Wine Tasting–Part 1

We spent the weekend hanging out at our RV as it is pretty busy around here on the weekends and we do not do wine tastings with crowds (see previous post on this topic).  So on Monday we headed out to downtown Paso Robles and were a little disappointed.  Most of the tasting shops were closed and there really was not much to do.  We stopped at one tasting room, Clayhouse, and had a nice time talking with the server and tasting some fairly good wine.  Since there was not much going on we decided to drive to San Luis Obispo and have lunch at the Madonna Inn.

The Madonna Inn is a famous hotel for the area.  It has been around for something like 60 years and is known for its unique rooms and décor.  I had been there when I was young as I would spend my summers nearby in Cambria, California and when coming or going we would stop at the restaurant for a meal.  It was fascinating to see that not much had changed. 

What was funny was that I had remembered that as a kid I was fascinated by the restroom at the restaurant.  On this visit I remembered why.  The men’s restroom is made out of huge boulders and the urinal is a waterfall.  It is interesting!

We drove back to the RV park but decided to stop at a winery near the RV park for a tasting.  The winery was Robert Hall, which is a major producer and has a beautiful facility. 

On Tuesday we did chores and in the afternoon decided to visit the winery that is adjacent to the RV park, Eos Estate. The facility is just beautiful and we were the only ones in the tasting room.  Come to find out this winery was recently purchased by the Foley Family of Wines.   This is a group of wineries that we are getting very well acquainted with.  You can see a list of their brands at www.foleyfamilywines.com.  We were familiar with Wattle Creek Wine from our wine group trip to Napa a few years back.  In addition on another trip to Napa we tasted at the Chalk Hill winery.  While in Walla Walla, Washington we tasted at Three Rivers winery, which was one of our favorites on that trip.  When in the Santa Ynez Valley (Buellton, CA) we tasted at the Firestone winery and was impressed.  Now we tasted at Eos Estate and found their wines as good as the other brands.  I guess we will have to go New Zealand to visit their wineries there!