Heading Down Highway One

HEADING DOWN Highway One in a hired Dodge towards Paso Robles was a white-knuckle ride. At several points the turbulent sea almost laps the road's edge. Deep drops flirt with a sprinkling of fallen (sometimes falling) rocks.

My first stop was Bonny Doon's ramshackle hut hidden down the meandering Bonny Doon road. Syrah Le Poussuer MMIV had a blueberry nose with well-intentioned tannins and fizzy jam undertones. The Recioto of Barbera posessed a refined bitterness with raspberries, loganberries and a heavy, 'sobbing' sweetness. Le Cigar Volant '01 had sheep droppings on the nose. The '00 integrated such livestock farmyard aromas with more conviction. Some of the must for the Bonny Doon range comes from Europe, which seems strange... bringing Mohammad to the Mountain?

The hillside towards Paso resembles the sculpted backs of irrationally large sleeping dinosaurs. I checked into The Farmhouse, a 'quaint' motel with a very varied clientele. Shag pile carpet, HBO on tap, a bed big enough for the three bears and a shower which managed to get everything wet apart from me.

I sought solace in downtown Vinoteca, a wine bar with bare brick walls, recently reopened after earthquake damage.

Claiborne & Churchill Pinot Noir '02 left an impression on fatigued, impressionable me. I wanted to dive into the glass. Warm, but not burnt, a little too sweet, but penetrating of every tastebud.

It had firm suspension, unlike my bed for the night...