Bistro Staff goes on a field trip

May 9 the staff at the Bistro piled into the cars and headed off to Paso Robles to visit the Silver Horse vineyard and winery. Stephen Kroener, winemaker and owner, was our host for the afternoon. Excited to be sharing his latest bottling with us of his 2005 vintages and in anticipation of his winemaker dinner coming up on June 5th, Stephen was the perfect host.

Our mouth was watering when he began to tell us about the new vintages of his coveted Albarino. Albarino is a very limited grown Spanish grape with only 5 acres in the entire USA. It is planted in our very own Edna Valley. Stephen is one of only 3 winemakers that are making wine with Albarino. It is definitely the best kept secret. But with 30 more acres planted and ready in the 2007 harvest more winemakers will be jumping on the Albarino band wagon. This white wine can only be described as "the perfect white wine". It has the crisp green apple of a Sauvignon Blanc, the honey suckle of the Viognier and the butter, pineapple of a slightly oaked Chardonnay. It is great on a warm lazy afternoon with a nice crisp salad or by itself sipping on the bistro patio.

What followed was the Cab/Syrah blend, the Big Easy (my all time favorite), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon. I can't tell you all about them, you'll have to come to the winemaker dinner on Monday, June 5 to experience the wines paired with down to earth great food.

Make your reservation today as these dinners fill up fast.