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Well, the truth is I am not but I would like to. Annie and I have always managed to be quite busy in our life together but add a baby on top of that and it’s mind numbing just how busy we are. Annie works a full time job and does all the back end stuff for our blogs and I have two businesses and write 15 to 25 blog posts per month. Sammy is another full time job and we just recently (finally) closed on a house so we’ve been emptying a storage unit, started painting, and so on.

So the thought of leaving on a jet plane for a while sounded nice, of course Annie and Sammy would go to but the idea of getting away from everything else just sounds fun. That’s one thing we have had to contend with, having a baby and being able and willing to put some things on the back burner. That back burner stuff may consist of traveling, wine events, or dealing with drunken evenings and hangover mornings. To be honest, I don’t really miss the drunken evenings, hangovers, and the super late night (otherwise known as early mornings).

I’d say the two things I miss the most are being able to travel more freely and more often and some of the cool wine related events we’ve passed on because we were with the baby. We’re not the kind of couple to get a babysitter more than once or twice per week so it does limit what we can go do and we’re also not likely to just have one of us go while the other stays behind with the baby. This is our life together and we want to live it that way…one for all and all for one kind of thing (very 3 Musketeers of us).

I’m bringing all of this around to Paso Robles wine, give me a second.

As I mentioned, one of the things I miss is being able to go to all of the wine related events locally, whether that be an industry party, a charity wine event, and on and on. Having Sammy meant filtering what we went to and what we didn’t go to. One of those things we decided to pass on this year is Wine Festival in the downtown park this weekend. We’ve been numerous times and really enjoyed it, not because of the wine (we love Paso wine obviously but it’s so packed with people) but because we got to see all of our friends and giggle like school children while watching the show that it turns into.

At the end of the day it’s all good, I know things change and that right now we won’t be able to go enjoy all these things like we once did but I need to realize that just because circumstances change doesn’t mean there still aren’t things to enjoy. This experiment we’re doing, named Sammy, is a once in a lifetime thing for us. He will only be 1 day old and 7 months old one time and then we move on. There will always be wine events but there won’t always be Sammy’s first tooth, the first time he rolls over, or the first time he says “Daddy”.

Perspective, grasshopper.

Life goes on regardless of what wine events you go to or don’t go to. I don’t think I will miss Wine Fest as much as I would miss the first time Sammy says Daddy.

So there we have it, another post on our “wine and lifestyle” blog that has little to do with wine. For all those going to Wine Festival, enjoy and be safe. To all those not going, make your own Wine Fest fun and enjoy. All it takes is a bottle (or more) of wine and a couple of friends and suddenly, you got your own occasion. Cheers and enjoy the weekend.

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So, Happy Day After Mother’s Day!

See, I think we can make everyday a Holiday of some sort and celebrate with alcohol and piñatas. Okay, maybe just the alcohol, no need to give a bunch of drunk adults baseball bats to swing blindly at a piñata…just seems like a bad idea.

Now back to a Hoot n Annie wine run…

Annie’s mom came up yesterday to spend part of Mother’s Day with us (and see Sammy of course, he is the star attraction) and we didn’t really have any plans other than hanging out, chatting, and of course the obligatory mimosa to celebrate Mother’s Day.

However, we decided spur of the moment to head over to Barrel 27 and Hug Cellars. They’re only a few minutes from our house and we were running dangerously low on wine so we headed out. We’ve been to both of these spots before but Hug has always been one of our local favorites. They have a great line up of wines and the owners are some of the nicest people in Paso.

Over at Barrel 27, another great line up of wines and the ladies in there pouring us wine got to experience what relatively new parents do…talk about bowel movements and what not…so, my apologies to them!! All kidding aside, they were great and it was fun hanging out in there for a bit, Annie and I haven’t been there for quite some time.

We walked away from Hug with some of their 2010 el conquistador (43% Cab Sauv, 18% Merlot, 12% Mourvedre, 20% Petit Verdot, and 7% Syrah) and their 2011 Vino Del Cielo (Viognier). Both great wines, we loved everything on the list but you can only grab so much wine. At Barrel 27 we left with their Head Honcho (2009 Syrah), 2010 High on the Hog (white wine), and 2009 Sittin’ Pretty (Viognier). I guess the theme of the day for us was…Viognier!!

So if you’re ever in their neck of the woods, be sure to stop in at Barrel 27 and Hug Cellars, there’s also Brochelle Winery right next to them. We would have gone in there too but we limited ourselves to two and headed back to the air conditioning at the house and Sammy’s nap time.

That’s what our Mother’s Day 2013 consisted of, hope everyone had an enjoyable one. Cheers and Happy Monday!

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I posted this comment on my personal Facebook page (Matt Browne) yesterday:

“I’m thinking about getting rid of our Hoot ‘n Annie and Little Browne Facebook pages. Instead of spending the time updating 3 different FB handles I would just do this one. We’ve been downsizing in life with stuff and bills and all that, now I want to attack the things that absorb so much of my time. I look at all the non financial stuff as mental or emotional debt…and I don’t like debt. Time to do an audit. Any thoughts?”

And the response was more than what I expected. As of right now it only had 29 “Likes” but if you include all of my responses to people there were 116 comments. Granted, some of those comments were goofy and playing around but still, that’s a fair amount.

So here’s the deal, it’s really hard to take care of two full time blogs and my personal blog that I have now neglected for far too long. In addition, I take care of 8 social media handles on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Instagram that are mine or ours…like Hoot n Annie and Little Browne. In addition to these I take care of at least three other handles on a regular, consistent, or full time basis…these are ones that I do for others and receive payment for. At times there are some others but I am not counting those since they are not regular.

This has really soaked up a lot of my time because I spend so much time researching, finding things to post, and interacting with people on each of those. In addition to all of that I write anywhere from 15 to 25 blog posts per month and that’s aside from the writing I do just to write. Oh ya, I also have a painting company and work from home 4 days per week to take care of Sammy boy.

I say none of this out of being negative or complaining, I just finally realized that I’ve been too busy. Annie, Sammy, and making money are my priorities. Without a doubt I will continue this blog and the Little Browne blog because I absolutely love both of them and what they stand for. I am also massively appreciative of the community of people we have built around each of them…you guys are nothing but awesome.

My thought has been to streamline and continue our movement of minimalism. We’ve been doing things to make more money and spend less, use what we have instead of consuming more, and just trying to really simplify any and everything that we can…it feels amazing. Part of this minimizing needs to include going over our time, our mental state, and our overall happiness…the same way you would go over your expenditures. Sure, there is financial debt, but there is also emotional debt.

I have made no final decisions but I am still thinking that shutting down the Hoot n Annie and Little Browne Facebook pages would be a good move, as well as the Hoot n Annie Twitter handle. Annie and I would continue to post on our own personal pages so anyone that is not following us personally could feel free to friend us. Again, no final decision has been made but every second of my day, and yours, is important. There is so much information being thrown at us every single day and I not only want to better spend my time but I also don’t want our information or story to get lost in the abyss. I don’t want to be part of the overload of information on you or myself.

More free time would allow me to spend more time writing which is what I love to do, and more time writing means I will get better at it and it will help me on my little journey of finding out who the hell I am and what my world is all about. Thanks again to those that gave advice on Facebook last night in regards to my comment, it was awesome. We shall see what final decisions will be made here in the next 30 days. Thanks again folks, I love all the conversation, thoughts, and ideas that go back and forth. Cheers!!

Have you ever done an audit on your time and made adjustments?

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Here we are…again. Another month gone that we’ll never get back and it’s a Monday…haha…just kidding. No negativity here. April flew by as all time does for us, nothing like having careers and a baby to soak it all up.

We had some new wines last month and also revisited many that we were familiar with. My three favorites were:

Baker & Brain (I’m not listing one, had a few at Earth Day and everything was awesome, period. Pinot Noir, Grenache Blanc…just go check them out!)

2010 Record Family Wines Merlot (Had this one at the Paso Robles CAB Collective, never had their wines before)

2009 K. Furtado Rose of Syrah (This was given to us, we had not had this before either)

Annie’s three favorites were:

2011 Zocker Gruner Veltliner – awesome Summer wine, now that things are warming up!

2010 AmByth Viognier – Delicious biodynamic Viognier!

1980 Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon – What can I say…this was an incredible opportunity to try an older Paso Robles Cab, offered up at the Paso Robles CAB Collective.

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There’s a new event in town and it doesn’t appear as though they’re messing around. The Paso Robles CAB Collective is a group focused on spreading the word on Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux style wines.

This group includes some smaller wineries that may not be as well known and it also includes some of Paso’s heavy hitters…and by heavy hitters I mean wineries that are either quite large in production or wineries that have large bank accounts behind them. When I mention names like Justin Winery (now owned by the Fiji Water people) or J. Lohr Winery (I believe they are at a million cases or darn close to it) you think of big, well established Paso Robles wineries. However, there are also many others like DAOU, Vina Robles, Chateau Margene, and Record Family Wines that you may be less familiar with. (To see the complete list of participants check this link)

My personal opinion is that the 16 to 20 wineries that poured at the event are a very good representation of what Paso Robles is all about. It was also fantastic to see someone like Gary Eberle there, who is commonly referred to as the Godfather of Paso Robles wine, standing next to someone that is newer to the scene like Daniel Daou of DAOU Vineyards. A great cross section of wine and people for sure.

The event was held at Windfall Farms which really seems to be the place to hold an event now. I first set foot on the property for the Paso Robles Garagiste Festival in 2011 (I believe that was the first year) and since that time more and more events are being held there. I can’t blame them, the facility is beautiful and quite unique…it is an equestrian facility after all.

We got to the event slightly early and they were running slightly late which was to our benefit because we got to watch more than half of the seminar that preceded the media tasting. The panel included six of the winemakers pouring at the event and was moderated by Steve Heimoff. I always get a kick out of listening to people that know what they’re talking about and are passionate about it…and each of these guys did just that.

The media tasting went really well. I enjoy being able to go to those simply because they are less crowded. We tasted many different wines as you’ll see in the slideshow below but the real stand out for me was the 1980 Eberle Cab Sauv that Gary himself was pouring. Annie and I are quite fortunate to know Gary and his wife Marcy, and it’s always fun to see Gary’s passion for this Paso Robles wine thing.

It was great seeing so many familiar faces and truthfully, all the wine we tasted was quite nice. Some more drinkable on their own and some requiring food, but all had a place. We also got to taste Record Family Wines, which we had not tasted before, they were pouring two Merlots and of course Annie and I liked the opposite ones the best. So it goes, eh?

All around I think the event organizers did a great job for a first year shindig. It was well laid out and I only see this group and this event getting bigger with more time under their belt. I also think it’s good that Paso has these different events highlighting the different wines in the area. We’ve had Rhone events, Pinot Noir events, and so on…now to add an event focused on Cab and Bordeaux styles is only fitting and honestly, about time (unless I am unaware of another event that does so).

Did you go to the event? If not, would you go after hearing more about it??

Have a great weekend folks!

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Someone that Annie and I know very well recently asked us these questions and it kind of got me thinking. Even though I have my opinions this question can be taken many different ways.

-What is the future of the Paso Robles wine business?

-Will Paso Robles be able to preserve that small town feeling as the wine industry continues to blow up?

-Will Paso Robles have the needed infrastructure to deal with even more tourists than what we are currently getting?

-What does the future have in store for wineries? A) In regards to the wine, how will they take things to the next level? B) We’ve already seen a huge influx of music and food at wineries…what’s next on that side of things?

Paso Robles has changed a lot in the short 10 years that I have been here but what is in store and can the city handle it? We’ve seen huge improvement in the food, art, and beer scene for sure…what’s next? Is there a “what’s next”?

There is part of me that wonders if we’ll come full circle and get back to the simplicity of things versus the shiny, bedazzled stuff…not that I dislike the shiny, bedazzled stuff…I’m just saying that we see many things come full circle so maybe that’s a possibility. I see the food, wine, beer, and music continue to blow up. I foresee more wineries collaborating with other wineries, restaurants, and so on. There’s the new spirits distillery thing happening locally as well.

It seems many of the winery owners, winemakers, restaurant owners, and chefs are continuing to push the boundaries and I think that is great for Paso. That will only help to bring more recognition here but is recognition what we need if we cannot handle it internally?

So, these are some thoughts and questions I have…what do you think?

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