The Paso Robles Cab Collective Part 2

It was the end of a day tasting and talking Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon and we were excited for the evening event. The evening was to be a visit to the beautiful Villa San-Juliette. This was to be a feed and more wine as well as mingling with some of the winemakers, owners and Sommeliers. To add a little more class to this great event the Paso Robles CAB Collective folks arranged for a bus to transport those who wished, to and from the Paso Robles Inn. It just happened (good planning) that we were staying at the Inn. Brilliant!

When we arrived and as we stepped off the bus we were immediately handed a glass of a fresh crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Nice touch! Villa San Juliette is a beautiful facility and sits in a beautiful location surrounded by vineyards. We took our glass of Sauvignon Blanc and found a comfortable spot to sit and enjoy the wine and the setting we were in. Once done with the savy it was back to the reds.
After a couple glasses of top notch Cabernet it was time to belly up to the buffet. A hearty feast that really hit the spot.

After the feed we immediately got stuck into some conversations with those cheeky Sommeliers that did not share the morning wines. It was quite interesting to get there candid opinion of the morning event from their perspective as well as a lot of other wine related conversation.

About this time Matt Ortman, Vice President, Winemaker, Office of the President and Tour Leader extraordinaire lead us on a tour of the vineyards and winemaking facilities. It was to an inquisitive and engaged group. Some were more engaged in getting another great glass of wine but Matt did a good job of keeping everyone on track and no one was left behind.

The star of the show was this beautiful 168-acre country vineyard in San Miguel, California. Located at the northern tip of the Paso Robles AVA, Villa San Juliette is the creative vision of Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, where Winemaker Matt Ortman and his experienced team are creating exceptional wines at their SIP Certified vineyard and winery. (Check out this video)

 We enjoyed a good meal with great folks and some crackin wine in a spectacular setting, even if it was a little bit unusually chilly for Paso. Thanks to Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick for opening their facility up to us and to Matt Ortman for being such a good host and tour guide. The Paso Robles Cab Collective for the generous invite and another crackin day of Paso Cabernet.

As we were shuttled back to the comfy Paso Robles Inn for some much need sleep we polled and asked those professionals around us, who drink a lot of world class wines for a living, what they though about the wines they had been drinking that day. Without exception each had been impressed and had a lot of praise for what Paso Robles and Paso Robles Cabernet have to offer.

A quick night cap at the bar in the Cattleman's Lounge and it was time to hit the sack so as to be ready for another big day in Paso Wine Country!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout