It’s Not Too Late!! If you’re located on the East Coast you’re in luck. We have an assortment of best sellers that can still reach you in time for Christmas. For our West Coast wine lovers, you’ll need to expedite your order for 2 day shipping on these best selling wine gifts.

Here are just a few of our on sale, ready to go best selling wine gifts:

Wine Travel Case With Glasses

This wine bag can comes with two glasses in velvet foam forms, a corkscrew and foil cutter. All the essentials to drinking wine on your outdoor adventure. Just add a delicious bottle of wine to our wine and glass carrier for the perfect wine gift!

Karafe Wine Game

It’s back in stock! The fun wine tasting game that will make you a wine connoisseur after just a few games. This wine board game was recommended by Wine Spectator as gifts your wine loving friends can use. Play with chips, funny money, real estate cards and trivia questions. Enjoy wine with friends and become more knowledgable on wine.

Wine Country Recipe Album

Our wine themed recipe card book is a best seller this holiday season. It comes with clear plastic pocket pages so our messy cooks can enjoy easy cleaning. The recipe card book has tabbed dividers with kitchen tips. You can add to this 3 ring binder since it’s not bound. You’re not restricted to 3×5 or 4×6 recipe cards because it can store both!

Clef Du Vin Pocket Professional

This unique wine tool is made from a metal alloy that really makes your wine taste better. The alloy gradually modifies the wine’s properties by accelerating oxidation. Easily dip it inot hte wine and wala!  your wine has just been aged which is equivalent to one year of aging.

Equine Embossed Metal Faux Leather Wall Wine Holder & Stemware Rack

Hang this wall mounted wine rack in your kitchen to display 5 bottles of wine. The stemware rack located at the bottom of the wine rack can hang 4 wine glasses. This is a useful and artistic way to store your wine and required accessories.

Off to the wonderful land of Zins! It took about 45 minutes to reach Paso Robles from Santa Maria. As we ventured deeper into Central Coast wine region of California on HWY 101N, we passed through rocky mountains. As we got closer to Paso Robles the mountains slithered down to rolling green hillsides. A Carolina girl, I was spellbound by California’s diverse landscape throughout our trip.

Paso Robles wine country is home to 40 different varietals and is the third largest and fastest growing wine region in California. We learned that the area has a wide range of micro climates and soils to grow a variety of grapes to produce the superb wines of this area. It is know for their soothing, dynamic reds such as cabernets, merlots, zinfandels as well as their refreshing chardonnay and viognier varietals. Here in Paso, we’ll enjoy my favorite deeply colored, rich, jammy red wines.

The excitement grew as we exited HWY 101 onto HWY 45E into the east side of Paso Robles where we focused our first day. Here we tasted at the following wineries and tasting rooms.

 

California’s Central Coast
Paso Robles Wine Reviews

Firestone Vineyard Paso
Tobin James Cellars
Sylvester Vineyards & Winery
J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines
Peachy Canyon Winery

Opolo Vineyards and Eberle Winery are recommended wineries we didn’t get a chance to visit on this trip.

Firestone Vineyard Paso

Open daily from 10-5:00 p.m.

Stone lined paths lead up to this impressively built winery which features a recently built tasting room with gift shop, barrel cellar, gardens, and large patio area. Firestone Vineyard Paso is known for their Paso Robles grown Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In the tasting room we met two locals, Richard Brown and Tod West, who are in the wine industry enjoying their flight while purchasing a case of wine.

October 09′ Featured Wine Flight

            

2007 Chardonnay, Central Coast
2007 Gewurztraminer, Santa Ynez Valley
2007 Cabernet Franc Rose, Santa Ynez Valley
2005 Merlot, Paso Robles
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles
2005 Cabernet Syrah, Central Coast
2005 Late Harvest Riesling, Santa Ynez Valley

Surprised our tasting visit was only four dollars, we took advantage of that deal and tasted more than our share of wines. The 2007 Cabernet Franc Rose is the best rose I’ve sipped on this trip yet. It was soft with an infusion of berries and ended in a quenching finish. This is a great wine to sit on their patio and ship while contemplating the sun. For a chillier day, I would enjoy their full bodied, chewy 2005 Merlot with notes of black cherry, dark chocolate, cola and mocha. Sean enjoyed their 2005 Late Harvest Riesling. Our wine hostess recommended pairing it with a dry Champagne. Supposedly Rieslings, which are made form a late harvest where the grapes turn to raisins, pair very well with dry Champagnes.

Interesting Facts:

We learned that the previous owner of this winery was on The Batchelor. We heard funny stories about ladies who visited the tasting room after his newfound fame. Also, we were informed that a wine label’s year indicates what year the grapes were harvested. In the United States wine makers are allowed to blend in grapes from other years. The rule is 85$ of the grapes must come from the vintage on the label.

 

Tobin James Cellars

Open Daily from 10-6:00

The owners should be proud to know that they have the most recommended tasting room in all of Central Coast Wine Country and based on our experience, we cannot disagree. Tobin James Cellars has an amazing staff, fabulous wines and a unique atmosphere of Western spirit. Their tasting list states,

“THE ONLY RULE IN OUR TASTING ROOM IS —HAVE FUN!!”

If this is their mission statement, they completely hit it! We had such a fun time at Tobin James Cellars that we couldn’t leave. We could have spent the entire day sipping wine, and they would have served it to us all day too! To our surprise the tasting was complimentary. They must have so much confidence in their wines, they never charge for tastings. We attest to that.

The atmosphere of Tobin James Cellars reeks of the wild west. Before entering their tasting room there’s a large picnic area with tables, benches and a fireplace; all built from stone. They are generous with the number of tastings you can try and once you start you will not be able to stop. All of their wines are great! But plan ahead and bring some lunch for in between tastings. Their wine lists are the longest I’ve seen yet. You could spend the entire day wine tasting here, we almost did.

The walkway up to the tasting room is filled with old wine presses and other historic relics. We opened the door to find a huge room with western decor and two antique bars. Mo, our exciting wine hostess, informed us that the 145 year old bar was made from mahogany and once owned by American outlaws’, Jesse and Frank James. Don’t forget to ask Mo about the bullet hole in the bar. You can imagine the bartender reaching for his gun and aiming it under the bar as she describes the story. Apparently, the bartender shot from underneath the bar in those days.

Tobin James Cellars Tasting List Included:

White Wines
2007 Sauvignon Blanc
2007 Chardonnay
2008 Syrah Rose

Red Wines
2006 Chateau Le Cacheflo
2006 Sangiovese
2006 Merlot
2007 Zinfandel
2006 Syrah
2006 Petit Sirah
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Estate Private Stash
2005 Syrah

Desserts
2008 Charisma
2006 Late Harvest Zinfandel

Sean and I both favored their 2006 Merlot. Aged in an oak barrel it’s placed over a fire where the flame chars the inside to a medium to heavy intensity which creates a smokey, unique bouquet and flavor. Mo describes it perfectly as, “BBQ in a glass.” My absolute favorite wine is their 2008 Charisma dessert wine. Which surprised me since I usually don’t take to sweet wines. This one was delicious with lingering flavors of strawberry, guava, mango and peach. I savored every sip of this unique mouth feel. Mo suggested marinating this wine with fresh apricots and blackberries then pouring it over vanilla ice cream. My bottles went to fast to get too this point. Next time I’ll certainly be ordering a few cases of their Charisma Dessert Wine.

Mo was kind enough to let us try a few wines from their reserve list. This list is only available to wine club members, or the charmingly named,  the James Gang. As we were finishing some of Mo’s superb zinfandel recommendations a Tobin James Cellars chef came by with appetizers. A tradition in the afternoons at Tobin James, we devoured some delicious bbq sausage with cheese on a baguette.

Eventually, it WAS time to leave and as we headed for the door,  Richard and Tod entered. They weren’t surprised that we spent nearly the entire day there. We were grateful they recommended Mo, a pleasure to spend the afternoon with and a real asset to Tobin James Cellars. We did ask Mo of her favorite wine. She had the best response, “I don’t have a favorite. I’m a wino! I have a favorite wine in each varietal.”

Sylvester Vineyards & Winery

Open Daily, Winter 11-5:00, Summer 11-6:00

Our next stop was Sylvester Tasting Room which is known for their assortment of international cheeses and of course wines! More wine – yeah! We decided to try their cheese flight that is paired very well with their wines.

The Wine & Cheese Flight

2008 Kiara Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

Grafton Sage – White Cheddar from Vermont rubbed with sage oil

2007 Kiara Reserve Pinot Noir

Petit Basque – Basque Sheep’s Milk Cheese

2006 Kiara Reserve Zinfandel

Mimolette – 1 1/2 Year Aged French Cow’s Milk

2006 Kiara Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Regnant – Extra Aged Argentinean Cow’s Milk Cheese

Our favorite pairing was their Sauvignon Blanc with Premium Vermont Sage. It’s a naturally aged Vermont Cheddar Cheese made from cultured whole milk by the Grafton Village Cheese Company. We also favored their earthy Zinfandel paired with Mimolette, a rich nutty cheese from Normandy, that goes great with wine and even better with strong ales.

We mentioned we like port and so we received an extra tasting which included their Sangiovese and Syrah ports. Their highly rated 2003 Kiara Reserve Sangiovese Port is 100% estate grown. This delicious dessert wine had flavors of cherries and roasted dark cocoa. It has a bright, vibrant mouth feel and smokey finish.

Their Kiara Reserve tastings are complimentary. If you try their Cheese Flight or Chocolate Pairings with Wine they’ll charge a minimal $5.00. They were closing as we finished our tastings. Next time we’re going to arrive earlier and schedule a tour of their facility in advance. The settings are beautifully planned. I could easily see spending a day here as well. Check out their Weddings page where they have a lovely virtual tour of their vineyards and winery.

 

  Insider Scoop –

Schedule their VIP tour 2 weeks in advance. The Sylvester Vineyards & Winery tour features a full facility tour, private barrel tasting & gourmet cheese pairing aboard their 1947 Pullman train cars.

 

J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines

Open Daily from 10-5:00 p.m.

The ride to J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines tasting room is picturesque. They have a charming old style building off a country road surrounded by vineyards, where they produce primarily Cabernet Sauvignon.

Naturally, we savored out time here. Mark Gibbs, our tasting host, showed us a unique wine cork creation, a wine cork purse. In the photo, it is made with J. Lohr wine corks. Mark let us try their limited production 2005 Cuvee St. E. It is a smooth sipping wine of Bordeaux style with black cherry flavors. A Cuvee is made by a wine producer who creates a special blend of wines; often from different vintages.

If you’re on a budget we recommend stopping here and trying their complimentary wine flight in their cozy tasting room.

Peachy Canyon Winery

Open Daily from 11-5:00 p.m.

We were on our way to our hotel when we stopped at the Peachy Canyon Winery, where we didn’t realize they closed at 5. We entered their packed filled tasting room and enjoyed wine and delicious appetizers, not realizing that we crashed a party! Everyone was giddy from drinking “peachy perfect” wines, so they didn’t seem to mind.

Their tasting room is an Old School House, a cozy atmosphere where you can walk around their tasting bars that drift from room to room. Their outdoor picnic area has an old fashioned gazebo with views of rolling vineyards. Mary, hostess, introduced us to their 2007 Old School House Cabernet Sauvignon. We enjoyed this well balanced, smooth dark red wine with berry and cherry notes. We had a great time easting dessert appetizers and schmoozing with Mary.

The sun was settling while we tasted at Peachy Canyon Winery. Even though we no longer could view the rolling vineyards that surrounded their Old School House Tasting Room, we relished this peaceful, cottage style atmosphere.

Your special occasion wine corks no longer have to collect dust or hide in a drawer. We have a unique collection of cork collector kits. You can create your own personal work of art with wine corks saved over the years, collected from restaurants or from the wine country vacations.

Wine cork art projects are fun to do with the family. The end result is a beautiful cork bulletin board, trivet or serving tray filled with memories of your favorite wines and vineyards.

Got Wine Corks?

Our wine cork art craft projects are beautiful works of art for your home, kitchen, wine cellar, or living area.  I reused my wine corks from my Central Coast and Temecula wine country vacation and created a wine cork wall artwork. It’s  located in my mudd room off the garage. I love seeing it on my way in or out the house. Here I use my wine pewter pushpins to post notes, business cards, and messages I don’t want to miss on my way out the door.

 

Wine cork boards are easy and fun to make. Just add your cork collection to one of these solid wine cork boards and you’ll create a masterpiece of wine art. WineVine Imports has an exclusive collection of solid framed cork boards with decorative trim borders. You will only find these designer wine cork boards here.  They are hand crafted from a local, skilled wood carpenter, Paul. He is always coming up with new wine cork creations. Paul’s last innovative wine cork creation are our popular wine cork drink coasters.

 Here are some tips as you begin to cork:

Make one row at a time along the perimeter of the board. Alternate corks horizontally and vertically, either one or two at a time. Use a ruler as a guide to ensure level rows.

Complete the rows from the perimeter toward the middle. Try not to line up corks but rather stagger the rows. Use the hot glue or white glue to glue each row as it is completed. If you need to remove a cork after it has been glued and dried, use a screwdriver, but do not use the frame for leverage.

When you reach the midsection of the corkboard it often results like a jigsaw puzzle. So save any very long or short corks for the middle. You may need to shave the ends of some corks for a better fit. They should fit snugly. Use ample glue and allow several days for drying.

When making a trivet glue the corks on the side that the corks will rise above the wood frame. When making coasters, shave corks for perfect fit and only use glue in-between corks.