WINERY VISIT

Hello,

We just returned from 10 days in Monterey/Pacific Grove, CA, where we attended the Religious Science International Annual Conference at Asilomar. A wonderful event.

We had some wonderful restaurant experiences there, including CASSANOVA in Carmel, FANDANGO in Pacific Grove, and THE FISH WIFE, also in Pacific Grove. I highly recommend them all when you visit. Both CASSANOVA and FANDANGO have extensive wine lists - CASSANOVA has 5 pages of half-bottles alone!

On the drive back down to Thousand Oaks, we made our annual stop at the LAETITIA and BARNWOOD tasting room, and for the first time, we stopped at DOVER CANYON winery in Templeton, just south of Paso Robles.

We had a Dover Canyon wine called "Bone Lore" at a tasting in Monterey earlier in the week, and were intrigued enough to stop on the way south. After a lunch at McFEE'S GRILL on Main Street in Templeton (another great restaurant), we drove west toward Dover Canyon Winery.

The location is very picturesque, with orchards and vineyards on the property, a quaint farmhouse, and a modest tasting room. Dover Canyon specializes in Zinfandels. There were three whites and nine reds on the tasting list (2 of the reds were reserved for wine club members only).

Dorianne and I bought bottles of the 2004 Viognier, a very nice white wine, with tropical fruit flavors and a very nice dry finish. Only 8 barrels were produced. We also purchased some of the Bone Lore, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Syrah blend - smooth and very nice nose and flavor.

At Laetitia, where we are members of the wine club, we tasted a number of wines from a large selection of reds, whites, roses, and sparkling wines. We purchased two nice whites, a 2004 Barnwood Sauvignon Blanc, a real bargain at just $8 per bottle, and their 2005 Laetitia Pino Blanc, a wonderful white wine at just $18 ($14.40 for wine club members).

Laetitia is available at select retailers, such a Bev-Mo, and Dover Canyon is available at a few selections (listed on the website) and through the winery. Their web sites are: http://www.dovercanyon.com/ and http://www.laetitiawine.com/.

'Till Next Time,

The Wine Saver