Not a Secret Any More

People ask me all the time, "Why Paso?" Until you come to see for yourself, it is tough to exactly articulate the appeal. Once one hears that we left Minneapolis they assume it's because of the harsh winters. That's not it. Before we lived in Minnesota, we spent four years in Scottsdale so snow and cold are not the issue. We came here to be in the wine business.

A recent L.A. Times article entitled "Paso Robles Transforms From Sleepy Cow Town to the World's Most Vibrant Wine Region" [http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-farm-scene-new-napa,0,286754.story] presents an enlightening viewpoint of why Paso Robles is the place to make wine. Wine expert Robert Parker is quoted in the article saying,
"the region of rolling, oak-studded hills holds California's greatest potential." It is very exciting to be a part of an emerging marketplace for wine.

Whether it is the curious tasters who have discovered Per Cazo Cellars wines or the delightful Creekside Bed and Breakfast guest, I feel privileged to introduce visitors to my newly adopted community. Ag tourism is alive and thriving in the central California coast. And while there are still beautiful herds of cattle grazing on the grassy hillside, it is the wine that is generating the buzz. Pssst....pass it on.

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition & Wine Tasting Recap

Last weekend was the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Public Tasting. This is the culmination of the world's largest wine competition that this year judged 4,913 different wines, a world record. While there are lots of wine contests, we had been advised that this is definitely one of the events to compete in. We are proud to announce that we secured silver medals for the two wines we entered, the '08 Tres Blanc and '07 Epi Telos.

The Fort Mason Center hosted over 500 different wineries who poured their medal winners for over 6,000 tasters. Unfortunately, my camera decided not to cooperate so to get a sense of the mass of humanity, check out http://www.winejudging.com/event_tickets.htm. Dave and I poured wine for four hours to a very diverse group of imbibers. Some were definitely on a mission to taste as many different wines as possible. Others were much more selective seeking only a particular varietal. Many came prepared with their notes and actually had a strategy to try only the wineries they had never heard of or only from a certain region or only those with the highest score.

Most rewarding for Dave and me where the comments like, "this is the best wine we've tasted all day," and "I can't believe this only won a silver." Many tasters were in small groups who returned to the table with their friends encouraging them to try the wines. There were lots of folks asking how to buy the wine so we gave out hundreds of cards with instructions to order online. Everyone took brochures of the B&B promising to call for reservations. We'll see how much this enthusiasm on a wine-induced Saturday translates to actual sales and visits. We are definitely the "wine glass more than half full" types and are convinced people will come.

Regardless of the net wine results, we had a fun get-away in a beautiful city. Dave and I had fantastic meals, caught up with some old friends, met new ones, walked from the Ferry Building to Fisherman's Wharf in the rain and behaved like total tourists. I finally got to ride a cable car!

I think it is literally raining cats!

So lots of you have been asking for an update on the cats. The two cats that replaced Sunny are alive and thriving in the barn. No evidence of mice anywhere!

The sweet but mangy feral cat that we have dubbed Cat King Coal can be found leisurely lounging on the balcony of the Room with a View enjoying the warm sunny days. She has manage to bewitch all the guests into buying her food in spite of my daily feedings. She is just so skinny, one can't help but take pity on her. I don't even really know if it's a female feline. The local cat befriender society says they will come next week to try to find a good home for her.

For a day we thought she might be the long lost cat of the woman I bought the property from. Three years ago, Nanci's cat disappeared. We've all heard stories about cats who reappear years after they were last seen. This is not her cat, but it was fun to see Nanci!

Imagine my surprise this morning when I let Maddy dog out for her morning constitutional that I see another new cat in the backyard. We've had a lot of rain this winter, I think it really must be raining cats!

Back under the Paso Sun

What a difference a week makes....last Saturday, Dave and I were freezing while pouring wine in wintery Minnesota. This weekend we offered our first poolside tasting for 2010. It was a beautiful spring weekend in Paso Robles and there was a lot of activity for both Per Cazo and Creekside.

The house was full of fun guests. Thatcher Winery was hosting their big winemaker dinner and Michelle was kind to refer their guests to stay with us. We also had the pleasure of housing the west coast Ridell USA representative, her 9 year old daughter and their good friend. No sooner did they check-out that two more couples checked in to spend Valentine's Day discovering the wonders of the west-side wineries. All our guests reinforced the belief that we have the best job in the world as innkeepers in the Central California Coast.

We also had a terrific time introducing the Per Cazo wines to wine visitors. Some were local, some were from across the country, all were impressed with the wines. We sincerely appreciate all the support and confidence as we tell our story of chance encounters and blind ambition to make fine wines. We also are really thankful of the return visitors and wine club members who stopped by to see us. It means a great deal to us.

Next weekend we will be pouring in San Francisco at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Tasting at the Fort Mason Center. If you are in the area, stop by our table.

Go hug your kids!

I'll get to the point of the title by the end, but I thought I would recap our action-packed weekend in Minnesota.

• We got our snow fix for the year. It snowed nearly everyday we were back but definitely not like the dump that the East was receiving. It wasn't even enough to reek havoc on the highways. Just enough to make me wish I had planned a ski trip someplace this year.
• The wines were a hit at the WAMSO Vintage of Note! We were the new kids on the block and the only vintners from Paso Robles. Some of the guests were familiar with area but most were not. The best part was hearing comments like, "Your wine is the best one here." The group included some sophisticated wine enthusiasts and their praise was most appreciated. It was interesting that the Tres Blanc was well received in this undeniably "red wine only" crowd. It continues to live up to its billing as "the white wine for red wine drinkers." We definitely will get some business as well as visitors. Everyone loved the photos of Creekside B&B. We offered a weekend in the silent auction and there were lots of folks bidding.
• As always, the best part is seeing friends. While we love our new lives in California, there is no doubt that our hearts are still yearning for the friends we left behind. We didn't get to see everyone we would like to - there never is enough time - we did share a few laughs and a few glasses of wine with as many as we could.
• We interviewed a few realtors about selling our home. Any one now of someone who wants a great house in Edina? I think we found someone we would enjoy working with. After the last time we tried this, I am going to be very selective. The market still stinks but the optimist in me says it's time. The other great news, is that our tenant agreed to let them show the house while they are still there so we can get the process started.

Now I'll explain the title of this post. Saturday morning, my friend Mary received a phone call that the son of her high school friend Brian Burke had died in an automobile accident. He was the student manager of the Miami University hockey team where our daughter Kelley attends college. She did not know him but by all accounts he was a fabulous young man. When you hear news like this, one's heart skips a beat for a moment and you try to imagine how devastating this would be. Only you can't really imagine so you reach out to your kids, tell them how precious they are and if lucky enough to be in the same room, give them a hug.

Today is Brenden's funeral. His dad is supposed to be heading to Vancouver as the general manager of the US Olympic hockey team. Instead, he is in Connecticut burying his son. Go say a prayer for the family and then go hug your kid again.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

So today I am not under the Paso sun. I think it's raining there any way. I am "basking" in the delight of fresh snow in chilly Minneapolis.

We are in town for a wine tasting for WAMSO's Vintage of Note where we will be one of four featured Minnesotan vintners for the Symphony Orchestra. We are looking forward to introducing Per Cazo Cellars to an audience of Minnesotans who have yet to discover Paso wines. It's at the Graves Hotel Saturday if you are in the area and want to support a great cause.

One of the other reasons we came to town is to try to decide what to do about our Edina house. Our lovely tenants are moving on to Seattle. Jedd is going to be the QB coach for the Seahawks so we are faced with the daunting decision to try to sell or lease the house. Please feel free to comment your opinions about our dilemma. We met with some real estate agents who paint a very dismal picture of the state of home values in the Twin Cities.

The best part of coming back to Minneapolis is the chance to reconnect with friends. Last night I met up with my "new" girlfriends who had visited the Creekside B&B last November. We toasted with Judy Starr's Crooked Road Odysseus blend and laughed about 101 uses for dried persimmons. Today is lunch with Mary and some other girlfriends and tonight we catch up with Cathleen and Ward Godsalls at one of our favorite restaurants, Campiellos. Tomorrow we hope to see the Chandlers before pour the wines at the event. We never have enough time to see everyone but chances are we will be back again soon to deal with the house.