Wine-centric

Just returned home from a wonderful afternoon of wine tasting in Glen Ellen. I am feeling happy, toasty, and on top of the world!! Hehe! It was such a comforting scenic drive on the windy wine country roads. The trees were naked, the air brisk, and the sky bright. It started off a little iffy after being pulled over by C.H.P for speeding. We were fortunate, however, when the officer sent us on on our merry way without issuing a ticket! YAY! Our money was not going to be manhandled today!!

My friend Darbie and I headed over to Benziger winery first. Their wines are superb and the winery has quite a history. In a nutshell, the land used to be a pot farm and hippy commune in the 60's! When the Benziger's purchased the land, most of the pot plants were cleared out, but some manage to spring up now and then. Their wines are very earthy and robust, I was "high" off their port wine. ;P

After Benziger, we wondered on over to the Mayo Family Winery. Can I say EWWW?? The wines were decent, but the service was mediocre. It was not comfortable at all. Darbie and I both felt unwelcome and awkward. It took a while before we were even acknowledged at the counter. Once that happened, the guy just threw us a menu and said "Pick five," and walked away. UGH! Darbie and I almost left with a dirty taste in our mouth, but decided to give them a chance.

Their wines were good overall, their Pinot Noir was better then average. All in all, I would have gave them a 7 out of 10 on their wines, a 4 out of 10 on their service. I wouldn't buy their wines though just because of my negative service experience. I work with the public and the way they responded to their customers was a total no-no. It seemed unless you were flashing major bling-bling or had a European accent, you were chump change. Obviously, these guys did not know the damage Darbie and I can cause!! We are total winos! Darbie even more so, she's an expert! Despite our crummy experience at Mayo, we had a blockbuster afternoon and we were lucky not to have run into Miss C.H.P again.

I wonder how the wineries are in Spain?! Can't wait to find out!!