My anticipated vineyard tour plans for tomorrow morning/early afternoon are not going to happen so I am looking for alternatives. Any suggestions for an under the radar winery or favorite tasting room in Monterey would be appreciated!
Carlton, are you looking for tasting rooms in Monterey proper or just the peninsula? I would consider Windy Oaks and Wrath in Carmel-by-the-Sea, but also Coastview Vineyards in Carmel Valley. (Joyce Vineyards next door was quite positive too). Carmel Valley can be a solid option for lunch as well if you want to stop by Corkscrew or Cafe Rustica.
Thanks, Taylor. We had planned on driving 1 to 1.5 hours each way so your suggestions are certainly in play.
Contact Ian Brand and see if he has time.
Also, have dinner at passion fish in carmel. Retail priced wine list.
Ian Brand and Passion Fish are great choices. Check out the wines of Peter Figgie too. He has a tasting room on Dolores St., Carmel. The wines of Damien Georis can be tasted at any Georis restaurant (Casanova or Bicyclette, Carmel or Corkscrew Carmel Valley). Windy Oaks also has a tasting room in Carmel.
Quick note - Passion Fish is north of Carmel in Pacific Grove but it’s quite close. Trying Damien Georis’ wines at Casanova (or La Bicyclette) is a great recommendation too, the Chenin Blanc is very impressive as is the Cab Franc. In fact, check in for dinner or lunch at La Bicyclette and see if Sommelier Arturo is on shift. Tell him what you’re interested in, or if you’re interested in trying some new things and he’ll take care of you. He can pour wines by the glass that are sold by the bottle on the menu and will hand-sell the rest of it in the restaurant. Poured us our first glass of Txakolina and I’m extremely grateful for that.
Here’s what we did recently with about a day and a half in the area. I was happy with our time spent:
My thanks to all of you that responded!
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard!!!
Yummy pinots.
If you can’t go, then grab one from the local Whole Foods to try. It is a winner winery.
So whats your plan?
Carlton,
Glad to see you’re checking out the area. Unfortunately, I’ll be tied up for the rest of the week. With all the different projects we have going on right now, it’s difficult for me to find time on a short notice. Our wines are available to taste, along with those of Mesa del Sol and Pelerin, at Trio on Dolores St. in Carmel. If you do find yourself coming back this way anytime, we’d love to host you at the (somewhat rough around the edges) facility in Salinas. The wines that the general market has seen represents just a slice of what we have in barrel for ourselves, not to mention other projects. This really is an exciting area, with so much uncovered potential.
Many of the suggestions already tendered are great places to start. The wine list at Passionfish is something to behold, and lately restaurants like 1833, la Balena, Aubergine, Sierra Mar in Big Sur on the more formal side, and Il Grillo, Il Tegamino, Jennini, and evenings at Carmel Belle, have been driving local cuisine. We really have a great crop of young chefs locally and the fish and produce here is second to none.
Best of luck with your visit. It’s a beautiful day on the coast.
Berry, thanks for the shout out. Come and visit sometime. I hear its been hot, muggy and nasty in Sacto!
Ian
Thanks. I will take you up on that. My daughter has ben asking a lot to visit the aquarium so I need to get out that way.
Yes, I am extremely ready for fall weather
There are so many places to go, in a week I didn’t even get to most of them. Stayed in Carmel and walked around Carmel to all of the tasting rooms, then down Carmel Valley Road, and finally down River Road in Santa Lucia Highlands. There are probably 80-90 gettable places. Best for me were Wrath, Figge, Galante and his wife’s Dawn’s Dream, Boekenogen, Hahn, Joyce, Joullian, and Silvestri. But there were a lot of good wines here and there at places where we didn’t like most of their wines. Enjoyed Passion Fish in Pacific Grove and Mission Ranch in Carmel next to the Carmel Mission (best view in Carmel).
Thanks, Ian. We will find a reason to come back!
Combining wine touring during the harvest season and a rigorous business schedule over four days did not work out for us this time. After our plans to head north on Thursday morning did not materialize as we anticipated, we decided not to rent a car. We had a window of opportunity on Sunday afternoon, but the area power outage all day and into the evening presented problems. We had hoped to have a meal at Passion Fish before our flight out but they do not open until 5 PM. Although the airport had emergency power, we did not want to risk being late for our flight. Because of the availability of shuttles from Monterey to Carmel on a regular basis, we were able to shoot down there for several hours on Saturday afternoon.
Lunch at Bicyclette was a perfect start to our time. The chef’s recommendation was Poulet aux Champignons–a wonderful roasted chicken with new potatoes, local mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and chestnuts in a light cream sauce. The recommended wine was surprisingly for Eric Louis Sancerre (Loire) which we thoroughly enjoyed even though we were expecting to start with something from California.
Being fortified we went to Figge’s tasting room located pleasingly in the art gallery. The pourer was knowledgeable and personable–a great combination! She was generous with our samplings and we left with several bottles of the 2006 Figge Cellars Syrah. Delicious now and reportedly can be laid down for up to twenty years. I’ll happily report back when the first is opened!
Next was the tasting room at Trio. Fine wines there with numerous olive oils and vinegars. This was another fun place with interesting people and fellow wine enthusiasts from around the world. This was another place where Syrah was king. We tried only reds and purchased a 2010 Pelerin Pinot Noir Excelsis.
Thanks to all of you who graciously sent last minute suggestions during my recent trip to the Monterey area.