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The much bigger impact of Sideways was that it led to a complete transformation of California wine industry. From a mom and pop, ragtag industry with free tasti
by dmode 5y ago
The much bigger impact of Sideways was that it led to a complete transformation of California wine industry. From a mom and pop, ragtag industry with free tasting from the barrel, it is now the epitome of luxury. But Napa, and now Central Coast is getting transformed. 10 years back, there were so many free tasting shops. Now, average tasting fee is $50. Wineries have become architectural splendors, and single varietal reds cost $60 or more. I have recently started going to Paso a lot more, hoping to rediscover the old Napa and Sonoma. But Paso is well on its way to become another luxury destination. The new tasting rooms at Booker and Epoch Vineyards were stunning, and wines start at $70
- scelerat 5y agoThankfully you can still get a perfectly good bottle of wine for under $10 at TJ’s
- base698 5y agoThe Paso airport, which is untowered, routinely has Citation jets in the pattern making traffic calls. Seems it's definitely been luxury for a bit. I'm more familiar with Santa Ynez and the Pinots from Sideways. The only Paso wine I've had has been Justin, which seems to be a large producer since it's in Costco.
- Wiseacre 5y agoThere were several wineries with free tastings in Sonoma when I went before COVID. And that was during a busy holiday season.
- sjg007 5y agoThey are actually not allowed to charge a tasting fee. I think they get away with it by charging for the glasses.
- dont__panic 5y agoI'm a big fan of the Finger Lakes region of NYS for this reason -- Napa Valley is just too fancy for me at this point. The Columbia River Valley up in Washington/Oregon is a good compromise between "too fancy" and "too low-brow" in my opinion -- a nice mix of wineries doing all kinds of weird stuff up there.