Wines – On the road with Jim

The Verdant Slopes of Paso Robles Picture of the Week - Paso Robles, California

Vast vineyard in Paso Robles with rows of grapevines leading up to a tree-covered hill. — Nature’s Golden Arrow: Pointing to Paso Robles’ Treasures – Follow nature’s golden arrow, leading us to the crown jewels of this Paso Robles vineyard.

Thumb-deep in the pages of my trusted wall calendar (see more on calendars below)—a tome that’s seen more flips than a circus acrobat—I’m struck by the revelation that November has tiptoed in. This month, we salute not only the leafy tapestries of autumn but also indulge in the time-honored pursuit of pumpkin plundering. The ultimate spoils? Whisking those grim jack-o’-lanterns into pie perfection! And let’s not forget each stellar pie deserves a vinous virtuoso by its side. This month, our glasses are poised for just that.

Paso Robles beckons us back, teasing with three vineyards yet untouched by the footprints of Queen Anne and yours truly. San Luis Obispo County—our seaside serenade in Cambria—lures us with its labyrinthine backroads, rustic seafood haunts, and the siren call of Paso Robles’ vine-clad hills, a wooded sanctuary just a ten-hour drive away.

The “Pass of the Oaks” isn’t merely another dot on the wine map; it’s a chapter from an 18th-century vintner’s diary. With the Mission San Miguel’s historic tendrils, the grape gospel here has been preached for centuries. In this Edenic enclave, broiling daytime heat waltzes with the cool nocturnal breezes—a climatic duet the grapes practically waltz to solar caresses, coaxing ripeness, nightly whispers preserving zest.

But the tale doesn’t end with the meteorological. The Salinas River, a silent matriarch, cradles Paso in a diverse geological lullaby. It’s a mosaic of terroir, each parcel boasting its own soil story and climatic character. Amidst the hidden theatrics of the fault line beneath the 101 Freeway, a sanctuary for over 40 grape varietals thrives.

While the east side of the freeway is renowned for its sandy soils, giving birth to the robust flavors of well-known labels like Robert Hall and Tobin James, it’s also a chessboard of corporate plays. Giants like Julio and Ernesto have swept through, snapping up vineyards and shuttering public tasting rooms, sealing them away from the thirsty public. It’s a reminder that behind every serene row of vines lies the pulsing heart of business—sometimes nourishing, and sometimes, like a wise game of Monopoly, reshaping the very access to these bottled elixirs.

Our visual offering this week captures the ascending vines off Adelaida Road, cresting in an arboreal amphitheater of Live Oaks. Envision us there: Queen Anne and I, picnic basket in hand, seeking reprieve under those leafy sentinels, feasting simply yet sumptuously, all while the tapestry of Paso unfolds beneath us.

Curious about those precision-planted vineyard rows or the storied slope where Queen Anne played Jill—her hill-tumbling fame secured? Navigate to my website <Jim’s Web> or journey to the Fine Art America Page <FAA Page>. Prepare for our next vineyard chapter—it promises to be a symposium of the senses!

Until then, keep your spirits high and your humor dry;
jw

Techniques: The Subtle Art of Polarizing in Photography

In the sprawling vineyards of Paso Robles, a polarizing filter can be as crucial to a photographer as a corkscrew is to a wine enthusiast. It enhances the lush greens of the leaves and deepens the blues of the sky, much like a fine wine enriches a meal. However, the key to using this tool is subtlety, akin to adding just a pinch of spice to perfect a dish.

While a polarizing filter can dramatically reduce glare and enrich colors, the adage “less is more” applies beautifully here. After finding the point of maximum effect by rotating the filter, dial it back a touch. This ensures the scene retains its natural charm without oversaturated colors appearing and the sky unnaturally dark.

Authenticity: Over-polarization can make your images look artificial, robbing them of their authentic feel—something significant in landscape photography, where realism is often the goal.

Dynamic Range: Maintaining some natural light reflections helps preserve the image’s dynamic range, avoiding the ‘flat’ look that can come from over-polarization.

Viewer Connection: A scene that is too perfect can feel alienating. By keeping the location more natural, your audience can connect more deeply with the image, feeling like they could enter it.

As you stand amidst the rolling hills, let your polarizing filter accentuate the contrasts and textures gently. Allow the sky to retain some lightness and the leaves their natural sheen. This way, when you capture the essence of Paso Robles’ terroir, it’s not just the vibrant colors that speak to the viewer but also the nuanced dance of light and shadow that gives the landscape life.

Think of your polarizer not as a tool to transform the scene but to refine it—bringing out its character in a way that’s palpable but not overpowering. By mastering the subtle use of this filter, your images will hold truth to nature that’s as honest and inviting as the region itself.

BTW:

Since there’s only one month left on my wall calendar, I need to order a new one for next year. If you’d like me to print a copy for you, please let me know before Thanksgiving. They’re 8½ X 11 inches on sturdy stock with a spiral ring at the top. I have no idea how much they will cost. Currently, Vista Print wants $14 apiece plus shipping, but they often mark them down later in the month. If you’re willing to roll the dice, let me know (please don’t leave your email in the comments).

Morgan Estate Temecula, California

Morgan Estate - The Morgan family has lived in this home since 2002, and five years ago they spruced up the place for their daughter's wedding. It went so well that they opened the estate for weddings of patrons that can afford the ante. Since then, it's become a popular place to get hitched. — Morgan Estate – The Morgan family has lived in this home since 2002, and five years ago, they spruced up the place for their daughter’s wedding. It went so well that they opened the estate for weddings of patrons that could afford the ante. Since then, it’s become a popular place for couples to get hitched.

When Queen Anne and I embark on photo shoots requiring an overnight stay, we try to indulge in a fancy dinner to express our mutual appreciation. While we rely on websites such as Trip Advisor for dining recommendations, we’ve noticed that they often suggest generic options like burgers, pizzas, or Mexican food, neglecting many exceptional dining spots in the region, especially those nestled within wineries.

These winery restaurants may be pricey but they offer a unique dining experience. The chefs here are culinary maestros, creating gastronomic masterpieces with each dish. They provide upscale and luxurious options for special occasions and are an essential stop for wine lovers. Amongst the many wineries in Temecula, Leoness Cellars stands out as a must-visit spot.

Leoness Cellars’ tasting room is like an adult Disneyland, with more wine and fewer screaming children. As soon as you arrive, you’ll be greeted by the vineyard equivalent of a fairytale castle, except there’s a sparkling fountain instead of a moat. And instead of knights in shining armor, a team of friendly wine experts is ready to guide you through the tasting experience.

Its floor-to-ceiling windows offer breathtaking views of the vineyards. They have an extensive selection of wines to suit any palate, from rich and bold reds to crisp and refreshing whites. And if you’re feeling intimidated by the complex world of wine, their friendly wine experts are on hand to guide you through the tasting experience of a lifetime. The tasting room is more like a sophisticated wine cave, with rustic wooden tables and cozy leather chairs, perfect for relaxing while you savor the unique flavors.

One of the most exceptional features of Leoness Cellars is the food pairing experience. It’s an absolute match made in culinary heaven – the wines are expertly paired with small bites, leaving your taste buds in pure bliss. The experience is so indulgent that you might even be tempted to make out with your glass of wine (but please don’t; that’s weird). During our visit, Queen Anne and I paid $25.00 to share a flight of 6, and we savored the 2021 Viognier, the 2018 Meritage, and the 2018 Syrah—my favorite. We did notice that the pouring sizes, in general, are getting skimpier. To put it in perspective, imagine getting your favorite wine glass from the cupboard and spitting into it a couple of times; that should give you an idea of the serving size. We realized we were being pathetic when our hostess had to stop us from elbowing each other to get to the glass first.

After the tasting, we went to the restaurant patio for lunch. We ordered full glasses of the wines that impressed us, savoring each sip and bite while basking in the warm sun. The day couldn’t get any better with full bellies, fine wine, and a picturesque view—except for maybe a nap.

I hope that this week’s photo, titled Morgan Estate, captures the natural beauty and sophistication of Temecula’s wine country. The lush wine groves in the foreground and the majestic Santa Ana Mountains in the background create a stunning backdrop for the photo’s focal point – the Morgan Estate. I took this photo from the restaurant patio during lunch when I couldn’t resist snapping a shot of this breathtaking view. It’s the kind of view that makes you want to grab a glass of wine and bask in the tranquility of the surroundings.

The Morgan Estate is a popular wedding venue in the area, and it’s easy to see why. The estate’s sophisticated elegance perfectly complements the region’s natural beauty, making it the ideal spot for brides to slap on that ball-and-chain. From the vantage point of the restaurant patio, you can appreciate the estate’s grandeur beneath the majesty of the Santa Ana Mountains. I tried to encapsulate the region’s allure in the photo- from the vineyards’ rolling hills to the estate’s sophisticated charm. I hope my photo encourages you to get off your couch and plan a trip to Temecula to enjoy your slice of La Vita.

Leoness Tractor - The cellar's owners drug this old tractor out from the barn as yard-art. — Leoness Tractor – The owners of the cellar drug this old tractor from the barn as yard art.

You can see a larger version of Morgan Estate on its web page by clicking here. Next week—after I dry out—we’ll begin April’s series of show-and-tell. Come back then and see where the road takes us.

Till next time
jw

BTW:

Visiting wineries and sampling their offerings has brought us joy over the years. While putting together this month’s project, we’ve considered the idea of writing reviews for each of the farms that we visited. However, with over 40 cellars open for tasting in Temecula alone, we couldn’t visit them all without having my liver shrivel and fall out. During this trip, we paced ourselves and saw a couple of places in the morning, had lunch, and then stopped at another two in the afternoon. We found that the wine flavors began to run together if we visited more than that.

I’m considering an idea for a book that covers all the regions we’ve visited. However, putting together a book covering five vineyards in each of the 15 California wine regions with five pages of photos and text would be monumental. The book would be over 300 pages long. Instead, I’m considering breaking the task into bite-sized pieces and publishing them in a magazine format, similar to my Utah State Route 12 magazine. Each publication would have about 50 pages, making them more affordable than hardcover books. I would publish three or four per year, leaving me time for other assignments.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Would you like to see a project like this? Or would you prefer that I stick to pretty landscapes and roadside relics and never talk about wine again? Please share your comments below, and while you’re there, click on the “Like” button if you enjoyed this post. Don’t worry; no one will know you did it.

Skull Valley General Store Picture of the Week

Skull Valley (the town, not the people) is an odd community. You will think it’s another Arizona ghost town when you drive north on Yavapai County Road 10—Iron Springs Road. With its empty buildings, you’d be right to believe that. However, it wasn’t always that way. There’s a lot of history associated with this town.

Before the white man came here, it was home to the Yavapai Apaches, who were noted for marauding neighboring tribes. Undocumented stories tell of one particular raid they made on the Maricopas. In the skirmish, the Apaches stole crops, livestock, and women while killing the village men.

The Maricopa didn’t much like that, so the normally peaceful valley farmers gathered warriors to exact revenge. The gathering set off to hunt down the Apaches, and to keep this story short, they kicked ass and then left the raiders to lie where they fell. Years later, when Captain Hargraves was leading a squad of The First California Volunteers—the first white people that traveled through this area—they found a pile of bleached skulls in a dry wash. This was the only evidence of the great battle.

Then in 1866, a band of 100 Apaches challenged four freight wagons escorted by four foot-soldiers. One of the infantrymen ran three miles back to Camp McPherson for help (that’s what Skull Valley Station was long before it ever sold gas—see last week’s post). When the Calvary showed up, things quickly heated up, ending in a gun battle with another 35 Apache warriors added to the bone pile. At least, that’s what it says in my copy of Arizona Place Names.

Skull Valley General Store - After a century of serving the community and highway travelers, the General Store in Skull Valley closed in 2015. — Skull Valley General Store – After a century of serving the community and highway travelers, the General Store in Skull Valley closed in 2015.

The general store in this week’s featured image was opened in 1915 and served Skull Valley for over a hundred years. Half of that era was before freeways when the main highway between the Valley and Prescott was US 89 and/or the Iron Springs Road, and travelers needed to buy gas more frequently then. I suppose that—while you’re stopped—running across the street to buy a basket of food was handy. Locals both shopped and got their mail at the store.

Today, the passenger train doesn’t run anymore, and most of the Prescott traffic is on Interstate 17—on the other side of the Bradshaw Mountains. Little traffic flows through Skull Valley, and that’s probably the main reason two of the three buildings I’ve recently photographed have been shuttered. It would be easy for you to conclude that this little town is dead. You’d be wrong.

Oddly enough, our little town is Arizona’s mecca for Polo. The field is on the Van Dickson Ranch, and you’re welcome to come to watch a match—or worse, take lessons. On the dirt roads north of town, you can visit the Painted Lady Vineyard, smell the flowers at the Skull Valley Lavender Farm, and have a beer at the Barnstar Brewing Company. It’s a small craft brewery that’s open on the weekends. You would never know that these places were there because you can’t see them from the highway. I only found out about them from an Arizona Highways TV episode.

In this week’s picture, I really like how the morning light creates a two-tone effect on the building. I was there before 6 am so I timed the light pretty well. Incidentally, the cottonwood trees behind this building—and last week’s station—are growing in Skull Valley Wash—three miles upstream from where the bleached bones were discovered.

When I win the Power Ball, I’m going to buy this place and convert it into the perfect breakfast and lunch café/gallery—as I wrote about when we were still living in Goodyear. I will hire a Michelin Chef to run the place and have a Danish baker sell pastries in the front next to the cash register. All of the walls will be covered with my photographs for the patrons to enjoy and buy. Since there won’t be much traffic, I’ll purposefully run it at a loss until the money runs out or I do. Since I don’t care to work anymore, my responsibilities will be to stop in occasionally and sample the Danish Waffles for breakfast or the world’s best Reubens at lunch. Watch this space; I’ll let you know how it’s going.

You can see a larger version of Skull Valley General Store on its Web Page by clicking here. We have one more image to share from Skull Valley, so make sure to come back next week.

Until next time — jw

Cambria – California

We indulged today. We rationalized that since this was our last real vacation day before heading for home, we’d make the best of it. I don’t know how the day could have been any better.

Today started out by trying to make reservations for tomorrow night, Friday . . . Labor Day Weekend. We tried every combination that we could think of, but all the places on our route were already booked for the weekend, except the KOA, and they wanted a minimum of a three-day stay. So we planned an alternative route.

We had planned on swinging by Solvang, a Danish tourist town north of Santa Barbara. It was purely for medicinal purposes I assure you. The only thing we needed were pastries called Danish Waffles. They look like a flattened hot dog bun. They’re two sweet phyllo pastries glued together with a creamy filling that has a touch of raspberry jam for a tart flavor. They’re addictive, and there’s only a few places in California to buy them. Two of them are in Solvang.

We left at 11 for the eighty mile trip down for lunch and we got to the bakery at 12:15. Anne and I split a sandwich (the bread was sourdough made fresh in-house this morning, yum!) and for dessert, we split one of the waffles. There is no graceful way you can eat one of these things without it exploding all over the table, the car, the bed . . . where ever. The crumbs are everywhere and they’re too good to leave, so you wind up sucking them up from the table-cloth. Oh, I must warn you that these things are about 1400 calories apiece.

Queen Anne Eats a Danish Waffle — There is no graceful way to eat a Danish waffle. The sugar phyllo dough explodes when ever you take a bite.

We ordered another half-dozen to go (Anne’s already tossed back a couple, they’ll never make it home) along with a bucket of Danish cookies. We had time to make it back to Paso Robles, hit a couple of wineries and still make our five o’clock dinner reservation in Cambria. We pulled it off even after driving down the old creek road.

One of the wineries we always stop at is York Mountain. As readers of my newsletter already know, this place holds a lot of memories for me. It is the oldest vineyard in the area dating back to 1889. My original visit was with my first wife on our honeymoon in 1968. I was hooked then and have returned regularly.

York Mountain Rebuilt — The new owners of the York Mountain Estates have carefully crafted a new cellar using the original hand-made bricks and capturing the essence of the historical building.

The last time Anne and I were here, the original cellars were badly damaged in an earthquake and the state condemned the building. I was saddened that the owners had sold the property and that the historic building would be destroyed. When we stopped today, it surprised me to see a different but very familiar cellar being readied for the public. New owners have taken over the property and they didn’t want to lose the building either. They painstakingly disassembled the cellar, brick by brick, then numbered the bricks. They built a steel reinforced concrete structure and covered the new shell with the original bricks (in their original sequence). The new cellar has some modern touches to it, but it brought tears to my eyes to see how lovingly they captured the feel of the original. As for the century old redwood tree, planted by the York brothers . . . it’s alive and well, looking more stately than ever next to the new building. Bravo!

The Old Creek Road — On my first visit to Paso Robles and Cambria, the only road that crossed the mountains was Vineyard Road, and it was this old neglected tree-lined back-road. Along the drive, you cross the ridge and see the ocean twenty-two miles away.

Dinner was wonderful. Anne had her favorite rack of lamb and they even had my favorite; duck breast served in a cherry-port wine reduction. On top of that, we splurged on a bottle of Cabernet that we sampled yesterday. Somehow, I even managed to get through the dinner without spilling red wine on the white table-cloth.

We learned a new trick yesterday and after dinner we used it. After leaving the restaurant, we stopped at the town liquor store. There, we found most of the local wines we liked at a discounted price. We picked out a bunch of bottles that we liked at the tasting rooms and saved about 25%.

So we had a good day. We wined and dined, laughed and enjoyed each others company. We deserved it . . . for tomorrow will be in Bakersfield. It’s not the armpit of California, but you can certainly smell it from there.

Willamette Valley – Oregon

I want a job where my sole responsibility is visiting wineries and tasting the varietals they offer. I think I’d be good at it, and I promise I wouldn’t spit anything out. Who am I kidding? Like any job, it would be a drag after a while, but it would be fun until my liver gave out.

That’s how Queen Anne and I spent the afternoon, and ‘they learned us’ a thing or two about Oregon wines. Most of the wineries in the state are in the Willamette Valley, a broad river valley that stretches from Eugene to Portland. The west flank has a low coastal range of mountains and the Cascades separate the valley from the high deserts to the east.

View From Erath Vinyards — The four tasting rooms we visited were an area known as the Dundee Hills. Although we stuck to four, we could have easily worked the area for a week.

What grows well here is the Pinot Noir grape, because of the weather and the soils. When you visit a tasting room, you may sample one of these or one of those, but a half-dozen Pinots. Two of the four places we visited had two bottles of the same wine, but only the vine location or the year set them apart. Although they had the same general taste, their personalities were distinct. Choosing which to buy was a matter of personal preference, both were excellent bottles of wine.

Willamette Farm House — There are gobs of photogenic things to shoot in the Willamette Valley. In this case it was an abandoned farm-house along the back-road.

Another fun thing about visiting tasting rooms is the presentations. The large vintners have lavish gardens and a showroom full of ancillary things for sale. The smaller growers may only have a room at the back of the farm-house. Production size is not a good indicator of the quality. The better known labels do offer bottles not available in . . . say, Costco. They have labels marked ‘Reserve’ or ‘Private Reserve’ which are low volume hand crafted wines. Our experience has been that these bottles are substantially better than what you would buy off the shelf.

Pine Grove — Only in New Zealand have I seen crop forests planted as dense as here. It’s so dark inside the grove, I wouldn’t be able to shoot without a tripod.

So much for the fun part . . . back to work. Tomorrow we will be on the move again. This time to Grant’s Pass in southern Oregon. We’re only going to stop for a night and the next day we will head to the coast and Eureka, California. Anne and I never actually visited the town, although we stayed nearby. We’re excited to check it out.

Silverton – Oregon

Capital Theater — Sunday evening, we went to Yakima’s old town to find a place for dinner. As we sat at our table, I noticed this theater across the street and went outside to shoot it and particularly, the restored painted sign on its side. Since it was cloudy out, the shot came out OK, but bland. When we finished dinner, the sun dropped below the cloud’s edge and lit the place up, so I decided to re-shoot the scene. However this time there was a group of young women doing a photo shoot of their own, so I included them into my composition.

After a wonderful day of sampling Washington wines yesterday, we continued on our journey south this morning. Our route took us down the east side of the Cascades till we reached the Columbia River. After crossing the bridge into Oregon, we drove through the ever windy Columbia Gorge, where even on a Monday, there were plenty of wind surfers skimming the white-capped river. Then, just short of Portland we turned south through the Willamette Valley.

Hydro-Electrical Dam on the Columbia River. — There are several dams along the Columbia River that produce gobs of electricity. Although they cause their fair share of ecological problems, it was the power these dams generated that made it possible to produce aluminum on an industrial scale. Aircraft industry used that aluminum to build the planes that helped the allies win WWII.

We’ve stopped in Silverton, a place we’ve visited before more than a fifteen years ago. It’s a couple of miles north of the 45th Parallel; the halfway line between the north pole and the equator. When we were last here, Silverton’s downtown was a cluster of empty historic buildings waiting for re-purposing. Now, they’re filled with boutiques, restaurants, and antique shops. It was fun to walk the couple of blocks trying to find someplace for dinner, but it was Monday, and most of the businesses were closed.

Downtown Silverton — An example of the carefully restored buildings in Silverton.

We chose Silverton because it’s a convenient base for exploring the vineyards of the Willamette Valley, Oregon’s wine country. It’s going to be a rough day tomorrow, because we have to sit down and whittle the list of stops down to six. That seems a good number for us to taste without getting our taste buds confused.

Sllverton Mural — A new mural is being painted on a blank wall of a Silverton Building.

After we leave here on Wednesday, we’ll head toward south Oregon then make our way over to the Pacific Coast. We want to spend some time along the coast before we go through the Sonoma/Napa Valleys. As much as we’d like to add some of those bottles to our collection, they may be out of our budget. There’s no harm in finding out, is there?