A nearly random group of wine facts from Halter Ranch.

I never shy away from the chance to learn something new and Saturday was no different. Sporting my new SIP hat**, I cruised down to Riverbench Vineyard & Winery in Santa Maria for a vineyard tour compliments of Central Coast Winegrowers Association (CCWGA).

Made it to Riverbench Vineyard & Winery!

But wait, there’s more!

Here at the Vineyard Team we spend most of our time on the farming side of wine making so we thought that we would get into the cellar and learn a little about tasting the fruits of our farmers’ labors. The Team loaded up for a trip to Firestone Vineyard in Los Olivos where the fabulous Amy Freeman offered to be our wine tasting teacher for the day.

Our tasting training center

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At the 2009 Earth Day Food & Wine Festival my friends (stellar, silent auction bidding event volunteers) won the auction package “Cook’s Nook” which included a cooking class at Central Coast Culinary and Catering. Having wanted to attend a class with chef Debbie Duggan for years we figured that this would be the final incentive to sign up. Eight months later (ok, we were not highly motivated) we finally booked, just in time for the school’s last class!

Of course, a wine from SIP Certified Tolosa

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A little rain didn’t stop anyone from having a Rockin’ time at the 20th SLO Vintners Harvest Celebration. Yours truly was stoked to be pouring SIP wines in between Rays Own Brand sausage and Sextant Wines. The SIP booth got to taste each sausage variety (Bratwurst, Hot Italian, Linguica, Pork Apple Honey) hot off the grill and I have a new favorite Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Featuring Central Coast Wine & Cuisine!

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It was like Fashion Week came to Paso Robles: perfect lighting, stage settings, cameras flashing…OK, not quite. But it was a very glamorous affair for a few SIP Certified wines featuring the SIP seal on the label. With the expertise of Juice we created a fabulous photo portfolio of great wines made from healthy vineyards.

Photographer Steven Gould in action

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Love the stemless glassware!

If  you’ve been in downtown San Luis Obispo recently, you may have noticed the quaint little tasting room on Chorro Street. This oasis of goodness is Pithy Little Wine Company and on Monday night I stopped by their Wine Industry Open House for a taste.

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I love to try out new recipes from my bimonthly Cuisine at Home. The magazine is so fabulous that I have bought it for friends, who have bought it for friends, who have (you guessed it) bought it for friends. One of my cooking comrades always receives her in the mail before me. On delivery day, I get a slew of texts from her talking about the latest recipes that she wants to try which leaves me nothing short of antsy to get my hands on my own copy.

This week I was feeling the fall air so I threw together a meal for the season: Chicken Breasts with Mushroom-Artichoke Ragout, Mashed Potatoes, and Apple Calfouti “Pie”. And the best part? I had it the leftovers lunch the next day!

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Vineyard Night Life

Jogging down the vineyard row at 11 at night I keep hoping I don’t catch my toe on some dirt clod hidden in the dark and I wish that I spent a little more time at the gym so I wouldn’t feel like this light jog was about to kill me. The closer I get to the beast rolling along over the top of the vineyard rows the easier it gets to see. When I reach the ladder I grab onto to steps, swing up and enjoy the rush of warm air that blows from the tractor into my face.
But wait, there’s more!