5 Reasons to Fall for Paso Robles

5 Reasons to Fall for Paso Robles

5 Reasons to Fall for Paso Robles

Located along U.S. Highway 101 in the center of California’s Central Coast lies Paso Robles, one of California’s fastest growing wine regions. Paso Robles, or “Pass of the Oaks,” boasts a climate that is ideal for wine growing and is home to more than 40,000 vineyard acres.

Purple Cowboy wines are produced with grapes sourced from Paso Robles. Purple Cowboy Tenacious Red and Purple Cowboy Trail Boss Cabernet Sauvignon both capture the sense of maverick western adventure and open spaces found in Paso Robles.

Aside from being home to our favorite wines, here are our top five reasons to fall in love with Paso Robles:

Top five reasons to fall in love with Paso Robles:

Location

Close to the ocean, the mountains and the desert, Paso Robles is halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California’s Central Coast. Paso Robles is easily accessible by one of the area’s airports or by car via Highway 101.

History

Winemaking and grape growing were introduced to the area in the late 1700s by Franciscan Friars, but the area was first known for its rejuvenating hot springs. Later during the late 1800s, it became known as the “Almond City,” possessing the world’s largest concentration of almond orchards. The early twentieth century ushered in the city’s first commercial wineries.

Paso Robles hot springs

Hot springs

Thermal springs in the area are said to have healing powers. The Salinan Indians, some of the area’s earliest inhabitants, knew the area s the “Springs” or the “Hot Springs.” Take their cue and after a long day of sightseeing and wine tasting, consider a relaxing dip in these therapeutic waters.

Hearst Castle

Sights and scenery

When you’re not wine tasting, take a stroll along one of the area’s scenic trails. Try the Salinas River Walk or Shoreline Trail. Don’t miss a visit to Hearst Castle. William Randolph Hearst, along with architect Julia Morgan, created an American castle to showcase Hearst’s legendary art collection. The 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways are worth a look, too.

Purple Cowboy Paso Robles

The wine

Paso Robles Wine Country, with its warm days and cool nights, is home to more than 40 wine grape varieties. The region produces Bordeaux, Rhone and Italian wine varieties, as well as Zinfandel and almost everything in between. You may need to plan a return visit to check off more than 200 wineries in the area.

 

Use a few of these resources to plan your next trip to Paso Robles:

Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance

Travel Paso

Fodor’s Travel Guide to Paso Robles

 

Happy traveling!

Austin is for Food Lovers

Austin is for Food Lovers

Austin, TX, is a must-visit for foodies, bar-hoppers and music lovers alike. It’s also home to one of our favorite events of the year – the Austin Food & Wine Festival!

A few folks from the Wine Sisterhood, the team behind Purple Cowboy wines, poured our wines at the Austin Food & Wine Festival earlier this month and brought back some great stories from the road, including quite a few recommendations on where to stop for a sip and bite to eat.

Here’s a recap of a few of the most memorable stops on their trip:

RealRotisserieChicken

Expert grilling at the Austin Food & Wine Festival. Now that’s what we call rotisserie!

AFWineGrill

Lamb chops and sausages, too!

SausageBites

Who needs crackers when you have sausage?

TimLoveGrillingSeminar

Chef Tim Love’s Grilling seminar at the Austin Food & Wine Festival.

WineLineup

Our award-winning wine lineup!

Franklin_Barbecue

Famous Franklin Barbecue—unfortunately closed on a Monday. Oh well, missed the three hour lines!

GuerosTexMex

A break from shopping on South Congress Street, there’s always plenty of great people-watching to be had at Guero’s.

JuaninaMIllion

We polled Austinites on their favorite breakfast taco place and Juan in a Million came up a number of times as classic.

JuaninaMillion_DonJuan

And you can see why…a fully-loaded breakfast taco that feeds a family of six. Pictured here, the Don Juan, from Juan in a Million.

Olamaie_fineSouthernfood

Olamaie – Southern-inspired cooking with a modern farm-to-table spin. Everything seasonal and locally sourced. Perfect service and great wine list.  Olamaie is named after four generations of “Olamaies” in Chef Michael Fojtasek’s family (mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother)—their portraits grace the wall of the restaurant’s foyer.  Chefs Fojtasek & Grae Nonas have been named to Food & Wine Magazines Best New Chefs 2015 list.  Insider tip: ask for the biscuits—they’re not on the menu!

PelonsTequilaBar

Pelon’s Tequila Bar

Bartender: What kind of tequila do you want in your margarita?

Us: uuuuuuhhhhhhhh…

Home of Too Many Tequilas. Not that’s a bad thing.

PerlasAustin

Perla’s – Another fresh dining spot on South Congress. Seafood-centric.

TheWhiteHorse

The White Horse. We didn’t go here since it was on our 9am walk to get breakfast tacos but famous old-school watering hole.

Top 5 Things to do in Vegas at the WNFR

Top 5 Things to do in Vegas at the WNFR

It’s our favorite time of the year – time for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo! THE biggest rodeo of the year will be happening December 4th through the 13th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV. It’s time to pack your bags and plan for an epic trip to Sin City!

Here are our top five picks for things to do while in town for the WNFR:

Attend Tough Enough Night at the WNFR

Attend Tough Enough to Wear Pink night on December 8 at the Thomas & Mack Center. And don’t forget to shop the Tough Enough booth #770 at the Sands Expo hall and visit the Tough Enough trailer at the Thomas & Mack Center.

See a Show in Vegas!

Check out a show! From Hank Williams Jr. to Lady Antebellum and Big & Rich to Sara Evans, the WNFR has pulled together a primo listing here of the top country shows in Las Vegas at the same time as the rodeo.

Meet Trevor Knowles

Meet Purple Cowboy endorsee, Trevor Knowles! And get his autograph at the Steer Wrestlers WNFR Autograph Session from 12pm to 2pm on Friday, December 5. Keep an eye on the schedule of events and be sure to watch Trevor compete!

Eat in Vegas at the WNFR

Grab a bite to eat! Or many bites to eat, if you’ve got an appetite like ours. Visit some of our favorite places to chow down in Vegas.

Explore and Enjoy Vegas

Explore the town. Take a break from the rodeo and take a stroll down the strip. Maybe check out a show, drop some dough on a blackjack table, or go take your photo in front of the famous Las Vegas sign – the world is your oyster!

Enjoy the show and Viva Las Vegas!

24 Hours in Texas Wine Country

24 Hours in Texas Wine Country

WS_TX_Roadtrip_watercolor

The Wine Sisterhood team recently headed down to Texas for two big events: Around the World in 80 Sips Austin and Houston. They took their time between events and didn’t miss the opportunity to explore Texas wine country.

What they discovered were some exciting hidden treasures and not-to-miss eating and drinking establishments. If you’ve got 24 hours (or more) to spend in Texas Wine Country, here’s where we recommend stopping:

In and around Austin

NobleSandwich

Noble Sandwich Company – our favorite “destination” sandwich joint. Gotta try the Smoked Duck Pastrami Rueben, the Red Chile Braised Pork Cheek Sandwich and the Jalapeño Slaw. Next time we’re in town, we’re ordering the Fried Bologna Sandwich.

Friends and Neighbors – the coolest little vintage shop ever, featuring carefully curated vintage wear for ladies and kids, unique jewelry made by local artists, AND a coffee bar with tasty little treats and local wines and brews.

PleasantStorageRoom

Pleasant Storage Company – tasty craft cocktail and rum bar. Named after a popular 1940s Havana joint, the menu features rum punch, rum-centric cocktails and Caribbean-inspired street food. Recommendations: the Chicharron de Pollo (rum-spiced chicken skin), Fried Conch Hush Puppies and Empanadas.

Texas Hill Country/Wine Country

Coopers

Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-b-que – where “It’s all about the meat.” Here, meat is not priced by the serving, but by the pound. Order your meat outdoors and sides inside, then dig into your order on long picnic tables with shared condiments including extra-thin sliced white bread, squirtable margarine, hot sauce and a giant tub of jalapeños.

beckervineyards

Becker Vineyards – one of the most well-known wineries of the region, featured in Wine Spectator and Food and Wine Magazine. Their Rhone-style wines hit the spot.

Grape Creek Vineyards – aka. “Tuscany in Texas.” This estate has won over 100 medals from San Francisco to New York. Our favorites were the Cabernet/Syrah and “Bellissimo” a Super-Tuscan style wine.

Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg Herb Farm – relax in charming cottages patterned after the historic Sunday house cottages unique to the area. These quaint cottages have all the amenities of the 21st century — including flat screen HD TV, high speed internet and sleep-in worthy beds.

Headed to Texas soon? Check out the Wine Sisterhood’s “Texas Forever” board for travel ideas.

Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – Here We Come!

Countdown to Eighth Tough Enough to Wear Pink Anniversary 

pendelton_pinkWatching my grandson play football this weekend, I can’t help but be proud to watch the young boys play in their pink socks and pink gloves in support of breast cancer awareness….can’t miss that October is breast cancer awareness month!

Also proud of the cowboys, cowgirls and most importantly, the rodeo committees, western events and sponsors that have made this western breast cancer campaign so successful.  To date, the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign has helped raise over $12 million dollars in funds most of which stayed local to help a host of breast cancer treatment facilities and women’s breast cancer support centers. 

December, 2012 will mark the eighth anniversary of the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign, the grassroots movement that has inspired other sports communities to mount their own TETWP campaigns, spreading a message of hope and support that reaches beyond the rodeo arena to competitors, families and fans across America.  Who would have thought when we launched the campaign on that December night in 2004 at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo that it would have come this far and make this kind of difference!

And the campaign keeps getting Bigger and Better!  The enthusiasm and support for the Tough Enough to Wear Pink continues to grow.  By the end of 2011, over 300 large and small western and extreme sports events across America and Canada had supported Tough Enough to Wear Pink and the number of events in 2012 will exceed that number. 

I was privileged this year to witness some of the Tough Enough to Wear Pink 2012 arena celebrations.  Pendleton Round-Up was memorable with their ribbon of survivors and Salinas turned their arena pink on their opening performance.  We are very proud of the top fundraising events year after year ……Missoula Stampede, Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo/Badland’s Circuit Finals, Cattlemen’s Days of Gunnison, Fremont County Fair & Wind River Round-Up, Red Bluff Round-Up, The TETWP Horse Show and the bell ringer event of Cowboy’s for Cancer Research in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

We are looking forwarding to Tough Enough to Wear Pink night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Monday night, December 10th and announcing the TETWP campaign new fundraising total.  It still brings a tear to my eye when I watch the arena fill with cowboys and cowgirls decked out in pink supported by their pink-clad fans.

We must give a special thanks to our title sponsor – Wrangler, who was instrumental in the launch of the campaign and continues to provide support to spread the word throughout the rodeo and western world. 

About Wrangler®
Wrangler Western Wear is available at more than 2,500 western specialty, mid-tier and workwear stores nationwide that provide quality men’s and women’s apparel and accessories. For more information regarding the Wrangler family of products or to locate the Wrangler retailer nearest you, visit www.wrangler.com or call 1.888.784.8571.   

Montana Silversmiths is another partner that has been involved since the beginning and continues their support.   http://www.montanasilversmiths.com

Additional partner support comes from

Purple Cowboy Wines:  www.purplecowboy.com

Rodeo Safety Equipment:  www.rodeosafety1.com

http://www.baddogscoats.com/        

http://www.animalcustoms.com/   

Gypsy Soule:  www.gypsysoule.com

Pendleton Whiskey:  www.pendletonwhisky.com

PRCA:  www.prorodeo.com

Las Vegas Events:  www.lasvegasevents.com

Visit the Tough Enough to Wear Pink blog: http://www.toughenoughtowearpink.com/index.php/tetwp/tetwp_blog/

Visit Tough Enough to Wear Pink on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TETWP

AND don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a pair of Gold Buckle Seats for one night to the 2012 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo!

Thank you to all that continue to support the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign!

Terry Wheatley and Family