The end of an Era on HWY 68

As I opened the envelope from a local winery I was assuming it was word of an upcoming release. Sadly no it was not. It was a letter telling me that the tasting room on HWY 68 was closing and they were consolidating to their Soledad winery location.

A business decision to be sure but the deck at Ventana Vineyards tasting room on HWY 68 was to be no more. 

I, we, us have enjoyed many a tasting here and oh so many meetings where extra bottles have been purchased to libricate our brains. It was such a great place to meet up with friends or to simply enjoy some nice wine in a lovely location that was pretty darn convenient.

A super place to grab a taste and buy a bottle to take next door to Tarpy's (no corkage) and have a great dinner was also a nice bonus.

As the melancholy settled in my thoughts ran to, what's next. Surely they can't just settle for a remote winery location that has only reasonable foot traffic on weekends.

At this point I don't know what the future holds but the wines deserve more.With a lineup of good reasonably priced and with some great ones tossed in there, there must be a better option. 

I'm sure at some time in the future one will prevail. I plan to talk with the decision makers to find out and share the future plans of Ventana, while in the meantime I have to reassess the weekday drinking er meeting places available. 

I head out to the Ventana tasting room this holiday Monday to just taste, get a glass and sit in one of the best places to enjoy a beautiful day in Monterey. 

So after a couple decades of pouring wine in this amazing spot a new dawn arrives where this is no longer available. It's not a pleasant thought that I won't get to have this simple pleasure any more. 

Stay tuned. The story continues.

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout