I don’t think that’s exactly how the words to the song go, but if you have never been to the Monterey Wine Country, you should find a way to fit it into your travel plan. From purely an aesthetic view, it is one of the most visually pleasing wine regions you’ll find. In the morning you wake up from gentle mists to thick rolling fogs, the afternoons are filled with grape-ripening sunshine followed by 3-4 club (golf term) winds. At night the temperature drops by 40 degrees, which feels great to this wine guy from hot and humid Florida.

We visited two of the largest and most popular wineries in the Central Coast, Wild Horse and Estancia along with the winemaking team of the up and coming wines from Paso Creek Vineyards. They, along with most all of the wineries in California, were patiently waiting for the 2010 harvest to get into high gear. The late-ripening vintage did allow us to spend much more quality time with Chrissy Whittman, winemaker at Wild Horse, Jason Melvin, Scott Kelley and JP Caldcleugh, the Vineyard Manager, Head of Winemaking and the Assistant Winemaker at Estancia, along with Emerson Philpott and Kris Kato, the winemaking team at Paso Creek Vineyards we were able listen to some very talented people, who were willing to share with us how they feel wine can be made in the Central Coast.

Our group was very impressed by what we saw and will be posting more of our thoughts and pictures in the near future, so be on the lookout and tell me what you think of the wines of the Central Coast.

So until next time…

Cheers,

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, North Florida