Bacon Freak

In Paso Robles there are several wineries along the 46 east, among them was a winery called Chumeia Vineyards. The winery entrance is made of rock and stone and the wrought iron gate has some very impressive metal art work created with vibrant colors like that found on their wine labels. Once you enter their gate you are immediately greeted by their vines. The rolling vines and oak trees make for a very relaxing setting. In order to get to the tasting room, you must drive over the Chumeia Crossing which is a basin that allows for unrestricted crossing of local species including the endangered Kit Fox. In front of the tasting room are two wine barrel tables, a few chairs and one umbrella. For what ever reason that table with its simple view of the oak trees and the vines relaxed me. In fact I sipped a glass of wine from that table and made my notes for this story.

This particular tasting room is small, but has enough space to allow for 20 to 30 people to taste comfortably. Upon entering their wine room I was greeted by Josslyn. I do need to say that she treated me like family and gave me an excellent tour of their tasting room and barrel room. We sampled several wines together including their zinfandel and Barbera wines which were the two wines that they featured that I wasn’t familiar with.

The 2006 Barbera tasted very nice! It had flavors of blueberry. I am told that it pairs very well with lamb or beef. The grapes come from the Partridge-Leigh Vineyard. The suggested retail price of this barbers is $35.00

The 2006 Zinfandel was excellent and the price was amazing. They are selling it for $14.00 dollars retail. Just released a few months ago, Jossyln told me that it is becoming their favorite. This Zin boasted a jam like aroma and you could taste the vanilla and spice on your palate. It had an excellent finish!

The Ancient Greeks had a word for alchemy; Chumeia (koo-may-a) is that word. Historic alchemists believed that by applying four basic elements: heat, air, earth and water as well as philosophical beliefs, they could transform basic elements into gold. Lee Nesbitt, Chumeia’s Winemaker, believes that not only is winemaking an alchemic process, but the grapevine has its own transformation of basic elements to gold (the grapes). Holding true to form, Chumeia’s philosophy is to source exceptional fruit from specific locations. This philosophy allows the dynamics of the vineyard to be expressed by blending specific lots, thus achieving varietal correctness and complexity.

I continued east on the 46 highway until I came to Tobin James Winery. This winery is located the furthest east of any winery in Paso Robles. The tasting room looks like something out of a western cowboy movie, in fact the yellow house which sits on the property is an old stage coach stop. The house has been fully restored and is currently being used as a guest house. Before I even entered the tasting room I saw what looked like a giant Italian pizza oven. The outdoor area had beautiful stone work and a seating area for many people to enjoy the pizza they make on the weekends.

Upon entering the tasting room, you get the feel that you just walked into an old western saloon. I almost felt out of place wearing my golf hat and flip flops. The bar in which the wine tasting is done feels like it should have a bar tender behind it! This beautiful bar is an antique 1860’s Brunswick mahogany bar from Blue Eye, Missouri. If you can believe this the bar has a bullet hole in it from Jesse James himself! The tasting room is definitely done up in true western style and this winery and tasting room is a must see on your next trip to Paso Robles.

As we regularly feature their wines in our California Wine Club, I am already very familiar with their wines so I took the opportunity to taste two of my favorites which are the Zinfandel “Ballistic” This wine has a very dark ruby color and throws off a very pleasant cherry like aroma. It tastes of jammy blackberry flavors and finishes nicely with a hint of pepper spice. This wine is an excellent value under $20 dollars a bottle.
I also tasted the “Notorious” Cabernet Sauvignon” This wine is Purple in color and smells of black currant with a hint of cinnamon. You definitely taste the oak flavor and hint of cinnamon on the finish.
The winery was founded by Tobin James who is known to be a friendly guy and enjoys playing the celebrity role. His partners are Lance and Claire Silver who run the business side of the winery. Together, they are know to be the “James Gang”

Its finally here! Its been 6 months in the making and the Bacon Freak Bacon is Meat Candy Bacon Club has finally done it! We have made the first 100% real Bacon Jerky available on the market. We used the most premium gourmet bacon available, in fact we used the Bacon Freak Bacon to create 6 of the most unique flavors of jerky ever, they are Cajun, Hickory Smoke, Jalapeno, Pepper, Maplewood and Honey BBQ. Each piece of mouth watering bacon is hand rubbed with our special rubs and spices to make your Bacon Jerky a special treat!

I can remember eating jerky as a kid, my dad would take me to the local store to buy strip along with a soda. I remember taking it on camping trips, to the beach, and to places like Disneyland. To me jerky has been associated with all my great memories growing up. I just can’t resist those savory flavors, the sweet tastes and the tender meat. Its these memories that drove us to cross our love of bacon with jerky. The finsihed product is amazing and a must have for any fan of bacon!

In a few short weeks our bacon products have already received national attention, we were even contacted by Maxim Magazine who will be talking about our bacon in a magazine issue later this year! We look forward to you enjoying our Bacon Jerky. Click here to buy Bacon Jerky

Signing Off and Pigging Out,

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

Lately I have spent much of my time talking about bacon. Many of our customers who have come to love the Bacon Freak brand of bacon aren’t even aware that we got our start in wine and have 11 wine clubs today. Since my wife and I started having kids we haven’t been able to do the amount of wine tasting that we would like to do and are normally restricted to doing local wine tasting hosted by some of our local wine bars, so we decided to do something different. We loaded up the RV, our bikes and scooters and went up and stayed at the Wine Country RV Resort in Paso Robles. This is a very nice RV resort located a few miles east of the 101 on the 46 freeway next to Firestone Winery. (Having a winery just 150 yards away from where you sleep is dangerous). It did make a great place to end the day and stumbling home was made easy!

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you my experiences in this wonderful wine region. By the way we just didn’t wine taste! We enjoyed golfing, going to the Lake Nacamiento, Cambria, going to Ravine Waterpark, picnicking and taking leisurely walks through the gorgeous oak trees that this region offers. Each of these activities just perfectly complemented the wine and like all wine it is better shared with friends. We were fortunate that our good friends could spend the 7 fun filled days with us.

We started our wine tour in northern Paso Robles. Among the first wineries we visited was Vista Del Rey Vineyards. This boutique vineyard is owned by proprietors Dave and Carol King. Their property is an 8 acre vineyard that comes with a breathtaking view of the valley below. I have known Dave for about 5 years now and what is so truly unique about their winery and vineyard is that their customers not only get to taste some of the best zinfandel’s that this region has to offer but they are immediately welcomed in like family. We weren’t their but a few minutes when Carol took my wife and friends into their newly remodeled home that has some gorgeous antiques that she purchased at local antique shops such as Vineyard Antiques. Their home has a few special pieces such as a bed headboard from sally sanford’s bordello in san francisco and several paintings and furniture pieces that Carol traded wine for. She told me the she loves to barter using Dave’s wine.

I just love their tasting room, it’s basically a little barn. When you walk in, you are immediately greeted by their two dogs Shylo and Daisy, who were two of the friendliest ole dogs you had ever met. As soon as you step in you get the feeling that you are getting the real deal, meaning a wine maker who shares our vision about wines, fancy bottles and artistic labels are meaningless, its what’s in the bottle that counts. Upon walking in I was literally shocked at how many people were inside tasting wines, I thought to myself how did they all get in? It goes to show you that a good wine and a good host is the most important thing when it comes to drinking wine! While I was there I met Tom Rice, PHD, who wrote and published, “Paso Robles: An American Terroir.” This is a must have book if you want to know about the Paso Robles wine region.

I originally met Dave about 5 years ago when he and I were volunteering at a wine event at Lake Sherwood in Westlake Village to benefit the Special Olympics. Since I first tasted his wines that day, there is one thing I can be sure of when it comes to Dave’s wines and that is he consistently makes a quality Zinfandel wine that is priced very reasonably.

Dave poured several of his wines together and they were a Pinot Blanc, a few different zinfandels, a Barbera and a Barbera Port. We thoroughly enjoyed the Barbera Port that was perfectly paired with Herrmann’s dark chocolate chocolate. This fantastic port is limited to two bottles per person. My friends purchased the maximum quota and for an after dinner snack that night we finished off one bottle.

Dave’s winery is off the beaten path. It like being in the old west. You need to pass several cattle ranches and pass a few dirt roads to get there. The trip is well worth it to see their dry farmed zinfandel vines. Vista Del Rey means a “Kings View” in Spanish which is the perfect name for these two proprietors names Dave and Carol King. Since 1997 when they started this winery their flagship varietal has been the zinfandel. If you truly want to try a handcrafted zinfandel or barbera that is consistent year after year and that is produced in limited quantities at a very reasonable price Dave’s Zin is the answer.

The next time you are in Paso Robles be sure to visit:
Vista Del Rey Vineyards

If you would like to buy any of this wine, simply send me an email at rocco@cvwine.com
visit our wine club by visiting http://www.cvwine.com/wineclub/home.html

How interesting is this? Just this week Sloan Magazine has decided to dub this week “Pork Week.” They have reported on the fact that what we have been delivering to our members is exactly what you wanted! As you know we have been saying, “Bacon is Meat Candy” and we sincerely believe that. These days bacon is all the rage. Everybody from Paris Hilton, to Michelle Obama to Taco Bell are talking about bacon. I can now find bacon in my doughnuts, my lollipops, my Mac and Cheese, even my bacon lunch box!

This country is screaming we want more bacon and that call is being answered, however we here at Bacon Freak are concerned with the lack of quality being delivered. Are they using high quality gourmet bacon that was cured with a real wood burning smoker or is it mass produced crap? Based upon some of the products I have tried such as the Bacon Ranch Pringles or Kraft’s Easy Mac, my guess is they are using crap. This has irritated us. How can they take my love of gourmet bacon and make a horrible product? This has prompted us here to do something about it. In the next few weeks Bacon Freak will be launching its on line of premium Bacon Popcorn, Bacon Tortilla Chips and Bacon Jerky. Our love of bacon will only be made with the highest quality premium gourmet bacon. Now that’s a true love of bacon!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,

Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com