Red Soles Winery at Dusk

I like to walk in the late afternoon and early evening, just before it gets dark. On one such walk I decided to explore some new wineries I'd noticed on Oakdale Road off Highway 46 West. I discovered Red Soles Winery at dusk and decided to walk up from the road for a closer look. The tasting room had already closed.

Red Soles Tasting Room at Dusk, © B. Radisavljevic

I was actually greeted by a friendly dog, but I couldn't get it to stay still long enough for a good photo. I couldn't even get a good video because I couldn't   move the camera fast enough to keep up with the dog. Maybe next time I'll get a better photo. The only one that came out well was the one I took of the dog doing its business, and I didn't think it polite to publish it.

I wondered how Red Soles got its name, and found the answer on their web site, linked to above. Owners Randy and Cheryl made their first barrel of wine the old fashioned way -- by crushing it with their feet. Afterwards, they noticed they had red soles.

Since it was already late when I'd arrived, it started to get dark and I  thought I'd best go home. Before I left,  I got this shot of the moon over the vineyard.

Moon Over Red Soles Vineyard, © B. Radisavljevic

The photo below, especially designed for sharing on Pinterest, does show the dog. If you enjoyed this post, please share it. Sharing buttons are at the end of the post, just above the comment box. 

This is my eighteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Acorn
B is for Barney Schwartz Park
C is for Cattle in Wine Country
D is for Dark Star Cellars
E is for Electric Wires
F is for Family Farms
G is for Graveyard Vineyards
H is for Horses
Insects in My Neighborhood in April
J's Burgers in Paso Robles: A Review
Kosta is God's Gift to Me from Across the Ocean
Laguna Lake is Full Again
Mission San Miguel Photos
Niner Estates Decorated Heart Hill with Vineyards
Ocean Photos from the California Central Coast
Paso Robles Police Vehicles

Quiet Places Near Paso Robles

Autumn Grape Leaves at Castoro Cellars

This is the time of year when wine country is most beautiful. The grapes are almost ready to  harvest in most vineyards. Some have already been harvested. The purple grapes hang heavy from the vines. The leaves are turning various shades of red and gold to complement them. The netting attempts to keep hungry birds from getting the first fruits. You can see the netting if you click to enlarge the photos.

Wineries are preparing to make merry in their harvest and first crush events. The colorful leaves are like banners inviting people to come and taste when all is accomplished. Soon we will be smelling grapes as we drive by at night on 46 West. Let the festivities begin!





While you wait for the harvest festivals, why not work a puzzle like this one?

Puzzle: Autumn Grape Foliage Puzzles

The Seasons in the Vineyards

This is green season in the vineyards. The tiny green grapes are getting bigger. The green leaves contain chloroplasts. The leaves breathe in carbon dioxide from the air and receive water from the roots of the vine.  The chloroplasts take the water and the carbon dioxide and when the light hits the leaves, it turns the chloroplasts into sugar to feed the grapes and releases oxygen in the air for us to breathe. This process is called photosynthesis. It happens in every green plant. Without it plants could not make the food they need to live, and we would not have food to eat or wine to drink.

The grapes will get bigger and in a few more months it will be autumn and the fully-grown grapes will turn purple and be ready to harvest. The leaves will turn a lovely red and gold.  Then suddenly it will get cold, signaling the arrival of winter, and the leaves will turn brown and die, leaving only the brown branches of the vine. Three months after that it will be spring again and the dormant vines will once again begin to leaf out. Then it will soon be green season again. In wine country we always know what season it is. All we need to do is look at the vines and they tell us

Related articles

• Kids Guide to Photosynthesis by Serenata Flowers
• Dry-Farming in California's Drought, Part 2: Looking Forward to the Past

G is for General Store

Until  yesterday, I didn't realize Paso Robles had such a thing as a general store. However if you rid yourself of preconceived ideas of what a general store is, Paso Robles does have one. My idea of a general store was more in line with the ones found in small towns or in the early pioneer towns where a general store tried  to carry everything a family might need to survive -- food, blankets, tools, seeds, fabric, kitchen utensils, whatever was essential for living daily life.

The General Store in Paso Robles is a bit different. It carries instead an assortment of goods that make life more pleasant and more fun -- for yourself or someone you want to gift. Its window says is has "local goods and provisions for pantry and home." Many of these are gourmet foods like jams, candied nuts, local vinegars, seasonings, olive oils, and wines. They also have a dairy case of local cheese and salami. As I was browsing, I was given a sample of the Paso Almond Brittle, and it was very tasty. Did I mention that the owner and the others manning the store were very helpful? No one will ignore you here.

Browsing the shelves is a lot of fun. It was especially so for me. I've had many years of experience selling books and buying them wholesale. I've been to Book Expo a couple of times and seen all that publishers have had to offer bookstores. Naturally my eyes were drawn to the book displays.  I saw at least two of them. One had a lot of books on cooking and wine -- a wise choice for this area where foodies abound and wine tasting is a favorite leisure activity. But since I've specialized in children's and educational books for the past twenty years, I especially liked this display.

For nine of my years in retail I was a greeting card buyer. I attended gift shows twice a year and sales reps for card publishers called me often. My goal was to have beautiful tasteful cards that were uplifting and often humorous, but never in a mean or vulgar way. Naturally when I saw a card rack in a corner on the walls, I had to check it out. I'll just say that if a sales rep had showed me these cards, I would have bought them. They are a rare find. And they have some great ones for mothers. These are just a few in the display. You can make the photo larger by clicking it to read the words.

There's not enough room to show you the whole store. You will just have to  go downtown to 841 12th Street see it for yourself. You can also preview the General Store website and their Facebook Page for a close look at some items I didn't show you here. It won't show you all the baskets, hats, books, wall hangings, towels, tote bags and other goodies you will find if you actually visit the store, though. Next time you are downtown, just stop in and look around. If you go before Mother's Day, you're sure to find something your mom or grown daughter would love -- even if it's just a bag of this scrumptious almond brittle.

Related articles

• How to Host a Backyard Wine Party: Part 2
• C is for Croad Vineyards and Tasting Room

A Castle on a Hill At Dusk

On my way home from Templeton to Paso Robles tonight, the sky was so beautiful and the field around the vineyards so green, I found a way to park and get some photos of those fields before they turn brown again.  I love the rural areas when they are so green. That only lasts as long as we get rain. This is usually the last month we get rain until fall or winter.

After I took the pictures here, I crossed the street to get some photos of the wineries. I want to share this one of Tooth and Nail Castle from a distance at dusk. When I'm at the castle or too close to it, I don't get the full effect of it being on top of the hill.

Tooth and Nail Winery used to be Eagle Castle, and although I have heard from some people that the wine wasn't much to rave about, the castle itself was something worth seeing. Not so much now. All the lovely antiques are gone, but you can still see them as they were in North San Luis Obispo County's Other Castle: A Pictorial Album.