Today we took Grandma out down Peachy Canyon Road (take 6th street west out of Paso to Pacific Avenue which becomes Peachy Canyon) and visited five wineries. No deer today but lots oak trees. It's a curvy road that make for a nice scenic drive.
Our first stop was Stacked Stones Winery. This was our first visit there.. The turn was a little tricky to find and they are working on better signage. Our server was Tom and he was friendly but the dog, Layla, stole the show .Tasting was $5. The red wines were good and we picked up a bottle of 2007 Zin Stone for $30. The average cost of a bottle was about $25, Although they have no wine pick-up parties, they have lots of events on various weekends. On October the 16th they have a concert and BBQ for $10. We highly recommend this winery. The tasting room was quite small but interesting, The grounds had a country look.
We made a return trip then to Minassian-Young Vineyard to see if it was as good as the first trip. Again, a little tricky to find, but it was worth it. The red wine was excellent. Dave and Ampro, the owners, served us again and were very friendly and tasting was free This is a dry-farmed wine which is not common and tasted excellent. The number of different wines they have is limited as this is a very small winery. They had sold out the last vintage we had purchased. We bought a bottle of 2008 Black Saint Peter (a Zin-blend) for $22. Their wines are all very reasonable and very, very good.
Next we hit Nadeau. This is a small winery on top a hill that has a nice collection of wine memorabilia. Old Thunderbird, Strawberry Hill, etc... bottles let us remember our younger days. Tasting were free. Wine was good with average price of $25. The owner served us and was very personable.
Turning right onto Vineyard, we hit Norman Winery. This is a larger winery that is commonly available in the retail market. The tasting fee is $5 for up to 8 tasting. Most were very good. We picked up a large bottle of 2004 Cabernet for $20. The average price of wine was $20. Wine club membership includes pick-up parties.
Our last stop was Villicana on Adelaide Road. Another winery was upstairs, but we felt five stops was enough for the day (someone has to drive). Our server was a cute blond who just graduated from Cal Poly. Tastings were $5 for 5 tasting. The wine was OK. The wine club has pick-up parties. Link to their web site and view the great "wine video", its really neat.
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