In September 2023, I stopped while passing through Buellton, California for dinner at The Hitching Post II. I’d been planning this dinner in my head for a while and had already decided to order a special bottle to enjoy – as one does at the Hitching Post.
Some of you may remember the Hitching Post as the scene of several dinners in the movie Sideways (2004) – and most significantly as the infamously over-served wine extravaganza featuring Paul Giamatti (Miles), Thomas Haden Church (Jack), Sandra Oh (Stephanie), and Virginia Madsen (Maya).
I arrived for my 7pm reservation and waited… and waited. After the third person walked through the foyer without acknowledging my presence, someone finally did. I was led to what must be the worst table in the house – a two seater placed smack dab in the kitchen entrance.
Initially I started to put my coat on the back of the chair and even thought about dutifully sitting down. But then, I saw what was happening here – single, 55+ woman, gray hair – dispensable and invisible.
There were many empty tables; I insisted upon a new seat. And then I proceeded to order this wine.
Eyes – translucent garnet
Nose – complex Byng cherry, pomegranate, garrigue, and dried herb
Palate – significant development, sour and super ripe Byng cherries, blood orange rind, tarragon, anise, black olive
Drinking at its peak, absolutely sublime, pure sunshine and happiness (16 yo at opening).
In Sideways, Virginia Madsen’s character gives a heartfelt speech about what makes wine special for her – what kind of a day was it when they harvested, who picked the grapes, who was there when it was
bottled, are they still alive? From the picture to the right, we know that Bob Lindquist was there – this 2006 wine was made well before he left in 2019.
In the end, I luxuriated in the wine, and had a lovely conversation with the people at the next table. The wine was glorious, the dinner barely average, and my new table, much improved over the original version.
Miles would have insisted on being moved. So, I did too.
This is pretty cool and happening stuff. While Pinot Noir grapes have been pressed and used forever as part of sparkling wines and blends, it’s rare to find white versions as still wine.
Albariño (kind folks, they could have finished faster without me, picture right).
The outdoor tasting garden at Tolenas is at the side of Lisa’s childhood home. She and Cliff farm the vineyards with her father who started the whole operation – and is still working making wine and farming grapes. Mary, their Tasting room manager, knows the wines inside and out.
I have visited tasting rooms in seven countries, but this one nestled in the Santa Rita Hills is the most intriguing and relaxing I’ve ever been to.
encompasses more than just wine.” (see video below)
Although he produces Pinots and a myriad unusual grapes that people come from miles
away to taste, it was approaching 90F, so I opted for some Chardonnay. Relaxing outside at the crush pad, I was ecstatic.
Deep gold in colour, the nose has tones of sherry, sea salt, coconut, super ripe Barlett pear and bergamot. The palate is delicious with almond, pear and ginger blossom, dried mandarin peel, and more Oloroso.
about so many reviews is the fawning, oh-my-god-this-wine-is-amazing accolades that 
many churn out.
This is a stunning example of a benchmark white wine, from a famous piece of schist dominated
dirt (planted since 1130 AD, see picture) which is now its own appellation, even though it’s only 13 hectares in size. Nicholas Joly is the owner and winemaker, and his daughter Virginie whom I met in 2014 works alongside him in this capacity (see picture).
We opened it at 14 years old and did not decant it – we wanted to see how it would open up in the bottle over the evening. We were unable to save any for the next few days to observe changes – we couldn’t stop ourselves and drank it in one sitting, even though Mr. Joly himself recommends enjoying his bottles over three days. How anyone could wait so long to finish it is completely beyond me.
Anyone who follows me on social media will know I was in Mexico recently with my family to celebrate 20 years of togetherness. What better way to toast our family’s union than to enjoy a Mexican wine from the oldest winery in the Americas (est. 1597) with the anniversary dinner.
maintain an open mind -and I’m glad I did, because the 3V was a lovely accompaniment to our celebratory dinner.
(‘parras’ means ‘vines’ in Spanish), is grown at 1,525m. This is the only reason wines of any measure of quality can be produced this far south – the altitude offers an air conditioning effect on the vines. The Val de Parras is a microclimate oasis in the middle of what is otherwise mountain ranges and semi-desert.
Deep purple with aromas of strawberry, blueberry, plum and boysenberry, the palate shows the same fresh fruit, augmented with dried tobacco leaf, marvelous body, and good acidity. It has spent 12 months ageing in American, European and French oak.
denomination systems. 
Classic, classic, classic – it doesn’t get much better than this developed, yet still bright, mostly Tempranillo wine from benchmark Rioja winery, Lopez de Heredia.
Lopez de Heredia red wines and is often enjoyed much earlier than we did this one – but it was outstanding nonetheless (we opened it at 11 years old).
The dry palate is both soft and complex showing mocha nibs, cigar box, pastrami and walnut. There’s even still some bright fruit – black plum and cranberry. Spicy and candied, it has fabulous acidity and a lengthy
Owners Shay and Harlee Code decided in 2016 to purchase land in Okanagan Falls on which they planted Viognier, Syrah, several clones of Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay grapes.
winellama 