Halter Ranch and Uncorked Wine Tours

We had a chance this past weekend to try a few new wineries that we had not yet visited. This beautiful Victorian Farmhouse had long intrigued us. We were absolutely taken with the property and pleasantly surprised with their wines. 
Halter Ranch is a relatively new winery with a rich history. Located on Adelaida Road, near Vineyard Drive, the property dates to the 1880s, when it was part of a 3,000-acre ranch owned by Paso Robles pioneer Edwin Smith. The  Victorian farmhouse Smith built in 1885 remains a Westside Paso Robles landmark. In 2000, Swiss-born businessman Hansjorg Wyss fell in love with the property .Their vineyards  are planted with 15 different grape varieties - 60% Bordeaux and 40% Rhone.  It is one of the area’s few SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certified wineries.  We particularly enjoyed the 2008 Rose which by the way was named by Sunset Magazine as one of the top three favorites on the Central Coast.

The Old Barn on the property

Below is a rendering (courtesy of Halter Ranch website) of the new winemaking facility and tasting room. There is a newly constructed covered bridge that will connect the new structure with the original property. I love that it is in keeping with the character and ambiance of the  property. You can read more about it here:  http://www.halterranch.com/Our-Story/winery_project


We found their wines to be affordable and quite good. If you are interested in purchasing any of their wines go here: http://www.halterranch.com/shop
While visiting Halter Ranch we had the pleasure of running into the charming, cute and bubbly owner of Uncorked Wine Tours.
We have not yet taken any escorted local wine tours but I can tell you if we do we will definately contact Katie.  She will help you choose the wineries you would like to visit or if you have your own itinerary even better! She will even bring along a gourmet lunch.  She has a beautiful van that seats six.  Check out Katie’s website and give her a call if you are interested http://www.uncorkedwinetours.net/

Kitchen Progress and More Great Wine

My adorable, talented,  industrious, hardworking daughter took three days off and helped me tackle the kitchen cabinetry



Here is what they looked like before.  Not only is this finish ugly it has absolutely no relation to the rest of the house. It doesn’t appear anywhere . The beautiful mahogany doors (I will post a pic later) are stained a dark walnut.








Here are a couple of  after pics












We applied a light coat of Ebony Briwax with a brush  over the cupboards and the hinges.  We then dry brushed it off.  Finally we  rubbed with OOOO  steel wool until the desired finish was achieved.  Later apply a couple coats of clear briwax  and buff heartily for a tougher finish.  Hopefully I will finish the kitchen this weekend so I can post some final pics next week.  I think we achieved a richer more custom look.  What do you think?

Meanwhile drop by and visit another of our favorite Paso wineries Booker.

 

Booker Vineyard is located on Paso Robles' Westside. They produce mostly Rhone varietals. The name Booker comes from the two orphan brothers Claude and Dick Booker who had owned the land, as well as hundreds more acres on Paso's Westside. The Booker brothers were Paso's favorite sons, dedicating their lives to being great farmers and humanitarians. Aside from lending their farming knowledge and manual labor to neighbors and those in need, they were the area's biggest philanthropists, leaving 100% of their estate to charity when they passed.
After making wine with Justin Smith for five years and Stephan Asseo for two years the Eric Jensen decided it to create his own wine with Booker Vineyard. The 2005 Vintage was Booker Vineyards first release. The esteemed Robert Parker said  of the debut  vintage that the "wines were impeccable right out of the gate".  The Wine Spectator describes their wines as “stylish…brimming with ripe fruit flavors” Both Parker and the Spectator awarded all of their wines 90 points or more.
According to their website they bottle "50% of our wines after 18 months, with the rest going roughly 30 months in oak prior to bottling. The two exceptions are Grenache, which gets bottled after 18 months and the white which is bottled after a year of aging."







They honestly do not make a bad wine.  You can't say that about many wineries, particularly such a young one. If you would like to purchase some of their wines go to bookerwines.com and join the wine club.   They sell out quickly. Their tasting room is open Friday through Sunday 11-4.  We just found them last fall and are huge fans.

Cheers

Progress and Diversion

In my last post I promised to highlight some of the finishes and details that we would have to live with and those that we could afford to change. Even though we have been working like dogs, I am not sure there is anything really camera ready as of yet. I would really rather be here.....




(photo courtesy of Terry Hoage vineyards website)

http://terryhoagevineyards.com/
photo courtesy Terry Hoage Vineyards

...sampling one of the fabulous Rhone Varietals they have to offer

“Terry Hoage Vineyards is a small family owned and operated vineyard and boutique winery focusing exclusively on Rhone varietals. Located in the western hills of Paso Robles, our special climate, terroir, fastidious, sustainable farming practices and low yields produce exceptional fruit that is forward and focused. Terry and Jennifer's winemaking approach is to produce minimally processed wines. The 2100 case production includes estate red and white Rhone style wines. Varietals planted on our estate include Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise, Cinsault, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc and Roussanne”.


photo courtesy Terry Hoage Vineyards

If you google Terry Hoage you will find that he’s an NFF College Hall of Fame inductee and was a standout Georgia defensive back. He went on to become a 13 year veteran of the NFL. All of this is interesting fodder since the names of the wines he and his wife Jennifer produce reflect his football background. That tidbit aside the quality of the wines are amazing.

Here is a picture of my family Harvest Weekend in front of the winery (consequently a barn that was dismantled in Texas & reconstructed on site). For more information about Harvest Weekend go here: http://www.pasowine.com/events/harvest.php

Now that we are all dreaming of great wine...back to the progress at Villa Cantina...

When we purchased the home this is what the kitchen and dining area looked like

As I stated previously I am not loving the kitchen cabinetry. They are what they are for now however. Since they have sort of an industrial feel to them I thought these fabulous cooper draftsman stools from Wisteria might give it a more current industrial/chic look


You can find these at:
http://www.wisteria.com/Coopers-SmallDraftsman

The light fixture was another bone of contention. I was hoping for a nice French/European looking lantern but most were out of my price range for this project. Pottery Barn had these great table top lanterns http://www.potterybarn.com/products/parkhill-lantern/?pkey=clanterns

I consulted my electrician/contractor/artisan husband and son team to see if we could turn the large one into a light fixture for above the dining room table. They gave me “the look” but I knew they could do it. I salvaged some old parts from a hanging light fixture from another job and they worked their magic and created this:

The dining area previously had a square table & chairs which repeated the ceiling and floor pattern but made the dining area appear smaller than it actually is. I purchased the rectangular table and chairs from Dovetail Furniture( http://dovetailfurnitureonline.com/) and I think the space is looking more “spacious”!



Hopefully in my next post I will add a picture of the completed concrete counter top that was to mirror limestone (that’s another story). In the meantime here is my latest source of inspiration from one of my favorite bloggers, Brook Giannetti of Velvet and Linen (http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/). We have these overly manufactured looking cabinets flanking the fireplace. Brooke recently posted this picture of her cabinets flanking her fireplace in her recently updated family room. Is this lovely or what? I wonder if I could paint the backs of these awful cabinets and come up with something that would mimic her fabulous cabinets?