Peter Bowers - Mary and Tony Beecher

Some good friends told us about Daou Vineyards. They know Daniel Daou who hosted a private tasting at their house. I sent an email to Daniel and he arranged a visit to their property. We were met by Peter Bowers, who is the Winery General Manager. There was a group of 4 people from Los Angeles who also joined us. As we stood overlooking the property Peter told us the Daou Story. We then took a drive up to the winery that is under construction and drove through the trees to the hilltop paradise where they are planning a small B&B for their club members. The view from the top is magnificent.

After the tour we met up with Daniel and headed down to the house to taste some wine. Daniel and Peter graciously poured their Cabernet, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, and Syrah. Peter, who has a long history in the Hospitality business created a wonderful meal of fresh bread, cous cous, fabulous cheeses, fresh veggies, and salad. We were not expecting a meal, much less an elegant feast. For dessert, Peter melted some Hagen-Dazs vanilla and poured it over some fresh fruit. They then poured some of their Pasorina wine. Pasorina is a Moscato, it paired perfectly with the dessert. It is a very fun wine.

The wines of Daou are very nice. They are clean, Bordeaux, and Rhone blends. They are competively priced and really should be tasted. You can find Daou wines in some of the finest dining establishments.

To read the Daou story, please check out their website here.

Here is a short video from the top of the hill.

We spent three nights in the Paso Inn. To me, the Inn is really the only decent hotel in the main part of town. This is a local landmark that is located on the City Park, a 2 square block donated to the city by the town’s founders. This is a well used park by the locals. While we were there they had their annual Pancake Breakfast. This was free to all. There were horse carriage rides, music, and a great pancake, egg, sausage breakfast all for free.

The Paso Robles Inn is a great place to stay as you explore the region. The Inn has been around in several iterations since 1857. When you stay at the Inn you can read the in-room copy of “The History of the Paso Robles Inn: More than a Century of Pride.” This is a hard-bound 120-page book by Ann Martin Bowler chronicling the history of the Inn. I did finish the book but decided to read it again. You can buy this history book at the Inn for $20.00 plus tax and shipping. Call 800-676-1713 to order. This book is a must-read. It tells the fascinating story of the City of Paso Robles.

The Inn has beautiful grounds with Koi Ponds, a swimming pool , spa, coffee shop, restaurant, and full bar.

We stayed in room 1204, a King Spa Room above the Grand Ballroom. This is a huge suite with a natural mineral spa on the deck outside. There is a floor-to-ceiling curtain that you can close to insure your privacy. You enter through the grand lobby and bar. This is a great place to sit and take in the grandeur of the building. Each night we enjoyed a natural mineral spa on the deck.

The Inn is also walking distance to many fine restaurants and shops that encircle the City Park. You begin to feel very comfortable walking through the town. The townsfolk are very friendly. I recommend staying at the Inn always. If that is not your choice you should stay there at least once just to get the old-town feeling.

We joined their wine club member and we are member number 151 or so. Their list has grown immensely and they have become wizards and maintain their customer base. Tobin James does things right. They still consider themselves a small winery but their tasting room was packed on a Tuesday afternoon. They have built a customer allegiance that is awe inspiring. They have learned how to make their customers love them. They are marketing geniuses. When you receive their twice-yearly wine club shipment they always include a prize. The last shipment had a metal paper towel holder. All of their merchandise and surprises have their sun logo on them. As you acquire more goodies, you end up with their logo all over your house. You can even see the logo all over town. At home you see the sun logo and you think about the fun time you had at Tobin James.

Lance found out that it was Mary’s birthday and had some gourmet appetizers ready for her. We spent a couple of hours tasting everything, including their reserve wines. We were, once again, treated like royalty.

Dubost produces wine and olive oil. Their wines consist of Grenache, a very nice Rose, Tempranillo, and Syrahs. These are very nice, handcrafted, limited quantity wines. It is well worth the drive to go visit Dubost.

They wine lines are called Four Vines with bottles like, Naked Chardonnay, Biker/Maverick/Killer Canyon Zinfandels. They also have the Freak Show line with Anarchy, Heretic, Loco labels.

They are on the Westside and they have a real nice gourmet deli out front right on Highway 46 West. This is great because there are not many places to get lunch on the Westside. Four Vines also has nice picnic area. You can get a sandwich, buy a glass of wine and sit outside and relax.

The Dusi Vineyards produces a most memorable grape. Because of the varying elevations, the different age of the vines, and the soil & weather differences, you will find different characteristics within the grapes on the estate. Many wineries buy from a specific location but others, like Janell’s own J Dusi Wine, select grapes from all regions of the estate to get a true Dusi character.

Most of the grapes are sold to producers like, Tobin James Cellars, Four Vines, and Turley. Janell Dusi has created her own wine. Consumer winemaking is not the norm for the Dusi family. The J Dusi wines are incredible (as I sip a glass of ’08 J Dusi Zin) – We are now proud members of the J Dusi Wine Club.

Thank you Janell for spending the time with us. We will remember sitting in the back yard tasting your wine.

We started our meal with two glasses of Prosecco by Enrico. After that we each had a glass of Wild Horse Chardonnay that was perfect.

For starters we split a salad:

Insalata al cuore di Cesare - fresh hearts of romaine lettuce served with rosemary garlic croutons, and shaved parmesan cheese in a homemade Caesar dressing

The salad was very good. We were glad that we split the salad because it was big. It went very well with the Chardonnay.

I saw an interesting half bottle of wine on the menu, La Capilla Vineyards – by Daou – 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel Reserve. A very, very nice bottle of red.

I ordered the Tortelloni:

Tortelloni bufalina - homemade tortelloni stuffed with fresh mozzarella and finished in a light tomato sauce

Another winner! This was light and perfect.

Mary saw the Gnocchi on the menu and read no further:

Gnocchi Novaresi al pesto - homemade potato dumplings in a light creamy pesto sauce

This was delicious. The Gnocchi had the perfect texture and the sauce was great, not overpowering.

The restaurant wanted to give Mary a desert for her birthday. She was so stuffed that she could not eat anything else. Well.. The waiter showed up with a small glass of house-made Lemoncello. Oh My!!! The perfect ending to the perfect meal.

If you find yourself in downtown paso for dinner, stop in to Buona Tavola. They are located right next door to the Paso Robles Inn on the City Park.

After cocktails we decided to walk through downtown to find a place for dinner. We found Lombari’s Pasta Familia – What a great place right on the City Park Square in Downtown Paso. We did not want a fancy meal since we will be celebrating Mary’s birthday tomorrow. There are plenty of great dining choices in Paso Robles. We looked at the menu and thought that this would be the perfect place.

We started with a bottle of Opolo – Sangiovese. This is a great Italian grape that has been produced very well in the Paso Robles region. On the menu was an appetizer called – Vegetarian Antipasto… What??? Check this out –> Layers of provolone topped with mixed greens, roasted red peppers, red onion, tomatoes, beets, artichoke hearts, pepperoncinis and our creamy Italian dressing. Oh Yes! This was incredible! But… it was huge, too. We finally had to stop eating it to leave room for the rest of the meal.

I ordered what I call a Green Margarita Pizza. This is the typical Margarita Pizza with a pesto base. This was a real treat because the crust was as thin and crunchy as a cracker. it was no thicker than a tortilla. When I get home I am going to try making a pizza with my tortilla press.

Mary ordered Fettuccini Alla Lombardi. According to the menu it was simply fettuccini with Alfredo sauce, fresh mushrooms and artichokes. Here comes my 8-inch perfect pizza and Mary’s 5 pound of pasta on a huge platter! When she was full it looked like she had not touched it.

Next, dessert was offered. They have a plate with some really gorgeous desserts but all we could do was hold our bellies and laugh. We will certainly be going back to Lombardi’s!

Well… 2 days later, we did go back to Lombardi’s! We had a large green margarita pizza ans a caprese and bruschetta appetizer. Another unbelievable meal! We never go to the same place twice on a visit but we had to, it was so good! Be sure to ask for Ashley and order a green margarita pizza!