While some of us were dabbling lightly in wine around 1980, (no custom made cellar) the real development of California wine into the above explosive industry of today, seriously began at that time. It was when the baby boomers became sophisticated conspicuous consumers. 

Actually, the early roots of this change really  trickle back to 1966 when the dissolute Robert Mondavi, (currently again dissolute over the breakup of his empire) in a rift with his brother left the family owned Napa Valley Charles Krug winery. He struck out on his own with the goal of taking his wines up to  levels beyond many  of the domestics that were looked upon with disdain by the sophisticated (snobby??) denizens of the East Coast. They said that if the wine didn’t come from France and only from France, it was not worth drinking. At that time Napa was just another 4-letter word. 

Italy was also making a lot of wine. But the  Italians were drinking all the good stuff. The only Italian wine we knew about then was that cheap Chianti in the woven flasks whose major value was to bring the bottle home for decoration and put a candle in it. OK, some of us bought red Valpolicella or white Soave from Bolla or Bertani for $3 or less. More about that later.

It took Mondavi less than 12 years to get the results he wanted. He put the Napa area on the map. He began by building a group of beautiful tourist-friendly winery-tasting structures and creating professionally designed tours. They all  became an immediate attraction.  He also got a little help when a Napa Valley Chardonnay (Trefethen, in fact) scored over French White Burgundy in a European blind tasting. People began to take California wine seriously. But Mondavi still emphasized Cabernet Sauvignon since he understood that most of America associated upscale wines with those red grapes of Bordeaux. Mondavi Cab was king.

It soon became the icon. Bringing a $20 bottle of 7-year-old Mondavi Cab (or in later years the Mondavi over-hyped Opus) to a dinner party in the 80s made one a celebrity. Today sadly, it takes cult wines like Screaming Eagle, Harlan  or Bryant Family Cabernet at $300 per 750 ml. to make an impression on many of the au courant baby boomers who judge wine by the price. 

Mondavi also crushed a high quality Chardonnay, probably never guessing at the time that it would produce the now famous pre-dinner cliché “I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay, please”). However as with the Cabernet, it now takes a bottle of Marcassin, Pahlmeyer or Kistler at $60-100 to make someone pay attention.

Paradoxically and sadly, Mondavi’s successful early and also recent creative efforts set up some unfortunate other opportunities. In the 90s, less than noble politicians, lawyers, real estate and even wine entrepreneurs quickly  made avaricious land, zoning and grading decisions for Napa. This personal greed has now turned much of Napa Valley into an overdeveloped overcrowded ultra touristy destination. “Deadly” traffic on 29, predatory tasting charges, aggressive servers with attitudes, schlock gift shops and overpriced lodging are a way of life. Thus, it is no longer an adventure or real fun to visit Napa ….unless you can score a dinner reservation at The French Laundry at $450 a couple and thus put a notch on your foodie belt. But that is only about 50 people a night. What about the rest of us?

Well thankfully, here comes Paso Robles!!!  It's The Real Thing.

It is a truly unadorned wine town with a lot of innate unspoiled appeal and beauty and a history that goes back to the 19th century.  From the Conejo, in about the same time, you can be either in the verdant foothills of  Paso Robles, or you can be waiting for your luggage at Oakland Airport.  Then there are the air and car rental costs.

Because ..........Paso Robles is a real place with true olden day roots.  The old downtown area caters primarily to the residents. No outlet stores, not even a Dean and Deluca for the Beverly Hills crowd. The current and classic Paso Robles Inn has been on the main street for about 6 decades. 10 of its now 100 rooms still date back to the original structure of the 1890s.  Other rooms feature hot-tubs. It was built to cater to the San Francisco-Los Angeles  travelers  of long ago as an upscale halfway overnight stop. Deluxe rooms in the hotel were $10 or less. They now start at  $110.

The town’s other main claim to fame in the 1940s was that it was the cutoff on 101 (then not a freeway) to the 46 for Stanford students driving home (fast) to Los Angeles for a football game against SC or UCLA. That drive went through famous places like Blackwell’s Corner (actually a two pump gas station, 19cents a gallon), and the Kern county oil towns of Taft, McKittrick and Maricopa. The road eventually hooked into the 99 (there was no 5) South of Bakersfield and then over the treacherous Grapevine (also not a freeway).

There are only a few big wine names in the area. Let’s face it, however.  Why waste time and money going somewhere to taste wines you can buy at Von’s or Cost Plus.  But while there were about 15 wineries 25 years ago, the little side roads off the 101 now have almost 100 signs beckoning you to taste. That’s the real fun. And the pourers will all be friendly country folks from Paso Robles or part timers from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.  

Perhaps the two biggest names are the highly promoted Justin and Edna Valley (great chardonnay value there right now) Vintners. The latter is partly owned by the equally hyped and recently sold  Chalone group. After that there are just a lot of small wineries  and olive oil farms in the beautiful untouched rolling hills where the deer and the antelope play.  On a number of occasions as we drove these pristine but well paved back roads we were the only cars around. When we visited tasting rooms, we were the only tasters.  Admittedly it was midweek and that is when you should try to go for obvious reasons although some wineries are not open midweek. But that still leaves plenty of choices. Area is jammed on weekends. 

There are lots of fine Chardonnay, as noted, especially in the Edna Valley area, along with  Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc  and a winery that specializes in the prestige grapes from Italy- Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio. Why not?  Almost all the root stock of Napa comes from vines that were started in France. Most of the wines offered are under $20.

Accommodations range from simple bed and breakfasts to economy motel-hotel chains on the outskirts of town for $100 or less. They are all very  fairly priced but in most cases prices go up for the weekends. There are however three very deluxe so called bed and breakfasts, which I think would be the choice for most Conejoites. All are attached to wineries. All include sumptuous breakfasts and in two cases upscale afternoon hors d’oeuvres and wine. We checked out the rooms at all three and stayed at one. The experience was well worth the price.

The JustInn (cute?) obviously at the above mentioned Justin winery has been  heavily hyped by the banker-type name-obsessed owner-managers, Justin and Deborah Baldwin. It is well known to most wine people. It has 4 rooms in an old house that looks interesting................... from the outside. Justinn  is 20 minutes through the lovely winding foothills West of the 101and also is well known for the tiny attached restaurant, Deborah's (ahem!!)  Dining Room with an upscale  price fixe dinner and weekend lunches that may offer the only gourmet food in town. The restaurant is worth a try.  (That is the one thing that does make Napa still somewhat acceptable.. There are at least 9 great  restaurants between Yountville and Calistoga. Paso Robles has a long, long  way to go). 

The supposed deluxe suites at Justinn are claustrophobic and in my opinion way overpriced at around $400 per night. Further, they make it clear that they are booked 6 months in advance on weekends, are not price flexible in midweek and finally have a predatory 10 day prior cancellation policy. Do you think they give you a refund if they rent your room to someone on the waiting list if you cancel at 10 days?

We also visited the very popular Summerwood. Two different couples that we know stayed there and enjoyed it. It is an attractive  two story house right off the 101 as seen in the title photo above with 9 large and comfortable rooms. Complimentary breakfast and evening appetizers both seemed very interesting. The winery is across the street. Weekend and midweek prices were unchanged and slightly under Justinn.

However, we finally chose the above. It is  the 2 year old Villa Toscana at the Martin-Weyrich winery about 1 mile from that famed  101-46 intersection. This  two story very deluxe B&B  with all 8 suites looking East over their endless vineyard is breathtaking.  The suites are sumptuous at 800 sq. ft. The  photos (above) do not do  justice. The bathrooms, another 200 sq. ft have a Jacuzzi for 2,  two sinks and a glass enclosed gigantic shower that easily accommodates 4 (??) 

Finally, there was also a complimentary bottle of Zinfandel or one of their  Tuscan or Piemonte style reds to sip in the room or take home. The true value of all these comped  add-ons is a low  3  number. Suites start at $340 but they do offer midweek specials.

Villa Toscana is the finest overall lodging that we have ever enjoyed in the United States, matched only internationally by a suite in a converted French Chateau in the Reims-Champagne district of France that also housed the world-famed  Boyer restaurant. That Boyer-Les Crayeres tandem was the constant #1 choice in the world for  lodging- dining when "Rich and Famous" was on the tube. For a change R&F showed good taste. 

Finally, take note that Hearst Castle, Cambria and Morro Bay are  pleasant 45 minute drives through the foothills to the Pacific from sleepy downtown  Paso Robles. .

Frankly Noted - Gossip Around The Conejo

Here's the latest on  closings, openings- and rumors too. 

Latest to fall victim to the " If it ain't broke, don't fix it" proverb (although it did take some time to break it.) is the former casual star of the North Ranch Plaza, Cafe Sienna. The very difficult  owner who still operates Jack's Deli had benefited for a number of years from the talents of super chef Derek Ashworth at Sienna.

In fact Ashworth had created such a following that the above mentioned owner embarked on an ill- fated expansion. He along with a close relative screwed up every aspect of this remodel. He then blamed it all on Ashworth who had remained because of promised rewards.  Ashworth left when the promises were not kept and instead, he was abused and held responsible for actions beyond his control.  Contrary to other recent events, justice has prevailed and the real culprit got what he deserved.  

In a similar, he should have known better situation, the owner chef at Pauls decided to give up on his small Studio City clone of the successful Cafe Bizou ( he had cooked there) and  take  over the number one burial grounds of restaurants  in Ventura County. We are referring of course to that ill-fated location on Townsgate adjacent to the Hyatt. In spite of the $2 corkage and other Cafe Bizou ploys, Paul's has not come close to the volume needed to pay the enormous rent that the long term  landlord seems able to hypnotically impose upon a revolving door of restaurateurs.  One wonders what the owner of the property thinks since at least 3 other restaurants with successful other locations  have gone in and out. 

However, one must give Paul credit for fighting. He has a big band on Monday night ( Ironically, the landlord is one of the musicians.) He has had a wonderful singer, Nancy Osborne on Saturday and is currently offering a special coupon for during the week dining. Maybe the landlord will take pity. 

The 2087 story, however, is different from the story at Paul's in that it is another  example of arrogance and self destruction that rates with the sad Sienna story. Thus, we keep getting questions about what actually happened with the 2087 location. 

For reasons that elude us a high-ranked city employee indicated that 2087 closed-months ago- because of parking issues with the city. Maybe. But  the obvious reason to me is that it was a poorly and arrogantly managed operation that had never made any money and the two angel investors decided that they would put no more money into a black hole. 

We have been given information that the property is either  being offered for sale at $3 million or perhaps for rental at $25,000 per month. With the Caruso center and restaurants opening in the Civic Plaza, one would wonder who would take that risk. Ask Paul about what happens when your rent is $25,000 a month and you have to do $4 million a year just to break even. 

Let's face it, 2087 couldn't cut it even though it had the appeal of being just a short walk across to those big events at the Plaza .

Riviera, the latest Tomasso Barletta enterprise has been  playing to sellout business in Calabasas most nights. He is  drawing heavily  from the entire South of Ventura Blvd self acclaimed foodie crowd from Encino to Woodland HIlls. Bluntly, there is not a restaurant in the entire S.F. valley with the decor and menu that is offered. In fact they were so overwhelmed at the start near the end of last year that service suffered. But it seems that with a lot of hard work Barletta and his team is getting it all under control. 

The Rendezvous in Newbury Park may now be moving into the 21st Century but under a different and perhaps more provocative name. Finally!!!  The restaurant has been around for about 3 decades and basically has never changed with the times. That  was OK for the first 13 years or so when it was the only upscale place in town before the advent of Tuscany, Mandevilla, Marcello's,  Le Cafe, Cafe Provencal, Rustico, Leila's,  P6, Alessio's, Paul's, Cafe 14  and others.

But the ownership never really seemed to care or be aware of what was happening in the industry and continued catering  to the same geriatric clientele with same type of 30-40 year old menu.  That also just about sunk the floundering  Bocaccio's until a third wave of management took that place over. The customer base was dieing off in both places. Walkers and canes were the main means of transportation 

John Gress, who was formerly the manager at Le Cafe and some  well known Westside spots is midway in the process of taking over with a soon to be, totally new menu that will appeal to the people that actually dine out often. He will also now be open for lunch at newly named "Tryst" which somehow seems more stimulating than the old Rendezvous.

John has the chops and will probably feature seafood, heavy on the crustaceans while leaning strongly on the new wave of Asian Fusion exotic food. He will surely also feature some heavy duty wine tasting evenings. One also  hopes that John has the resources to do some serious renovating. The restaurant needs it badly.

A French restaurateur that has kept up with the times is Serge Bonnet.  On the spur of the moment, we decided to have dinner at Cafe Provencal the other night and stumbled into their midweek tasting menu with 3 different wines served during the 5 course meal. ($37.50) His new young chef, Steve Monnier  has credentials from L' Orangerie and some 2-3 starred spots in France and it shows. Every small tasting plate was a stunner, ranging from a scallop ravioli starter followed by poached onaga, then to a wonderful cauliflower soup, braised duck and a fanciful dark chocolate dessert. The three wines were well-chosen and glasses were kept full.

A comparable tasting and wine menu in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and especially now in high roller Las Vegas would be about $100 a person.  It is astounding.