We woke up on our last day in Paso Robles feeling torn – there were things to do in the area but at the same time we were focused on packing up and leaving the next day and meeting our friends in SF. Top on our mind was the two cases of wine sitting on the floor. Suddenly we were nervous about how that wine was going to make it home.
The rental had a flyer for wine shipping – we out the address in the GPS and off we went to ship a case of wine home to our US address – we could go across the border at a later date and pick it up.
Having addressed that worry we were off to more wineries. Not sure that this makes sense at all to those who are reading but it made sense to us!
Paul had requested lunch at Justin winery which is waaaaaaaaaaay out in the wilds of the west side. Along the way we passed an old favourite - Adelaida winery – so we decided to head in for a visit. They were doing some major construction at the winery – apparently building a palace of a tasting room, spa and mini resort. I was a bit nervous – sometimes a drive to create a wine destination resort can negatively impact quality and drive UP price point.
Happily this was not the case. The wines were as yummy as ever. We tasted 7, had a lovely chat with the tasting room staff, bought a couple of bottles, and were on our way.
It was a half hour drive from Adelaida to Justin- it really is a destination. Many others had made the trek making us glad that we reservations for lunch. We were seated outside on the terrace with a lovely view of the vineyard. I ordered a flight of white wines and a rose, Paul decided to just enjoy a full glass of the rose. It had been a few years since we were at Justin – happily the wines were as good as ever.
We had never eaten at Justin before but we liked the philosophy of using local, fresh, seasonal ingredients.
I was feeling the effects of all the eating we had been doing so I went light – vichyssoise soup to start and a salad. Paul ordered a pasta dish which he declared to be one of the best pasta’s he has had (not including any that I have made, of course).
After eating we popped into the tasting room and bought a few bottles of wine to take on our journey.
Our next stop, as we continued driving the wilds of the west side of Paso Robles, was the Paso Olivio olive oil farm. They too had huge construction underway with a new tasting room and inn coming soon. We bought some olive oil and headed back to the Schoolhouse.
Back at the schoolhouse we enjoyed the benefits of traveling slowly – time to put our feet up, nap, read, and enjoy this beautiful spot.
It will be hard to leave.
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