We begin our journey at the Pittsburgh airport, flying United direct to LAX. After so many years of flying for work and taking the most economical flights which were not ever the most convenient, our priority for personal travel has given convenience a higher ranking. The difference in flight price on this occasion was less than $100 per seat to fly direct. Gratefully on this flight in our three seat coach class row there was no one occupying the isle seat. For this 5 hour flight it was nice to be able to stretch out.
We left Pittsburgh at 6:50 pm Eastern and arrived in LA at just after 9 pm local time. We rented, due to an automatic upgrade, a red 2010 convertible Mustang. But we still needed to drive to Temecula to arrive at our hotel; the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. The room was nice with a ridiculously high ceiling and a blissfully powerful air conditioner. My parent's room was a suite. This comfy lounging room had a cushy couch and several chairs of varying degrees of fluffiness. It offered us a nice place to hang out and enjoy our wine. By the time we arrived at the hotel it was well past our Eastern time zone bedtime.
In the morning we woke, as predicted, by 6 am local time. We were ready to meet my parents in the lobby well before our original plan of 8 am. Today (Wednesday, September 23) was our winery day. We ate breakfast at the hotel. Not a bad spread with bagels and bread to toast, apples and bananas, cereal, yogurt, waffles, etc. As this was our first meeting we sat in the comfy chairs, ate our breakfast and caught up on each other's life.
There was a friendly gentleman at the hotel who earlier had conversations with my parents. My parents had been at the hotel since Sunday enjoying Golf and their favorite winery, Orfilia. This gentleman was in the process of finishing the build on his house. He and his wife had hunkered down in a fifth wheel camper for the year of the build. Needless to say, this camper was feeling smaller and smaller as their 4000+ square feet home came to life. In the last week of the build, he decided to move into the hotel to get some work done. He was a wealth of local information and also gave us some tips on building our house. (Radiant Barrier and the particular water heater we had already researched).
As the wineries open at 10 am, we assumed, we set out for Rancho California Road. Along this strip were the most wineries per mile. We didn't have a strict itinerary, so we made our decisions as they came to us. Our first winery was Hart Family Winery. We were able to choose 6 wines from their list. As the day was warm I started with the bright and cool whites. I tried the 2008 Roussanne, which was my first time tasting this variety. The color was a more carmelized yellow than the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc which itself was a shade deeper than clear. Each of these whites had a bright and forward flavor, but the Sav had the more preferred finish. There was a hint of residual sugar to the Roussanne. Tim and my father tried the 2007 Sangiovese which both enjoyed. I went next for the 2006 Driveway Red, a standard table red. You don't find these too often in the US as most folks like to see the grape name in the title. As we were just getting started we made no purchases, but we did stop and say hello to the Employee of the Month, their dog.
Our next winery was Callaway, no affiliation to the golf equipment. The tasting room was stunning with a spanning view of the vineyard. Although our tasting agent was very friendly, I just couldn't help but look out the windows. Here we purchased two wines. The 2005 Winemaker's Reserve Cabernet Merlot, highly decorated with three silvers and three bronzes. The 2008 Winemaker's Reserve Old Vine Zinfandel received eight silvers and one bronze. Very worthy of the accolades. We were able to come back to Pittsburgh with the Zin, but the Cab Merlot was appreciated with a pile of grapes and some Pecorino cheese.
Right across the street was Thorton Winery. Unlike the other wineries which gave us the full list, this tasting was a "flight" style. We were given the option of tasting in a logical grouping. I chose the Winemaker's Choice which gave me a white, a champagne (Brut) and two reds. Among the reds was my favorite Zinfandel of the trip. The 2007 Huis Vinyard Zinfandel was insanely delicious. My father also bought a bottle, both of which we enjoyed while on this vacation. If the price point were more favorable and shipping to PA wasn't such an issue, I'd have ordered a case shipped back home. Unbelievable taste. The flavor just simmered on the bottom of your palate.
We also enjoyed the cafe at this winery. I had my first of three scallop meals. I just can't get enough of a nice seared scallop! I haven't mentioned that at each of these tastings the price of the tasting includes the wine glass. My parents have no desire to cart these glasses back to Texas, so they gave them to us. I particularly love having a glass with the winery name on it, not for the nostalgia of the event, per se, but for the built in wine charm when hosting. If each person's glass is from a different vineyard, they need only remember the winery name too identify their glass. I mention this because Thorton did not include the cost of the glass in their tasting price. However, somehow when I asked, the hostess "gifted" one to me. She slyly held a paper bag over mom's shoulder, but I didn't understand what it was for. I got a little teasing for that.
The first three wineries were so spectacular that the final two wineries paled a little in comparison. We next visited Van Rokel Wineries. This is a winery that was reopened under a former owner. There was a neat gift shop along with a refridgerated section where we could purchase cheese. I wish other wineries had thought of that as we needed a little sustenence earlier. Their wine list was not bad, but nothing as fantastic as that Huis Zin. And by the time we were there, my palate had "dulled". Mom purchased a Peach Champagne. I noticed on the last wine tour through Ithaca that while I profess to prefer dry and 0% residual sugar wines, after an all day affair the sweet stuff is a gentle departure and somehow fails to offend me after so many samples. The other thing going for this winery was the gift shop. Tim found a t-shirt that combines geek humor with vino culture. I've never seen those two cultures collide so we had to get it. It is a black shirt with a simple graphic of a wine glass and the word "Loading..." with a progress bar. Fitting for such an occasion.
Our last winery was Ponte Winery. This was a visual feast with the tastings happening in the expansive gift shop. I was particularly fascinated with the cookbook section and lamented not getting the coooking with wine by the seasons book. If only Tim would see my cookbooks as equal to his Fantasy novels... Here we picked up a Moscato Champagne and some nice glasses with octagonal stems. But by this time we all agreed it was ok to be done with the tastings. I actually think I've forgotten a winery. I recall one with a dark room and the tasting agent saying, in response to my asking if the champagne was a Brut, "No, these are good". But, as it should, the name escapes me.
Back to the hotel for a brief moment. We were all hungry for dinner and were excited to go to a Steak house with a live piano player. My parents ate at the Vail Ranch Steak House earlier in the week and had the opportunity to speak with the piano player. It was nice to have the live music playing while we enjoyed a La Crema Pinot Noir. Once again I had Scallops while everyone else had the dry aged steaks. My mother and Tim both had the bone in filet and I believe my dad had the New York Strip. The meal was insanely delicious and delieriously satisfying. In fact I was so full that I pretty much went straight to bed. But it was glorious, the whole day!
The next day we were heading up to Malibu to join our family, but not until later in the day. We decided to take the opportunity to visit the Getty museum. This was an event worth repeating. The Getty is massive. You only need to pay for parking, $15/car, and the price of admission is free. I believe if you didn't even park then admission is still free. After burrowing into the cement basement to level 4 we took the tram to the actual museum. We were met with a massive stone facade to every building that was accented by the famous Getty curves. There were statues and gardens and this was just on the exterior. In the buildings were photographs and paintings and more statues. It was heaven. We could have stayed there for many more than the four hours we committed. Here's a sample of the beautiful vistas.
While in Malibu we stayed at the glorious Malibu Beach Inn on Carbon Beach. This place was ridiculous! They had better customer service than Disney, which as we know is saying a lot! Upon arrival we are offered our turn down service which includes a Keurig for the room and two truffles in a tiny box with a bow. We are also offered an iPod Touch (as we don't have iPhones) in order to use their special app to make reservations, order room service, have our car brought around by the valet. They also employ radio communication which came in handy not only in determining whether our room was ready, but also when we were in need of an extra wash cloth and the house keeping agent was on our floor. Of course the room had bathrobes. It was gorgeous!
All in all, a mighty fine vacation!
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