So this weekend was my husbands bday and we decided to spend it in Paso Robles wine tasting. Ok and yes I had to get myself out of the dog house for going out with the girls on the day we met.  Let me start by saying it is beautiful-everything was so green, the rolling hills were picturesque and the  grape vines were so old world. We started our trip in Los Alamos...why you might ask...ah that is easy my husband goes stir crazy in a car after hmmm about 90 min. And in order to decrease the chances of road rage we stop on a regular basis.

So I found this wine tasting room called Bedford http://www.bedfordthompsonwinery.com/ and we stopped to try their wines. It was a quaint space probably the size of my bathroom and it had the winemaker and owner Stephan Bedford behind the counter. The owner looked like a Humboldt fisherman however he knew his stuff and has a degree from UCLA and has been eating, breathing and living wine for a damn long time. It was truely small town America as there were several locals just sitting around drinking wine after they stopped by the Post Office to pick up their mail and planning the wine pairing dinner for the next day. The wines were good and I really enjoyed the Syrah and Pinot Noir which came home with us. Here is a picture of me in Los Alamos...and isnt that the place in our history books but different state, right?

We continued onwards into Paso Robles and made a bee line for Opolo as that was the only "must see" place on my list. The wine was great as usual and although we were surprised by the outside of the tasting room...its a big metal building...the staff was extremely friendly and we had a great time. And of coarse I bought a shirt because I buy random shirts from everywhere I go....and sweatshirts too.

We stayed at a great hotel called La Bellasera and I would definitely recommend it. Good restaurant in the hotel and centrally located to Downtown and wineries. http://www.labellasera.com/

On Saturday we decided to do one of those wine bus tours. We thought about renting a limo so it could just be the two of us but since we hadn't been to Paso before we just honestly didn't know where to go. Plus we both love people and this bus ride did not disappoint us when it came to people entertainment. There was the newly dating couple who had met on-line who were "so in love." Ya know you forget what new love looks like and it made me chuckle...always touching each other, the bliss of getting to know each other and the twinkle eyed stairs even though they can't leave each others side. There was the couple who had been married for 12 years and he totally had "tamed" her...she was wild child and then they met. He looked a little like Barney from the Flintstones and she was the only one who understood my sarcastic sense of humor. And there were the 5 "kids" who looked just barely 21 but all had high powered jobs...lawyer, doctor, heart valve specialist and oh wait yes there was 1 actor aka. waiter. So we went to 4 wineries and 2 of them I really enjoyed. This one was a tiny tasting room but very good wines http://www.eclusewines.com/ and this one was much larger but I loved that they had 22 wines that you could chose from to taste and they had a great Pinot Noir http://www.castorocellars.com/. The other 2 wine tasting rooms I could have done without in terms of wine, however the last place Rotto had the best guide. Her name was Gail and yes I asked to get my photo with her...seriously how could you not when she was wearing grape bedazzled glasses. And she was hysterical! She was spunky, she had a dirty mind and she knew her wine! Loved her!

That evening we went to Downtown Paso which is really cute and its a great place to wander around...more great wine, great food and awesome entertainment. http://www.vinotecawinebar.com/
Great selection of wine and beer, good food and great music that changes regularly at this place.

However, just like all good things they must come to an end. So Sunday morning we got into the car to head home. I had to run 8 miles and Travis had to run 9 miles and play hockey...ya know he did turn 41 so now he is fighting his age.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Tonight I am making Shepherds Pie and I haven't tasted it but let me tell you I hate those recipe that are advertised as 30 minute recipes but they just are closer to 60 minutes. So I start this thing and about an hour into it I think to myself...really? Hmmm 30 minutes my ass!