This last friday I went wine tasting with my friend Catherine. With our proximity to the Santa Ynez Valley (made famous in the film Sideways) it would have been easy to head up the coast and go to a winery... but instead we went downtown to a lovely little shop called Paradise Wines in Ventura.
The shop is on the eastern end of downtown Main Street. The family-run business focuses on small, independent growers from around the world. You don't find these wines in the grocery store. The owners take great care in their selection so that you walk away with something delicious and memorable.
There are tastings each week to introduce you to the variety of wines - everything from the bubbly to the serene. My favorites were two wines by Kenneth-Crawford Wines. Their granache was divine and the 2005 Pinot Noir from Babcock Vineyard was possibly the best wine I've ever tasted.
Ventura has really changed since the days before I moved away for school! There would never have been a sophisticated wine shop like this one... probably just a liquor store carrying Night Train.
2 comments:
Please can we go here in June when I visit? I'll begin saving now.
Definitely! They have tastings each Friday and Saturday - it's great!
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