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"Paraiso in Bloom"

May 2nd, 2011 by Paraiso Vineyards

There are thousands of wine events held all year-long, but here at Paraiso, our mission is to throw an event that is a little different and more memorable than the rest. We believe we reached our goal at the 3rd Annual “Paraiso in Bloom” on Saturday, April 23rd. After three years of putting this great event on, we can officially prove to everyone that adults really do like to have fun!

This lighthearted event brings out the kid in everyone with an “adult” Easter Egg hunt, potato sack races, egg coloring and a cork toss. The best part?? You get to do all this while enjoying a glass of Paraiso’s Estate wine! Everything was available for tasting, from our Riesling and Chardonnay to our rare release of 2008 “Faite” Pinot Noir.  If you aren’t the competitive type to hop down the grass in a potato sack in hopes of winning a bottle of wine, there were less strenuous activities to partake in including a fresh produce Farmer’s Market, Flower Market and gardening demonstrations provided by McShane’s Nursery. No matter how you liked to spend your day, everyone was around when it was time to hunt for eggs, especially the Golden Egg.

The first person to find the Golden Egg is the lucky winner of a free Wine Club membership! So, with the eye on the prize, hundreds of adults scattered through the vineyard in search of 500 eggs full of candy and wine prizes. Now that’s what we call a fun winery event!!

For those who were able to join us at “Paraiso in Bloom”, really truly hope you had a fantastic day! We are already getting excited for more springtime activities to add at next year’s event…. maybe an egg toss relay?? We would also like to thank the many local companies that helped us put this event on: Portobello’s, McShane’s Nursery, Mann Packing, Tanimura & Antle, Earthbound Farm, Organic Girl, Growers Express and Hollywood’s Cupcakes.

Mark your calendars now for “Paraiso in Bloom” 2012 – Saturday, April 7th

Tags: California, California Pinot Noir, California Wine, Candy, Chardonnay, Competition, Cork Toss, Earthbound Farm, Easter Egg Hunt, Egg Coloring, Egg Hunt, Egg Toss Relay, Events, Faite, Faite Pinot Noir, Farmer's Market, Flower Market, Food, Gardening Demonstrations, Golden Egg, Grower's Express, Hollywood's Cupcakes, Mann Packing, McShane's Nursery, Membership, Monterey, Monterey Chardonnay, Monterey Pinot Noir, Organic Girl, Paraiso, Paraiso in Bloom, Paraiso Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Portobello's, Potato Sack Races, Prizes, Recreation, Riesling, Santa Lucia Highlands, Soledad, Tanimura & Antle, Wine, Wine Club, Wine Tastings, Winery

A Day of Tasting Pinot

Apr 13th, 2011 by Paraiso Vineyards

Recently, I was given the opportunity to sit down and take part in a blind wine tasting of Pinot Noirs produced from different AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) all over Monterey County. Set up by the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association, this private blind wine tasting was held for industry members, such as winemakers, winegrowers, and marketing managers, just to name a few, to see how Monterey County Pinot Noir as a whole is tasting these days. With 30 bottles of wine from 18 different Pinot Noir producers we sure had a lot of tasting to do! (Another rough day at the office)

The first flight included 12 wines with a price range of $12-$25 a bottle. As a very popular price range among consumers and producers it was not surprising when most of these productions were in the several thousands. One case production even hit 6 digits! But contrary to the old belief that cheap prices means cheap wine, these Pinot Noirs were all very drinkable, high-quality wines with a lower price tag. There was a consensus among everyone in attendance that the wines in this price range keep getting better and better every year. Winemakers are turning to more experimental and new age practices such as barrel and yeast alternatives (i.e. oak chips and less indigenous fermentation).

The second flight included 10 wines with a price range of $25-$35 a bottle. For our fans out there, Paraiso‘s $25 Estate Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands was in this category. Interesting things happened when winemakers started talking on behalf of their wine being tasted in this flight. Winemakers began to take a more artistic approach in how they produced their wine. A higher importance was placed on clonal and vineyard designation, grape picking and sorting practices, and barrel aging techniques, just to name a few. Across the board, these wines were bigger, bolder and more complex, showing more fruit, more oak character and a more robust mouth-feel than the lower priced Pinot Noirs in the first flight. My question is: “Does more money mean there has to be more of everything?”

The third and final flight included 11 wines with a price range of $38-$65 a bottle. If you are looking for that soft, barely there Pinot Noir these are not your wines. These Pinot Noirs were big, bold and fabulous! With productions ranging from 68-340 cases, these wines are produced with the highest quality grapes, barrels, and winemaking techniques.  The bottles themselves were even heavier! One of my favorites was of course Paraiso Vineyard’s 2008 “Faite” Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands.

From soft and elegant to big and bold what we all concluded at the end of the blind tasting is that Monterey County produces some of the best Pinot Noirs around. Now get out there and try them!

Cheers!

Tags: Barrel, Blind Tasting, California, California Pinot Noir, Cheers!, Faite, Food, Monterey County, Monterey Pinot Noir, Oak (wine), Paraiso Tasting Room, Paraiso Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Recreation, Salinas, Salinas Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Soledad, Sustainable in Practice, Tasting, Wine, Wine Country, Wine tasting descriptors, Wine Tastings, Winemakers