
It’s fair to say that I love wine. Though I’m by no means a wine snob and my palate rarely detects the “subtle notes of cherry/hickory/peach/etc,” I do enjoy celebrating the return of the weekend with a bottle. Or two. Whether it be a pinot grigio on a warm afternoon or a cabernet sauvignon on a stormy night, those fermented grapes are darn delicious and have been an integral part of many a fun night or heartfelt chat. And more than one game of Guitar Hero has been played with my mom while sipping vino.
When coming up with my 30-before-30 list, I knew I wanted to incorporate some time in wine country. Luckily, California has quite a few wine countries to choose from. I toyed with the idea of going up to Napa or Sonoma, but those proved to be too far away for a weekend. I briefly entertained the idea of going to Temecula or Paso Robles, but neither panned out. So I ended up revisiting the old standby: Santa Ynez Valley. Though I didn’t spend a complete weekend there, I figure one overnight plus another full day more than count for checking the item off my list.
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