00 per bottle!  I’m biting my knuckles!  Once again I was feeling like they thought we were someone else!  But our host was so kind and generous.

The last winery we visited was Mount Eden, also in the Santa Cruz mountains and they actually don’t have an official tasting room.  You have to make an appointment and then you drive up more twisting, winding switchbacks to the vineyards where the owners actually live and have their home.  We got to meet and talk with Ellie, one of the owners!  Since they have such a small establishment it was just us up there and we tasted their wonderful Chardonnay and Cabernet while overlooking Silicon Valley.