JANUARY 2013 In This Issue... Toys 4 Tots Paso Robles Wine Tour ...

Winding Roads and Wine
Story by Greg Heinlein
Appetizers and Pear Valley wine greeted the group as they
arrived at La Quinta
What is it about autumn? We all feel
it: a promise of the holiday season just
around the corner, time spent with family,
breaking out the wool sweaters once
again, the snap in the air, the smell of
a fireplace somewhere vaguely in the
distance wafting along on a fall breeze. Or
if it’s the first weekend in November near
Paso Robles, more likely a 60 mph wind
slipstreaming over a line of pristinely
polished Porsches roaring toward a
winery somewhere in the countryside of
San Luis Obispo County.
41 cars arrived Friday afternoon
and evening, and eager participants
gassed up their “blitz wagens” for the
start of Saturday’s thrill ride, a chance
to remember what a Porsche is truly all
about. Friday night presented us with a
tasting in the hotel lobby of varietals from
the Pear Valley winery. After the tasting
we strolled into the hotel’s dining room
for a fabulous BBQ
dinner and a chance to
renew acquaintances
with club members;
some of whom we
hadn’t seen since last
November’s trip.
Such a warm and
wonderful group too, united
as we are by a shared love
of incredible automobiles,
delicious wines and leisurely
bonhomie. It was an early night
as Sheriff Bob said we needed
to assemble Saturday at 8 am
sharp for the drivers meeting
and an 8:30 departure.
The drive to the first winery, Daou,
was listed in the information sheet as a
77.7 mile jaunt. From past experience we
knew that Daou was most likely no more
than a 5 mile trip from the hotel. But as
we all know, driving a Porsche the long
way over narrow twisting roads is often
the very best way to go.
In past years we had seen some
sprinkles, but this time the weather
cooperated and, while overcast, was dry
and pleasantly cool. Our intrepid leader
formed us up, got into his 1963 356B
coupe, and off we went, out to highway
46, right turn, down through town, and
up into the hills. The group got a bit
spread out but in this age of ready cell
phones, it really wasn’t a problem.
Hairpin turns followed by halfmile
stretches of flat open roads in farm
country; just the tonic for relief from
work-a-day humdrum. After about an
Sheriff Bob never fails
to lay down the rules.
and you better follow
them!
Porsches lined up at Daou
hour we passed a guy walking on the side
of the road and Margaret said, “Hey we
passed that guy 30 minutes ago, are we
going over the same ground again?”
Sure enough, the entrance ramp to
Highway 101 suddenly loomed large in
front of us, and our line of rockets roared
onto it. As the Sheriff explained later, he
took a wrong turn somewhere and we
had a deadline to meet at Daou.
What a gorgeous winery, 10 acres
perched atop a 2,200-foot knoll. Some
felt the tasting was a bit pricey; however
the wines were not bad.
After tastings, a stroll around the
grounds and a pause for our group photo,
Views of the wine valley were simply stunning
off we went to Pasolivo, for an olive oil
tasting. While there, we had a chance
to look at some of the cars on our run:
Tom and Sue Calvert’s blue metallic
924 turbo. You won’t often see a finer
example of this model.
There were many “911” turbos of
varying vintages, including Randy and
Katie Hargrave’s neon green ‘07, and
Jim and Pat Wehner’s ‘08 that was a
dynamic shade of orange. Bob’s 1963
aforementioned coupe is always a
showstopper with his and Judy’s names
in script over their respective doors and
the well-traveled suitcase on the luggage
rack over the rear-deck. John and Marissa
(Continued on Page 17)