Linda told Bonnie & I about an impressive art exhibit she had seen in Paso Robles called Field of Light at Sensorio. She said it was definitely worth seeing, so after a little research on the art exhibition, and the Paso Robles Wine Country, we decided to make the trip. Tracy went with us, and her friend (and ours) Adriane, drove from San Francisco and joined us. You can see on the map below that Paso Robles is 215 miles north, and a little west, of Monrovia. Sensorio, where the light exhibition was, is about four miles east of Paso Robles.
A brief description of the exhibit from a marketing brochure states: "Internationally-acclaimed artist, Bruce Munro, premieres his largest artwork to date. Field of Light is a sculptural composition that covers Sensorio's rolling hills with an array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics, gently illuminating the landscape in subtle blooms of morphing color. Munro's first US exhibit powered entirely by solar, the stunning exhibition captivates visitors, inviting them to engage with the landscape and environment through an ethereal light-based and sculptural experience. Munro's work has been called "awe-inspiring" by Travel & Leisure, "mesmerizing" by the Los Angeles Times, and "a summer must do" by ABC Ch23 in Bakersfield." I was told at the Sensorio Box Office that it took 100 workers, six weeks to set up all the lights.
We drove to Sensorio for the 5:00 pm opening on Saturday evening. We stood in line for a while, then at dusk we were allowed to walk into the hills and view the exhibit. I took the photo below from a walking pathway within the Field. You can see the silhouettes of people walking the path in front of me, and the white lights at the far end is a VIP area overlooking the entire exhibition, with seating and dining available. The photo doesn't really do justice to the feeling you have when you are actually there within all the lights.
Below are two additional photos taken before the sun went down. In the one of the right you can see some of the observers on the skyline. Below these two photos are my traveling companions waiting for the sun to go down. As you can tell, it was a little chilly.
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TOUR OF PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY
Attending the Sensorio Field of Light Show was what initiated our trip to Paso Robles, but we had additional activities in mind, like relaxing, enjoying fine meals, and touring the local wineries. Paso Robles Wine Country is an American Viticultural Area located in the San Luis Obispo County, California. It has approximately 33,000 vineyard acres planted with wine grapes, and is well known for its heritage varietal Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rhône-style wines.
About mid-day Friday, we checked into a really nice hotel, The Oaks, and then drove to a retail area we had heard about to have lunch. Tucked away in a commercial warehouse district just outside downtown Paso Robles is the wine country’s newest and hottest tasting area for wine, beer and spirits, affectionately known as Tin City. The word is that this area has been rapidly developing into a wine destination spot for locals looking to grab a drink after work and visitors interested in meeting local wine makers and tasting locally produced, high-end and small-batch wines. We had a great lunch at the Tin Canteen, but didn't have time to do much exploration of the other establishments. Adriane arrived in town after lunch and joined us. We went to the downtown area where there is a nice City Park, surrounded by many great restaurants. We chose the Street side Ale House for an early dinner, then went back to the hotel and planned our winery visits for Saturday and Sunday.
Our plan for Saturday was to visit DAOU Vineyards & Winery and Justin Vineyards. So Saturday morning we first drove to DAOU Vineyards, which is about 8 miles west of town on Hidden Mountain Road. DAOU has a very impressive facility and an interesting history. It is owned and operated by two brothers, Georges and Daniel Daou, who ended up in California as a result of the Doau Family leaving Lebanon at the start of the Lebanese civil war. They first moved to France, where they were surrounded by vineyards and first began to dream of a life in wine. After coming to America, they studied engineering at the University of California San Diego, started their own networking technology company after graduation, and ultimately sold the company and invested the proceeds in DAOU Mountain and the wine business. There is much more interesting history, but it's sufficient to say here that we were very impressed with the facility and the wine. I didn't keep track of what wines the girls may have purchased, but I really liked the DAOU Chardonnay and bought a bottle in case it wouldn't be available in retail stores. Below are a few photos: 1st row - Tracy & Adriane riding in the limousine from the parking lot to the winery, and a shot of the full facility at the top of DAOU Mountain. 2nd row - two photos showing the outside area where people are enjoying a glass of wine and the view. 3rd row - the sheltered patio where people could do their wine tasting, and Tracy making friends with the DAOU cat.
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Next we drove about 9 miles further west to Justin Vineyards & Winery on Chimney Rock Road. This was a beautiful drive on winding roads through rolling hills of vineyards. They had an interesting twist on how they did the wine tasting; you purchased the tasting, then wondered through the wine caves to the various stops, each having a different wine to taste, with bread and cheese to snack on and clean your palate. I really like the Justin Cabernet Sauvignon, but I can purchase that wine at retail stores so I didn't purchase any at the winery.
Photos below: 1st row - the main Justin facility - you can make your way to the wine caves inside this facility; second photo is of one of their vineyards. 2nd row - some wine storage (with Tracy checking her phone) and the entrance to the wine caves.
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After our visit at Justin Winery we returned to the downtown area of Paso Robles for a late lunch. The attractive City Park downtown is about a mile from our hotel, and is surrounded by interesting restaurants with good ambiance and cuisine of all styles. We had a great lunch at Fish Gaucho. After lunch we headed for a wonderful evening at the Field of Light at Sensorio, which is described earlier. After the Light Show we returned to the downtown area where had a delicious dinner at Berry Hill Bistro.
Our plan for touring the wine country on Sunday included Peachy Canyon Winery and Tooth & Nail Winery. We arrived at Peachy Canyon on Bethel Road, about six miles from the hotel, right at their opening time and had the full attention of the staff there. The tasting room is in the historic Old Bethel School House (circa 1886) and includes a gift shop, picnic area, old-fashioned gazebo, and very attractive grounds with native oak trees. (Bonnie & I bought clothes instead of wine). The school house served as a personal residence in the early 1900s until it was purchased by Peachy Canyon Winery. The winery is a family owned business founded by Doug and Nancy Beckett in 1988 and currently operated by their two sons. Zinfandel has long been Peachy Canyon’s flagship varietal. Photo on the left is the old school house that serves as the tasting room, next is Tracy & Adriane doing a tasting.
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Next we drove about a mile down the road to the Tooth & Nail Winery on Anderson Road. This turned out to be a very unusual winery - both as to the physical facilities, their wines and the wine labels. The Tooth & Nail Winery is a castle, with a surrounding moat, and includes 9,000 square feet of venue space used to host many types of gatherings. They pour four different wines: Rabble, Tooth & Nail, Stasis and Amor Fati. This is an interesting comment from one of their pieces of literature: "We exist to connect with people and share our many passions: exceptional wine, our beautiful community of Paso Robles, and our unconventional winery and brands. The wines and brands we craft push the public to incite a riot in the world of wine." I purchased two bottles of their wine since they would not be available to me at local retail stores. One Cabernet Sauvignon and one The Possessor, which is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Petite Sirah, and 6% Syrah.
Regarding the photos below: 1st row - left is a poster showing the full winery facility; on the right is the moat surrounding the castle. 2nd row - On the left the girls are entering the facility; on the right is an example of the number of different wines they pour, each having a different label. 3rd row - On the left is one of the pieces of art on the wall, which gives a feel of many things within the Tasting Room. It turns out that the girl in the picture actually works at the Winery in real life. The photo on the right is Tracy holding an iPad in front of a wine bottle. With the appropriate App in the iPad, the label actually comes alive on the screen. Very interesting, and although it doesn't make the wine any better, I think it's probably a good marketing tool.
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After leaving Tooth & Nail, we returned to the downtown area and found a nice restaurant across from City Park named Catch - Seafood Bar & Grill for lunch. This was Adriane's last lunch with us since she had to drive back to San Francisco, return her rental car, and go back to the "real world" on Monday.
Bonnie, Tracy and I decided to add two more wineries to our tour - J. Lohr Vineyards and Eberle Winery. We drove to J. Lohr first, which is on Airport Road just 6 miles east and north from our hotel. I've known J. Lohr for a long time and like their Chardonnay and Cabernet wines. Even though I can buy locally, we thought it would be interesting to see their facility. We were surprised when we arrived at the address, the building had no indication it was J. Lohr, or even a Tasting Room. We went in and sure enough it was J. Lohr, but a little disappointing compared to the other facilities we had visited. Next we drove to Eberle Winery, which was just 4 miles from J. Lohr. The Eberle facility was very nice, and had an outside deck with a view, so we ended a fun afternoon by relaxing on the deck with a glass of their Chardonnay.
After Eberle we went back to the hotel, had a little rest, and did some packing for our trip home the following morning. We drove to the nearby Rustic-Fire Artisan Pizza for dinner.
We left Paso Robles mid-morning on Monday and drove the 3 1/2 hour trip back to Monrovia (and Tracy went on to Glendora). Everyone agreed this was an enjoyable trip, and a very unique experience as it related to the Field of Light at Sensorio.