Oh, I wish I had time…and you had the interest! For you winos out there – if you haven’t been to Paso Robles GO. Of course, Gordon and I fall in love with EVERY California wine growing region each time we visit somewhere new. The AVA’s (for you non-geeks this means American Viticultural Area are so DIVERSE in California – you can find almost any grape you like turned into wine, and each grape variety will taste different from each AVA). Bear in mind I am not dissing any other AVA in the United States – there’s something for EVERYONE. But THIS year, we did Paso. It's not just the wine, it’s the people and the land and the beauty and the food and…well, you get it.

FIRST, though, I want to discuss airline food. United beats American Every. Time. And that’s enough of THAT discussion!

We flew into LA to visit with my uncles, one of whom is feeling pretty poorly. We had planned to take them to his favorite seafood restaurant The Water Grill. They weren’t up to it so Gordon and I went by ourselves. I had never been and was so looking forward to sharing this experience with Uncle Gene (Uncle Blair is NOT as excited about this particular restaurant as Gene). We thoroughly enjoyed it and Gordon had the most beautifully prepared Sablefish EVER. The next night GWEN one of our all-time favorite restaurants anywhere, did not disappoint. When you find someplace special, you kind of hold your breath the next time, hoping your memory hasn’t outfoxed you. Gwen has truly earned her Michelin Star. They even presented me with my own birthday cake which I took and shared with the others in Paso. This newsletter would be 10 pages long if I waxed poetic over every moment on this Research and Revivification Tour – so let’s just say that you MUST stay at Orchard Hill Farm – either in their carriage house or their private room with separate entrance on their farm. I tried to take pictures – nothing does justice, but the pic above is our view from OUR balcony (one of three) in the carriage house.

I’m excited to say that women owned wineries and femalewinemakers are no longer rare in California – one of our most delightful experiences was Desperada Winery https://www.desparada.com/, where she ages her wine the original way – in Amphora (clay). Not all of it all the time, but she has an expert palate and plays with each vintage so that each annual representation of each grape gets the best treatment. We fell in love with LXV Wines https://www.lxvwine.com/, owned and curated by Neeta Mital and her husband Kunal – their unique spice pairings really made the wine tasting experience special. If you know me well enough to ask me in person, I will tell you a funny story about Epoch Wines https://epochwines.com/ and their Paderewski Vineyard – it involves my mom so you know it will be funny! We would like to return to Sculpterra Winery https://sculpterra.com/– of course we tasted first and then lost our ambition to tour their fabulous outdoor sculptures in detail. Castoro Winery https://castorocellars.com/ was our first and last visit – and an accident. Absolutely beautiful scenery, great wine, so much so that on our last day we went back to buy. It arrived this WEEK!!! We joined a couple more wine clubs and will HAVE to cull our memberships – we don’t need to buy wine for 2 years!!!

DIVERSIONARY TACTICS

We took breaks from our hard research, and found time to enjoy other specialties of the area – highly recommend the Sensorio Experience – an acre upon acre light show with different themes (see pic!). We toured both the public rooms and the private areas of Hearst Castle - WAYYYYYY to much info to even remember much – it makes me a bit uncomfortable witnessing such excess. Joanna and I enjoyed the Spa at River Oaks Hot Springs where you pickle yourself in mildly sulfuric waters before and after your massage, while enjoying a regional wine sampler. HAAAARD WORK. If you want to taste something other than wine spend a couple of hours at Kiler Ridge Olive Farm and learn all about it. We ended up buying almost the kitchen sink – down to lip balm. They were highly successful in their efforts without even trying – the products sell themselves! 😊

About Chef Lori

Chef Lori Pierce, owner of Lula's, creates unique, boutique cuisine to impress your guests and clients in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. Our custom recipes and menus delight an intimate gathering of 10, a celebration for 100, and anything in between.

At Lula's, Love is ALWAYS our first ingredient!