I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
suggestions?

On 7 Oct 2004 10:56:35 -0700, (Steve Timko) said:

] I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
] I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
] now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
] suggestions?

Certainly Tablas Creek in Paso Robles would be considered one of the best.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to
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in article , Steve Timko at
wrote on 10/7/04 10:56 AM:

> I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
> I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
> now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
> suggestions?

I've had positive experiences with Eberle, Justin, Laetitia, Morgan, Wild
Horse and Qupe. But are you familiar with the Rhone Rangers group?? This is
an association of wineries that feature Rhone varieties. The California
Central Coast region is where you'll find the most wineries near your stated
route. California Foothills is mostly farther North than what is usually
called 'central CA', but might be a possibility for you as well. Hope the
site helps.

http://www.rhonerangers.org/

>
>] I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
>] I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
>] now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
>] suggestions?
>
>Certainly Tablas Creek in Paso Robles would be considered one of the best.
>
I'll second the recommendation on Tablas Creek. Other good choices that are
open without appointments (at least on weekends) in the Paso area are Linne
Calodo and Garretson. Wild Horse in nearby Templeton has some Rhone varietals
along with a wide array of other wines. There's also a new tasting room -
Coastal Vintners - right next to Garretson that features several very good
small lesser-known wineries including Hug.

In Santa Barbara County, good choices besides Zaca Mesa include Andrew Murray,
Jaffurs, Foxen, and Beckmen. I also have very high recommendation for the Los
Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium (in Los Olivos of course), where you can taste a
variety of wines from small producers, and find some hard-to-find
smaller-production wines for sale.

In article >, stephentimko@my
-deja.com says...
>
>I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
>I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
>now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
>suggestions?

For a trip to the Central Coast of CA, there are a few wineries that I'd not
miss. Not all are Rhône varietal producers, but many are.

1.) Bob Lindquist's Qupé, Los Olivos. Bob is one of the original "Rhône
Rangers," and if I recall correctly, one can also taste the wines of Jim
Clendenen's Au Bon Climat there.
2.) Beckmen Vineyard, Los Olivos. Great Rhône-style wines, and very nice t-
room folk.
3.) Claiborne & Churchill, San Luis Obispo. Great Zins, plus many more
4.) Babcock Vineyard, Lompoc. Brian Babcock makes a wonder array of wines.
5.) Gainey Vineyard, Santa Ynez. Very nice quaint tasting room, with many good
wines.
6.) Edna Valley, up from Pismo Beach. Great Syrah, PN, and Chard. Off the
beaten path.
7.) Justin Vineyards, Paso Robles, Plenty to choose from.
8.) Laetitia, Arroyo Grande. On the highway, so tourists abound, but the
Barnwood line is worth the effort. Nice bubblies too.

Paso Robles is just full of tasting rooms, but in the hinterlands, it's a bit
more difficult to find them. Los Olivos is a good starting place, and the
grocery there has a tasting center for many of the smaller ventures. They'll
also point you in the right directions to some of the larger vineyards. Get a
GOOD map, as some of the roads seem to swap names at will, and seem to circle
back on themselves in a spiral. I believe that all mentioned are open without
appointment, but you might want to check, before you head down a dirt road,
only to find that they are open only on Sat/Sun.

Enjoy - so many wines... so little time.

Hunt

On 7 Oct 2004 10:56:35 -0700, (Steve Timko)
wrote:

>I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
>I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
>now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
>suggestions?

Try Mosby Winery in Buellton (Santa Barbara County on Santa Rosa
Road). Interesting variety of Rhone wines, mostly blends. They had a
Teroldego, which you won't find very often. Nice tasting room and
nice people.

Marc Gladner

>1.) Bob Lindquist's Qupé, Los Olivos. Bob is one of the original "Rhône
>Rangers," and if I recall correctly, one can also taste the wines of Jim
>Clendenen's Au Bon Climat there.

Qupé and Au Bon Climat are indeed well worth tasting, but the winery itself is
not open to the public except for occasional open house events. You can taste
wines from both wineries at the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium, and I
believe at the nearby Los Olivos Tasting Room as well.

"Marc Gladner" > wrote in message
...
> Try Mosby Winery in Buellton (Santa Barbara County on Santa Rosa
> Road). Interesting variety of Rhone wines, mostly blends. They had a
> Teroldego, which you won't find very often. Nice tasting room and
> nice people.

I'll agree with most of that, but Bill Mosby is specializing in Italian
varietals lately - of which Teroldego is one. IIRC there are only eleven
acres of that planted in the entire state.

Tom S

"Steve Timko" > wrote in message
om...
> I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
> I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
> now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
> suggestions?

Fifteen years ago or more Bob Lindquist (Qupe) was the only one making
Syrah - and his stuff kicked ass! These days it seems that _everyone_ in
the Central Coast is making Syrah. Most of them are pretty good, and a few
of them are outstanding. One of my latest faves is Kahn, in Los Olivos.
The reserve bottling, of course. Tensley is nice too, and there are dozens
of others.

A few brave souls are venturing into Mourvedre (Foxen e.g.) and Viognier and
Marsanne are the latest white darlings. At this rate, pretty soon I'll be
the only one still making Chardonnay. That suits me just fine. :^)

Tom S

Steve Timko wrote:

> I'll be driving through central and southern California next week and
> I'm wondering which are the best Rhone-style vineyards to visit. Right
> now it looks like Zaca Mesa is the most promising. Any other
> suggestions?

Partly on-topic...

After trying a nice GSM at a wedding recently I wondered if anyone had
any recommendations for good value wines of that nature. I don't have
the bank balance for top Rhone (south or north) so I wondered if any New
World alternatives might interest me. I think the one I tasted was
Australian. It had a kind of forest floor nature which made me think
more of Burgundy than what I associate with Rhone, but then my
experience of both is severely limited (Rhone more so).

Ever in your debt, continuing to enjoy this great newsgroup even if I am
rarely able to contribute.

Dan

>After trying a nice GSM at a wedding recently I wondered if anyone had
>any recommendations for good value wines of that nature.

Central Coast ones that spring to mind include Zaca Mesa's "Z Cuvee", Beckmen's
"Cuvee Le Bec", Tablas Creek's "Cotes de Tablas" (their "Esprit de Beaucastel"
is even better but more expensive), Qupe's "Los Olivos Cuvee", Andrew Murray's
"Esperance", and Villa Creek's "Willow Creek". Also highly recommend Core's
current "352" blend (very small new winery, may be tough to find). There are a
number of more expensive ones, but these should all be mid-$20s or less. There
are more, but this should be a good start.

Check out this discussion from the West Coast Wine Network forum from last year
as well and you'll find even more choices( and not just from the Central
Coast):
http://www.westcoastwine.net/forums/...ic.php?t=78859

Dan Gravell wrote:

> After trying a nice GSM at a wedding recently I wondered if anyone had
> any recommendations for good value wines of that nature. I don't have
> the bank balance for top Rhone (south or north) so I wondered if any New
> World alternatives might interest me. I think the one I tasted was
> Australian. It had a kind of forest floor nature which made me think
> more of Burgundy than what I associate with Rhone, but then my
> experience of both is severely limited (Rhone more so).

There are quite a few GSM blends coming out of Australia. Penfolds
makes a very inexpensive GSM (Bin 8 IIRC) that is quite drinkable. Of
course, you can also get Cotes du Rhone for relatively little money, and
they are also typically GSM blends with some Counoise and Cinsault
tossed in for good measure. Perrin Reserve and Coudoulet are readily
available, but my favorite CdRs typically come from smaller produers.

Mark Lipton

Dan Gravell wrote:

> After trying a nice GSM at a wedding recently I wondered if anyone had
> any recommendations for good value wines of that nature. I don't have
> the bank balance for top Rhone (south or north) so I wondered if any New
> World alternatives might interest me. I think the one I tasted was
> Australian. It had a kind of forest floor nature which made me think
> more of Burgundy than what I associate with Rhone, but then my
> experience of both is severely limited (Rhone more so).

There are quite a few GSM blends coming out of Australia. Penfolds
makes a very inexpensive GSM (Bin 8 IIRC) that is quite drinkable. Of
course, you can also get Cotes du Rhone for relatively little money, and
they are also typically GSM blends with some Counoise and Cinsault
tossed in for good measure. Perrin Reserve and Coudoulet are readily
available, but my favorite CdRs typically come from smaller produers.

Mark Lipton

>> After trying a nice GSM at a wedding recently I wondered if anyone had
>> any recommendations for good value wines of that nature. I don't have
>> the bank balance for top Rhone (south or north) so I wondered if any
>> New World alternatives might interest me. I think the one I tasted was
>> Australian. It had a kind of forest floor nature which made me think
>> more of Burgundy than what I associate with Rhone, but then my
>> experience of both is severely limited (Rhone more so).
>
>
> There are quite a few GSM blends coming out of Australia. Penfolds
> makes a very inexpensive GSM (Bin 8 IIRC) that is quite drinkable. Of
> course, you can also get Cotes du Rhone for relatively little money, and
> they are also typically GSM blends with some Counoise and Cinsault
> tossed in for good measure. Perrin Reserve and Coudoulet are readily
> available, but my favorite CdRs typically come from smaller produers.
>
> Mark Lipton

Be quick as there isn't a ton of it...but look for Pannaroz from Jumilla
Spain, Oliveriz I think is the producer... 90 Pt's Parker less than $15.
Grenache, Syrah, Monestrall(sp) (Mourvedre)