Wine Tasting at Opolo
Paso Robles, CA - Mon, 11 Nov 2019, 12pm
It's a new day in Paso Robles and a new set of wineries to visit. It occurred to me shortly after writing my previous blog about taking it easy this morning that I didn't have to wait until afternoon to visit wineries; several of them open at 10. Thus I started Day 2 of my Paso Robles adventure before lunch.
Already today I visited Opolo. They're about 8 miles outside of town in the rolling hills of the coast range. I packed and left quickly from the hotel figuring I could get an early start on the day by killing two birds with one stone: wine tasting and lunch, as reviews about Opolo's outdoors cafe say they have awesome pizza and Mediterranean dishes.
Ultimately I left without trying the food (more on that in a moment) but as I arrived I did see something that looked a lot like actually killing two birds. A pair of red-tail hawks were flying around a tree screaming at each other. I don't think they were trying to kill each other so much as courting. With predator species the difference can be difficult to tell. I lean toward courtship as they landed in the same tree when they were done.
I liked the wines at Opolo. The founder of the winery is from Serbia (or his parents are/were) so there's an interesting Italian/Mediterranean style to a lot of the offerings. My favorites were a Sangiovese-Barbera blend and a well balanced Zinfandel. In the past I haven't cared for Barbera, finding it too harsh, but in the blend it matched well with the Sangiovese to bolster its fruitiness with earthy richness without going overboard on either. Likewise, the Zin balanced well between its characteristics of spice and fruit. On the nose it smelled like it was going to be a pepper bomb but the taste was well controlled with equal fruitiness.
Ultimately I chose not to eat lunch at their terrace outside. As much fun as it would've been to enjoy a fresh baked pizza with a glass of Zinfandel while watching hawks mating in mid-air, I figured I didn't actually want a full glass of wine. I need to pace myself to visit 2 more wineries today before driving 165 miles back home! So I drove back to town to have pizza and a soda at one of the restaurants near the hotel.
That pizzeria is where I am now, just finishing up. The two wineries I'd like to visit next are Eberle and Robert Hall, both on the east side of town, and both among the first wineries in this region that established its value.
Next up: My plan for two wineries grows to three!
It's a new day in Paso Robles and a new set of wineries to visit. It occurred to me shortly after writing my previous blog about taking it easy this morning that I didn't have to wait until afternoon to visit wineries; several of them open at 10. Thus I started Day 2 of my Paso Robles adventure before lunch.
Already today I visited Opolo. They're about 8 miles outside of town in the rolling hills of the coast range. I packed and left quickly from the hotel figuring I could get an early start on the day by killing two birds with one stone: wine tasting and lunch, as reviews about Opolo's outdoors cafe say they have awesome pizza and Mediterranean dishes.
Ultimately I left without trying the food (more on that in a moment) but as I arrived I did see something that looked a lot like actually killing two birds. A pair of red-tail hawks were flying around a tree screaming at each other. I don't think they were trying to kill each other so much as courting. With predator species the difference can be difficult to tell. I lean toward courtship as they landed in the same tree when they were done.
I liked the wines at Opolo. The founder of the winery is from Serbia (or his parents are/were) so there's an interesting Italian/Mediterranean style to a lot of the offerings. My favorites were a Sangiovese-Barbera blend and a well balanced Zinfandel. In the past I haven't cared for Barbera, finding it too harsh, but in the blend it matched well with the Sangiovese to bolster its fruitiness with earthy richness without going overboard on either. Likewise, the Zin balanced well between its characteristics of spice and fruit. On the nose it smelled like it was going to be a pepper bomb but the taste was well controlled with equal fruitiness.
Ultimately I chose not to eat lunch at their terrace outside. As much fun as it would've been to enjoy a fresh baked pizza with a glass of Zinfandel while watching hawks mating in mid-air, I figured I didn't actually want a full glass of wine. I need to pace myself to visit 2 more wineries today before driving 165 miles back home! So I drove back to town to have pizza and a soda at one of the restaurants near the hotel.
That pizzeria is where I am now, just finishing up. The two wineries I'd like to visit next are Eberle and Robert Hall, both on the east side of town, and both among the first wineries in this region that established its value.
Next up: My plan for two wineries grows to three!