First Crush
http://firstcrushwinemaking.com/
First Crush’s full name is First Crush Winemaking Experience, and First Crush does in fact offer a variety of different experiences. They provide programs for picking, crushing and eventually bottling your own wine, vineyard tours, blending seminars, all the way through complete winemaking education.
There are lots of choices depending how deeply you want to delve into the various aspects of winegrowing and winemaking. I see this as a great opportunity for the wine lover who has always thought he/she might want to make wine some day to get a better idea of what it is all about. Or, just a great way to have a good time.
Or, you could do what we did, which was just taste their wines while Coleen Gravem in the tasting room explained all of the above while pouring us tastes of their various mainly Bordeaux-varietal driven offerings:
2008 Soul Mate (57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot)
2009 Innuendo (64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot)
2009 Promiscuous (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot)
2009 French Kiss (Cabernet Sauvignon)
2009 Puppy Love (Cabernet Sauvignon)
While I typically think of Zinfandel and Syrah when I think about Paso Robles, these wines gave me a new appreciation of the Bordeaux varietals grown in this area. (editor’s note: Michael’s story on Tassajara will run next Saturday, 7/28)
Michael Perlis provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.
