In late December, Annie and I went to Paso Robles, California for a wine tasting getaway. Paso Robles has well over 200 wineries and everyone is vying for wine lover's attention in such a competitive little area. It reminded me of the independent music scene. A place where everyone is a start-up and it's hard to tell who is the real deal and who is faking it.
Wine tasting relates to the music scene in many ways, actually. 1) Someone can persuade you that their product is better than it actually is with a little slick presentation. 2) Most people don't know what they are looking for, let alone what their palette is after 3) There is a huge grey area where subjectivity is dead 4) you may end up being tricked that what you think is a delicious, high end product is actually a $5 piece of crap.
I didn't find any Cabernets that knocked me off my socks in Paso. The best wines in my book make the ends of your fingertips and toes tingle a little. Really great music will do that too. I did however discover a dessert wine that really blew us away:
https://www.rottawinery.com/Store/product_list.cfm?category_id=5
This is the Black Monukka dessert wine that doesn't disappoint. The oak barrels sit out in the sun and the result is a walnut-induced buttery flavor. It's awesome. This wine comes from Rotta Winery, one of the oldest in Paso Robles.
On the music front, Annie played me a few songs by the group "The Script." Like the Cabernets in Paso, I didn't find anything here. She played me their song "Breakeven," which to me sounded like a fairly good impression of Gavin DeGraw.
For the dessert wine of the week, I go with "Tidal" from Imogen Heap's latest release, Ellipse. It's easy on the ears and also doesn't disappoint. The guitars and added string sounds are a nice touch.
Wine tasting relates to the music scene in many ways, actually. 1) Someone can persuade you that their product is better than it actually is with a little slick presentation. 2) Most people don't know what they are looking for, let alone what their palette is after 3) There is a huge grey area where subjectivity is dead 4) you may end up being tricked that what you think is a delicious, high end product is actually a $5 piece of crap.
I didn't find any Cabernets that knocked me off my socks in Paso. The best wines in my book make the ends of your fingertips and toes tingle a little. Really great music will do that too. I did however discover a dessert wine that really blew us away:
https://www.rottawinery.com/Store/product_list.cfm?category_id=5
This is the Black Monukka dessert wine that doesn't disappoint. The oak barrels sit out in the sun and the result is a walnut-induced buttery flavor. It's awesome. This wine comes from Rotta Winery, one of the oldest in Paso Robles.
On the music front, Annie played me a few songs by the group "The Script." Like the Cabernets in Paso, I didn't find anything here. She played me their song "Breakeven," which to me sounded like a fairly good impression of Gavin DeGraw.
For the dessert wine of the week, I go with "Tidal" from Imogen Heap's latest release, Ellipse. It's easy on the ears and also doesn't disappoint. The guitars and added string sounds are a nice touch.
RSS Feed