Longoria

I'm a very lucky guy. Mostly lucky to have a brother with close ties to the Longoria family. No, I'm not talking about Tony Parker and Eva Longoria, I'm talking about Rick and Diana Longoria. In case you're unaware, Rick is the founder of Longoria Wines, and one of the pioneers of Pinot Noir in the Santa Ynez Valley.
While I was out in California, I had what I would consider the honor of spending 2 days with the Longorias. While in Solvang, they pointed us to wineries, fed us, and gave us a very personal tour of Longoria Winery. We tasted through bottles of finished wines at the tasting room, and even got a few samples from barrel at the tasting room. Insider tip, Rick is releasing a rose this season that is going to be absolutely wonderful.
The biggest treat of all was tasting alongside Rick. Anyone who has been making great wine as long as he has must have a phenomenal palate. It was very interesting to form my opinions of the wine, then have him rattle off a series of descriptors that hit the wine to a T. At one point I remarked that the wine we were tasting seemed very tanic. Rick politely disagreed, saying simply "I didn't get that". I replied that "my gums are dry". Rick thought and said, you're tasting the accumulation of the tannin, not the tannin from this wine. Aha!
All in all, it was a wonderful time. I don't know that I could thank the Longorias enough for their wonderful hospitality.

Missing Posts

I've been neglecting thirdcoastwine lately. Settling back into work, as well as trying to get another blog off the ground, has taken its toll on my free time. I have been writing, and if you are clamoring for more of my witty writing (and who isn't) you can check out my other project at razmaspaz.com. razmaspaz.com is my first foray into wordpress (technoblogger speak for blogging software) so hopefully I'll be able to migrate third coast to it soon, and get off blogger.

Razmaspaz is more about life and my ramblings in general. It gets a little wine talk, but mostly tech, fly fishing, photography, and all other things me.

Back from Vacation

I'm back from vacation. I've got all kinds of news and stories. From rain in LA and a winery visit at Longoria, to cruise food and some fantastic and not so fantastic California Restaurants. Stick around for all the new stuff. It should be an exciting week.