Wine Tasting in Paso Robles: Daou
Paso Robles, CA - Sun, 10 Nov 2019, 6pm
Continued from previous entry.
The first winery I visited in Paso Robles today was Daou. I picked it as a level setter because I've seen its products on the shelves of my wine store back home. It's well regarded for its Cabernet Sauvignon wines, which I'm curious about tasting in Paso Robles. Cabs are everywhere in Napa and Sonoma, but up there they tend toward a very tannic flavor I don't enjoy. The few Paso Cabs I've tried have been a touch lighter and more fruit-forward, which I'm told is typical of Cabs in this region. I'd like to taste more.
The drive out to Daou Winery is beautiful. It's about 7 miles from town, on country roads that wind through canyons and then ascend a hill. The tasting room itself is a magnificent villa, built with exposed wooden beams and marble countertops. From the lawn outside there were multi-million dollar views in all directions.
Daou was as crowded as it was manufactured. The main parking lot was full and visitors were directed to park in overflow lots down the hill. The winery had a pair of limousine vans running to whisk visitors back and forth. The vans were swank and came reguarly. Theme parks don't have shuttles this good. That tells you something about this place....
What I mean is, Daou feels more like a wine theme park than a winery. Every thing I saw was carefully calibrated and richly furnished to look like winemaking, except in ways that are appealing to well moneyed tourists. Inside the tasting room the sumptuous materials were beautiful but simultaneously fake feeling, like the overly staged and cross-merchandised tasting room that Giamatti's character made fun of in one of the climactic scenes of Sideways (the one where he pours a bucket over his head). It's curious when life imitates art... but when the art life chooses to imitate is satire, it's just sad.
The price of a simple tasting is steep: $40. That alone says something about the pretentiousness of this place. But sadly it's not alone. It's part of a tapestry of pretentious things. And the cheapest bottle of wine was $60. The wines were good, but not $60-on-up good. I drank my tasting, chatted amiably with the server, and walked around outside to take pictures from the hilltop.
Next up: Wine Tasting at Halter Ranch
Continued from previous entry.
The first winery I visited in Paso Robles today was Daou. I picked it as a level setter because I've seen its products on the shelves of my wine store back home. It's well regarded for its Cabernet Sauvignon wines, which I'm curious about tasting in Paso Robles. Cabs are everywhere in Napa and Sonoma, but up there they tend toward a very tannic flavor I don't enjoy. The few Paso Cabs I've tried have been a touch lighter and more fruit-forward, which I'm told is typical of Cabs in this region. I'd like to taste more.
The drive out to Daou Winery is beautiful. It's about 7 miles from town, on country roads that wind through canyons and then ascend a hill. The tasting room itself is a magnificent villa, built with exposed wooden beams and marble countertops. From the lawn outside there were multi-million dollar views in all directions.
Daou was as crowded as it was manufactured. The main parking lot was full and visitors were directed to park in overflow lots down the hill. The winery had a pair of limousine vans running to whisk visitors back and forth. The vans were swank and came reguarly. Theme parks don't have shuttles this good. That tells you something about this place....
What I mean is, Daou feels more like a wine theme park than a winery. Every thing I saw was carefully calibrated and richly furnished to look like winemaking, except in ways that are appealing to well moneyed tourists. Inside the tasting room the sumptuous materials were beautiful but simultaneously fake feeling, like the overly staged and cross-merchandised tasting room that Giamatti's character made fun of in one of the climactic scenes of Sideways (the one where he pours a bucket over his head). It's curious when life imitates art... but when the art life chooses to imitate is satire, it's just sad.
The price of a simple tasting is steep: $40. That alone says something about the pretentiousness of this place. But sadly it's not alone. It's part of a tapestry of pretentious things. And the cheapest bottle of wine was $60. The wines were good, but not $60-on-up good. I drank my tasting, chatted amiably with the server, and walked around outside to take pictures from the hilltop.
Next up: Wine Tasting at Halter Ranch