Hard to believe, but today marks Pretty-Smith Vineyards & Winery’s 10th anniversary. I looked around the property today and thought about all the changes — the new tasting room, the cafe, the entrance with a beautiful wall and actual gates, the refinished buildings, the paved driveway and parking lots, the remodeled house, the upgraded winery equipment, the new chilling system, the event pad …. wow what a difference!
I also no longer have to make a phone call when something goes wrong — the little quirks in the irrigation system, the funky electrical, setting the PTO to just the right speed for the crusher de-stemmer — I have it all figure out — the place almost runs like a well oil machine.
And the most important thing — loyal customers. Pretty-Smith has a fairly small wine club but the impressive thing to note is that many of the members have belonged to the Wine Circle since 2000 — how cool is that!?!
If you have a bottle in your cellar, today is the day to drink Pretty-Smith.
The tasting room is open regular hours Fri-Sun 11-5 this weekend and will be pouring the following wines ($5 tasting fee fully refundable with purchase):
- 2001 Cabernet Franc ($75/case special)
- 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon ($75/case special)
- 2003 Cabernet Franc $32
- 2003 Palette de Rouge $32
- 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon $32
We should get a break in the heat making it an ideal weekend for picnicing — feel free to bring along a picnic lunch and enjoy the picnic area behind the tasting room.
Only a few cases of the 1999 Zinfandel Port remain in inventory. As a result, the Port will no longer be poured in the tasting room. The Port is now a library wine at Pretty-Smith and will continue to be offered at $45 a bottle.
The Port was aged in oak a full ten years and is now tawny style. Flavors of nuts and brandy are followed by a honey/carmel/raisen finish. Yummy!
All of the wineries along the Pleasant Valley Wine Trail in San Miguel will be pouring a “Fantastic Future” on Saturday and Sunday August 14th – 15th. At Pretty-Smith I will have the 2006 Palette de Rouge open for tasting – this is an all estate blend of the four Bordeaux varietals grown at Pretty-Smith (Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon). The wine will be released the third weekend in October but you can get a sneak preview as part of the Fantastic Future tasting weekend.
Other Fantastic Futures you will find along the trail: At J&J Cellars you will find a 2008 unreleased Malbec as well as a barrel sample of a port-style wine named “Temptress”; Silver Horse will be pouring “The Main Thing” – a not yet released blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Sirah; Tackitt will be offering barrel samples of their 2008 Zinfandel; Ranchita Canyon will have barrel tasting of their Vineyard Estate 2007 “Old Vine” Petite Sirah. Cinquain is doing a “Back to the Futures” with barrel samples of their “2008 Cinquain” an estate blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot — you can also have your picture taken with a Delorean that will be at the winery for the weekend.
With 10 wineries and an olive oil company all giving you a glimpse of the future, be sure to plan a wine tasting adventure along the trail this coming weekend!
With the Mid-State Fair in town, tasting room traffic is very slow this weekend. Having said that everyone who does come in buys at least one case of the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon at the $75 per case special. A few large orders have been made for this wine so inventory is decreasing rapidly - if you want some be sure to call or stop by the tasting room soon.
Lisa was interviewed for Wine Region News Radio by Lynn Diehl and it aired July7th. The interview will be on 92.5 again Saturday, July 10th at 10:00 am — if you missed it, you can listen on line by clicking here to get to Crush Radio 92.5 then select WRNR July 7.
Yesterday was a fairly slow day in the tasting room until a busload of 58 tasters showed up. The Pretty-Smith tasting room and patio area are great for large groups.
A bus load of tasters hit the tasting room
If you are planning to bring a large group for tasting (12 or more people) please call ahead. For large groups I do need to find someone to help me pour and there are days when I have other events planned when I will not be able to accomodate a large number of tasters.
Special thanks to Kim Claycomb — a Pretty-Smith club member who helped me pour — he did a great job of helping keep wine in all those glasses!
Ron & Susan
Those who attended the artist Reception for Josh Kimball had a good time. The Pretty-Smith deck was the perfect place to be on a nice Paso summer evening. Ron and Susan from Side Roads were fantastic. Susan has an incredible voice. Oh and they even brought a fiddle player with them — he really livened things.
One of Josh's photos
There was plenty of food and wine — add a group of people and it is a party. To make the evening even better, a full moon hung over the vineyards.
Josh’s photography will remain on display at Pretty-Smith in both the tasting room and the Pretty Café until the end of September.
The Pretty Café is located at Pretty-Smith Vineyards & Winery at 13350 River Road in San Miguel just minutes off of Highway 101. The Café and deck can be booked for private events all year – for additional information or reservations call 805.467.3104.
Full Moon over Vineyard
Live Music on the Deck
The Cabernet Sauvignon at Pretty-Smith is fantastic vintage after vintage. The wine has won several gold medals, a few 90-point ratings (Wine Enthusiast and BTI) and a best of class at the California State Fair.
The 2003 was so popular that I was down to less than 14 cases in no time — those last few cases are now reserved for club members only.
The 2000 vintage is also a club member only — this is one of my personal favorites and less than 14 cases remain in the library.
The 2001 vintage was a great one with small berries, lots of tannins and balanced acidity. There is still over 200 cases in the library and it is now being offered at a case close-out for $75/case.
The current Cabernet being poured in the tasting room is the 2004 vintage. Those of us managing vineyards in the Paso Robles area remember what a problem the birds were that year. The birds actually got more of my Cabernet Franc than I did — as a result the little that was able to be harvested was blended with the Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon that has 17% Cabernet Franc blended in. This retails for $32/750ml.
All the Cabernet Sauvignon labels feature an image in front of the moon — so enjoy the “wake the moon” Cabernet with your friends in the evening.
The close out sale of the 2002 Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon worked like a charm — all are now SOLD OUT.
I do still have some of the 2002 Palette de Rouge — an estate grown, barrel select blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Still offering that at full retail of $32/750ml and expect most will be sold to club members at their special price of $25/750ml.