Another cool place in Cambria!

Picking up where I left off in the last blog, I walked over to this place to escape the smell of charred animal flesh. No, I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian; I simply do not like the smell of seared meat on a near empty stomach. The cheese, crackers, apples and pretzels devoured at Wise Owl were rapidly being converted into sugar in my stomach, and the overload of carbs only made the hunger worse. Sensing that I was either going to pass out or attack a tourist, the phrase "gourmet foods" caught my eye on the sign for the little shop of horrors called, "Fermentations."

Shop of horrors? Hardly. Gourmet foods? Lots of carbs in this place. (Just what I didn't need) The array of food stuff consisted of various jams, spreads, dips, and other high carbohydrate loaded goodies. Thus, the wine bar would be where my appetite would have to be satiated. (it wasn't)

Brittany was my vinista (made this word up. Just sayin') for the day. She was a recent transplant to the central coast, and her warmth, humility and aaww shucks, golly gee demeanor was delightful. I can appreciate someone who readily admits that they do not know everything and that they are learning on the fly. (Nothing like those uber know it alls who take random road trips to escape stressful situations. I digress) She taught me a thing or two about a few grapes that were not familiar to this road tripper.

Beginning with the white wine selections. For those who are not familiar with this road trippers' palate, white wine is not consumed on a regular basis...regardless of what is being eaten. However, we never say that we don't like something until we try it...unless it has any trace of curry, or was prepared near anything that touched curry or comes from the same family as curry, I digress again.

Anyhoo, Brittany poured a delicious Pinot Blanc from the Sierra Madre Vineyards located in Santa Maria Valley.
Okay, so what is Pinot Blanc? Pinot Blanc is a white wine grape varietal also called Klevner from the Alsace region of France. It is best consumed young and along with Sylvaner, another grape from Alsace, it produces some of the lightest, dry, fruit forward wines of the region. Pinot Blanc vines cover nearly 20 per cent of the Alsace region.

Amazing! Easy to drink and quite tasty. The wine had a peach like taste and was not too dry. Served just a tad colder than room temperature, this wine would be excellent for white cheese, apples, pretzels and crackers. (imagine that) Moving forward.

Brittany suggested the Chardonnay next. Explaining that my preference for Chardonnay consisted of wine that is so buttery and oaky that your lips slide off the glass while you spit twigs, she produced a wine called none other than, "Butternut!" 

Yep, needed to floss for splinters after this one. Buttery, is an understatement. Somebody pass the popcorn? Rich, creamy and just the right amount of fruit forwardness. It's a shame that this one did not come home. Maybe next time.

 On to the red wine. OMG, a central coast Barbera? Why not...or should I rephrase this as, "Why?," "Not!" Oh don't get your panties in a wad, it wasn't that good...I mean bad, really. It's just that the Barbera's from the northern foothills of Shenandoah Valley pack a little more punch. Whereas the Zinfandels of Paso Robles give the high octane fruit bomb Zinfandels of the Shenandoah Valley reason to feel ashamed, the Barbera's of the central coast lacked in all things character. (at least this one did, and two more at different wineries in the area) Just an observation Barbera lovers. Save the hate mail.

Goes well with Marvin Gaye music!

Moving forward. Speaking of Zinfandel. This one knocked it out of the park for me. The name alone gets kudos, "Sexual Chocolate!" Seriously, how could anyone skip this wine? Conceived by two college student buddies, the wine is a blend of Zinfandel and Syrah. The guys bought left over fruit pulp from local wineries and pressed out the juice to make this erotic concoction.
Can we all say, yummy? Fruit forward, cherry, blah, blah, blah, this is an excellent wine and moderately priced. Although it is available in the San Francisco bay area...this what they call northern California, really?, it is a worth addition to any collection. The guys now have a company called, SloDown Wines and rumor has it that they are up to creating some new offerings. Check them out at: http://www.slodownwines.com/contact-us

Liquid Sin

Time for desert! Now we have discussed this before, this road tripper is not a Port drinker. However, Brittany was up to no good when she pulled out a port wine made from Sangiovese. In truth, any wine grape can be made into port style wine. Traditionally, port comes from, you guessed it, Portugal, and was made with six distinctive varietals. (1) Touriga Nacional, the dominant. (2) Tinta Cao, (3) Sousao, (4) Bastardo,  (5) Tinta Roriz, and (6) Touriga Franca.
The process of making port wine goes back a zillion...ok maybe not that far, but dates back several hundred years. True Port is made exclusively in the Douro region of Portugal. Fortification, the addition of a neutral grape spirit is added to wine just before the fermentation process completes leaving residual sugars and elevating the alcohol level. Thus Port wine is by nature, sweet. The wine can be made dry, semi-dry and in a white form.
Enough about the process. Sangiovese grapes which are high in acid created a Port that was semi-dry, but still too sweet for my taste.
 Not to be left hungrier and a little jittery from ingesting way too many carbs, Brittany tried to hammer one more nail into my coffin.

Pairs well with anything!

Uh huh. Yes this is chocolate milk laced with Cabernet Sauvignon. Think Bailey's Irish Cream for the vino types. I wasn't sure what to make of this stuff; Serve it cold, yuck! Serve it warm, double yuck! Buy it and make it a great conversation piece...yes! I have enough  chocolate loving friends who would be willing to choke this  happy soccer mom beverage down.

 So, what would you do with this brew hah hah? Brittany said that she added it to coffee. Hmmm? Stay tuned for more info.

Just as a diabetic coma nearly consumed my nutrition deprived body, Brittany had one last port to sample. By now my eyes were crossed. Had it not been
for two ladies standing next to me who just happened to be from Lodi and knew where any form of protein was available nearby, no more port would have crossed these lips. My taste buds were numb. The only discernible flavor in the wine was pure alcohol and figs. Into the dump bucket with aplomb, Houston, we have a problem. The lights were about to go out like the Superdome during the recent Super Bowl.

Not one to toss the cookies in a crowd, (there were hardly any cookies to toss) we bade Brittany farewell with a healthy tip, acquired a new wine glass and bottle of chocolate yucky, and headed for the door. The smell of searing flesh was no longer present in the air, and I didn't care if curry wafted into my desperately in need of air lungs. I needed food. The two Lodian's, yes, that is what they are called, grabbed me by the arm and lead me to a bakery that thankfully had sandwiches.

The turkey croissant sandwich set my credit card back nearly $15.00. Perhaps a larger than usual tip was added to the bill, and the chips that were supposed to come with the sandwich never materialized. It was good! Lights are coming back on, just need a bottle of water and a nap!

When consciousness and the ability to drive safely returned, Kenji motored us down to Pismo Beach.
It was a wonderful ride with the windows rolled down and the sea breeze blowing through the sunroof. The sun was beginning to set as we drove onto the beach. Neither of us had ever driven on a beach and while observing everyone else move their vehicles closer to the sand dunes, it never dawned on us that the tide was coming in. Honking horns and screams of, "Hey, you're gonna get stuck!" did nothing to deter the pleasure of watching the sunset over the horizon. If we were going to get stuck, so what. Isn't that why we have AAA?

The beach patrollers seemed oblivious to our position and said nothing to suggest we move. As the surf encroached Kenji's tires and soaked my weary feet, all of the stress that had been building in my life seemed to wash away...at least until we realized that the sea water from each encroaching wave was getting a little deeper, threatening to leave us stuck on the muddy beach.

 There is something about the ocean that calms me. It is contiguous, powerful and cleansing. Necessary for spiritual uplift and enjoyed with a good bottle of wine, the central coast offers spectacular beaches and an abundance of good places to eat. Wineries located near the ocean offer a welcome and surprisingly affordable get away when life becomes a bit too much to handle.

Visit the central coast wine region and enjoy the oceanic views. Do it often.
Until next time,
Salute'