Spring Break Trip - Day 4
Last Saturday was the day to start wandering home from the central coast, and I had it in my mind that I wanted to visit Pipestone Vineyards just outside of Paso Robles, one of California's wine regions. Through the Carleton network, I knew that this winery was owned by Carls who were there when we were (even though we didn't know them at the time).
Pipestone is tucked away down a small road, so you have to know it is there to find it, although if you have the address, the GPS (or the directions on the website) will get you there with no problem.
From the website: "Pipestone Vineyards is a small family winery with a dedicated history of sustainable farmingand producing handmade Estate Grown Rhône-style wines from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, & Viognier and a dry farmed Zinfandel. Jeff Pipes and Florence Wong use draft horses, organic methods of pest-control, and feng shui in their farming practices.
We arrived just as the tasting room opened up and walked in with our Carleton gear blazing, so Florence knew immediately that we had a connection. We started chatting and getting the wine glasses set up when another group came in. Turns out that three of those four were also Carls, so we had a nice gab-fest and figuring out how we were all connected. Oh, yeah, we tried some nice wines, too....
An hour and a half later, we walked out with 3 bottles of wine and new friends. Too bad that Jeff wasn't there. Maybe next time...
