We were motorcycling and hit up 2 wineries in our travels on Sunday

The ambience at Travis Peak was impressive. There was a beautiful tasting hall overlooking a quaint vineyard view, and a large limestone pavilion with a pretty fountain.

The wines at Travis Peak didn’t do much for me. It might have been the stereotypical way in which our well meaning pour people interacted with us. Young, not well dressed, (me in my stretchy pants eek) on a motorcycle, I guess our appearance didn’t scream oenophile, but nothing makes or breaks the tasting experience for me more than the attitude of the pour person. On a good day, at a slow vineyard, with the right person who is passionate about what they do, you can learn so much. Travis Peak was not that kind of vineyard on that kind of day. They had a weird-ass, almond-flavored sparkling wine that was interesting. When I reviewed the wines in the tasting, (there were a lot of wines I really don’t like) I nearly opted for a full glass of their estate Cab. As I dutifully went through the motions of the tasting and gulped down my Pinot Grigio and their blended Cab, I was put off by a common theme of acidity in all the wines, and relieved that I didn’t opt for the glass of Cab as might have been a big glass of more of the same.

A lot of the wines were things I wouldn’t normally drink… pinot grigio, rose ect. However, I was not as rude as the Harley riders we intersected with at our second stop Spicewood Vineyard, where in a $2 tasting of 4 different wines, begged NOT to have any Sauvingon Blanc, as if it would poison them for life. Very clearly making a point to each other that they were riding Harley’s and they were NOT WHITE WINE DRINKERS.

I found this amusing, right before they walked in I had just had a conversation with the pour person that I don’t really drink white, but if I do, it’s usually a Sauvingon Blanc. He concurred. Spicewood didn't make wine in 2006 and the 07s weren’t really ready so they didn't have much for tasting but their winemaker had gone off and made a delicious Zinfindel with Dry Creek (think Sonoma!) grapes that I look forward to drinking again soon. He said it would be available at Whole Foods, Specs and Central Market toward the end of the month.