Infinity Pool!

Breaking news: the infinity pool at the top of Rancho del Cielo is now finished! Please note the panoramic views of Paso Robles' westside in the background. Feel free to come out and visit on your next trip through Paso Robles...we would love to show you the newest developments around the ranch!

3525 Adelaida Rd. Paso Robles, CA 93446

open Friday-Sunday 11am-5pm, Monday-Thursday by appt.

We also have some exciting events coming up at Rancho del Cielo for the Paso Robles Harvest Festival October 16-18:

Friday, Oct. 16

11am-5pm: Enjoy our rhone-style wines paired with gourmet pizzas and get to know Carina Cellars through vineyard tours guided by owner, David Hardee, and barrel tastings with winemaker, Ryan Saccomano.

6pm-9pm: Join owner, David Hardee, and winemaker, Ryan Saccomano for a fine dining experience in Hardee's private residence which offers breathtaking views of Paso's westside. This five course menu created by De La Saison Catering is paired with Carina Cellar's hand-crafted new release and library wines. Iconoclast Members $85 Non Members $105

Saturday, October 17

11am-5pm: How well do you know your wine? Join winemaker, Ryan Saccomano, in the tasting room for blind tastings, harvest lectures, a line up of fantastic wine and gourmet pizzas. Owner, David Hardee, will be conducting tours of the vineyards and new Paso winery.

5-8pm: Relax with friends on owner, David Hardee's patio at the top of the property. Sip on a glass or flight of Carina Cellars wine, order tasty tapas by De La Saison Catering and take in the vineyard views. Small charge per item: $5-$7.

Sunday, October 18

11am-5pm: Come by the tasting room and chat with owner, David Hardee, and winemaker, Ryan Saccomano, about the future plans for Carina Cellars, tour the vineyards, participate in harvest activities and most important, taste Carina's delicous wine!

For more information about upcoming events in Paso Robles, please contact Rochelle at 916-606-3553 or rochelle@carinacellars.com

Long Beach Love

I was recently in Long Beach for a sales trip, and spent the day working with Mario Mitchell-an incredibly jovial and fun-loving American Wines sales rep, and together we took the Long Beach territory by storm!

We started off by visitng Avia Hotels, a chain of high-end hotels with only a few locations in Savannah GA, the Woodlands TX and Napa CA. The Long Beach branch only recently opened in August (last month!) and they excitedly brought in the Carina Cellars SBC Syrah to share with their guests! Even if you don't decide to stay here on your next trip, or if you're a Long Beach local, I highly recommend coming to their bar for a drink. It's casually chic and incredibly comfortable, and the food is fantastic!

Next we headed to Main Street Wine Cellars, a beautiful wine bar in the heart of Seal Beach, a mere few blocks from the ocean. I had a fantastic dinner here when I was in town a few monhs ago, and enjoyed spending time with the owner, Chris (shown here amidst my lovely friends). Chris just brought in the Carina Cellars Viognier, so make sure to stop by and enjoy a glass!
Our last stop was Bono's- a delightful Italian restaurant in a fantastic corner lot in downtown Belmont Shores. They have a huge wrap-around patio and a lovely airy interior, and to add to its appeal they now carry the Carina Cellars Viognier as well! I came back later that night with my friend Paige, and we enjoyed a fantastic dinner with the general manager Mario (that's right, another Mario!) We started off with the gourmet Mac and Cheese (shown here) with black truffle shavings, pancetta, gruyere and asiago cheese, and it was absolutely decadent!

For dinner I enjoyed the Alaskan Halibut, topped with fresh strawberries, vine-ripened tomatoes, and feta cheese over rice pilaf...what a flavor combo! The picture I took just didn't do it justice...hurry over and try it. Right now!

Paige enjoyed the grilled Swordfish with garlic, scallions and a splash of white wine, and Mario (the general manager, not the sales rep), joined us and shared his shrimp scampi served with a garlic, lemon and white wine sauce over spinach risotto. An absolutely wonderful dinner...a must visit!

joyed

Artisan Bistro

As usual the summer is a whirlwind of events and travel...both personal and work related! Having just returned from a two week vacation in Montreal, I immediately dove back into work with renewed vigor, and spent a week taking the Carina Cellars wines throughout the Bay Area.

One of places that was on my list to visit was Artisan Bistro in Lafayette. Artisan recently opened March , 2009, and has been wowing their customers with their California-French fusion cuisine. They also carry the Carina Cellars 2004 SBC Syrah, so I knew I had to go enjoy a glass!Each dish is a work of art, and it's no wonder with chef John Marquez on board. Marquez honed his culinary skills Picasso in the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas, and the world-famous French Laundry in Napa, and was working at Fringale Restaurant in San Francisco prior to coming to Artisan Bistro.

I visited Artisan Bistro last Thursday for lunch, and was impressed by their delightfully shaded patio, and the warm and inviting interior. I chose to sit near the fireplace so that I could enjoy looking out the window onto the sunny patio, and started off my lunch with their corn soup with sauteed maitake mushrooms. It was as though I was eating corn freshly cut off the cob! I was surprised to find that this incredibly creamy soup had absolutely no cream added, and was merely pureed corn...delicious!
Given it was a hot day I decided to follow my soup with the marinated beet salad, with herbed goat cheese, walnuts, fuji apples and a shallot vinaigrette. I absolutely love beets, and this salad was absolutely wonderful! Not only did it come with an array of both golden and red beets (beneath the lettuce), but it also came with golden and red beet puree along the side of the salad...almost no dressing was needed because the puree was so flavorful!

And given sqaush are in season, I also ordered a side of the Ronde de nice squash with brown butter and pine nuts, and must say that the pine nuts and squash were the perfect compliment. The proportions were perfect-not too much, not too little, but just right. And the prices are the same. Artisan Bistro is a must try for anyone visiting/living in the Bay Area!

Lost Angeles

Hello!

Carolyn Turner, Carina Cellars' national sales manager reporting from the road, and I have just spent a couple wonderful days selling Carina Cellars to restaurants and wine bars in Orange County and Los Angeles and have visited some really wonderful restaurants and wine bars, and so wanted to share a few with you. 

On Tuesday I spent the day working with the gregarious Colby Hagen, who is one of the reps that I work with for our distributor (American Wines). We spent the day in Newport Beach and Corona del Mar, and had lunch at The Golden Truffle, which was delicious! We also visited a few other wonderful places like Villa Nova, Wildfish, Wine Gallery, The Bungalow, Brix Wine bar and Spark restaurant...a very packed day!

Then I spent Wednesday working with another American Wines rep, the illustrious Patrick Garvey, who was wonderful company. We took the wines around to several hot spots in Santa Monica, and especially enjoyed lunch at Gjelina (featured above from left: Patrick Garvey ready to dig in!, avocado & beet salad, turkey sandwich and chickpea soup)

*For a full restaurant review of Gjelina, please visit our website.

If there is a restaurant or wine shop you would like to see Carina Cellars at, please contact me at 805-252-0860 or carolyn@carinacellars.com

Cheers!

3 Generations of Iconoclast

The Iconoclast is our flagship wine, with a unique blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa and 33% Syrah from Santa Barbara, and here you see the progression of the blend throughout the years.

The black label is the Iconoclast that winemaker Joey Tensley created under his Tensley Wines label.

The yellow label is the first vintage of Iconoclast that Joey created as the new winemaker for Carina Cellars in 2001.

In 2003 the red and black label was created specifically to differentiate our higher-end wines with under 100 cases, and remains the same for our current 2006 Iconoclast.

The 4th generation of the Iconoclast can be seen in the background...the Carina Cellars vineyards that will produce the grapes for our Estate Iconoclast! We expect that the first vintage will be next year, 2010 harvest...so stay tuned!

Our Story

In the southern hemisphere the constellation Argo Navis is separated into three star clusters: Vela (The Sails), Puppis (The Stern), and Carina (The Keel). Named for the epic ship Argo and its crew of fifty, the constellation was placed among the stars by the Greek goddess Athena upon completion of the epic quest for the Golden Fleece. The crew, better known as the Argonauts, included Jason, Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, triumphed through perils unseen in our modern world and became legends to innumerous generations.

At Carina Cellars we strive to produce wines worthy of being placed among the stars. We seek out vineyards throughout the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys with the best Rhône grapes available in a quest to produce truly great wines. With crisp Viognier’s full of tropical fruit and spring flowers; dark Syrah’s loaded with spice and lush fruit; earthy Mourvedre’s, and bright, fruity Grenache’s we represent the classic character of Santa Barbara County’s legendary wines. 

Cheers-CC