It's currently award season in L.A. In honor of the season I've created a Best Sights L.A. Award for "Best Sight L.A. on the PCH for Wine Tasting a Local Vineyard's Wine". And the award goes to the Rosenthal Malibu Winery for its tasting room at 26023 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California (310.456.1392).I have a couple of reasons for blogging about Rosenthal's wine tasting room. I started my award themed blogs with "Best Beach Reveal" continuing on with "Coke, Smile, Taco, Million Dollar View" to "Meditation in Windmill" to this. All of these sights have something in common: their proximity to the PCH. When I finish with the series, my intention is you will be inspired to enjoy the mini-sightseeing tour I've dubbed the "Hotel California Tour", which might easily be enjoyed over a two or three day stay in L.A. A method to my madness. Who knew?
If you've been reading my blog posts or my articles from my sister gig as the L.A. Sightseeing Examiner for examiner.com, you know I have an affinity for Point Dume (pronounced doo-may) in Malibu. I've written about it a few times, like my blog post, "52. Walking Around Point Dume Beach in Malibu". For whatever reason, just about every time I drove to Point Dume on the PCH I'd notice the Rosenthal Tasting Room. The last couple of times I found my self mentally commenting, "I want to go to there." It seemed like a great fit for the next stop on this mini-sightseeing tour I am putting together; because after you finish at the SRF Lake Shrine, you turn left back onto Sunset Boulevard. Then you take a right onto the PCH heading for Malibu.
Now I have to say that for whatever reason in my mind where I was going and would ultimately be writing about, Rosenthal Tasting Room on the PCH in Malibu, I thought was me visiting their actual winery. I thought I'd get to tour the winery and then do some wine tasting during and after. Plus, I had it in my mind that it was maybe only about five miles, at most, up the PCH once you turned off Sunset. Wrong! The tasting room is a good 11 miles from Sunset Boulevard.
I also considered waiting until my mom came to visit on a Tuesday, so we could enjoy the vineyard and tasting together. We both like ourselves a little vino. I was glad I checked their website,
http://www.rosenthalestatewines.com/visit.htmlThe tasting room is closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Plus their hours are seasonal and subject to change.
So I called on this fine Saturday to find out when the least busy time is to come check it out. They open at 11 am. It was already after 11 am, which is a least busy time. I was advised that train wouldn't be leaving again until after 4 pm. They close at 6 pm.
Still under the influence of my misconception that I was getting a vineyard tour and wine tasting, I left to arrive at Rosenthal's no later than 4:30 pm allowing my self plenty of time to enjoy the entire experience.
"Okay", I thought. "Let me get out my camera and start taking some photos and see if I notice what to do."
That out of the way. Me: still clueless.
You see the tasting room is located on a privately owned piece of PCH frontage property, which includes the Beaurivage Restaurant and leases the space to Rosenthal Winery the tasting room occupies.
About this time I fortuitously spied a gentleman walking in the parking lot who looked like he might work at the facility. At this point I was beyond my usual shyness and happy to stop to politely ask him for the 411.Yes, Virginia, there is a Rosenthal Winery and it is located in Malibu, but on Mulholland. The winery is not set up for public tours. What IS located at the site on the PCH is the aforementioned restaurant (not affiliated with Rosenthal Winery) and the tasting room/gift shop. Just tasting!
I have to say I honestly felt a little let down.
Now this very helpful gentleman, who I told I was visiting with the intention of writing about Rosenthal, directed me to one of the owners working the tasting room. This owner was sure to give me all the attention, help and information I desired.
A funny thing happened on the way to my walking into the tasting room. I decided not to let on to anyone that I would be writing about this for my CaliforniVacation blog or my sister gig as the L.A. Sightseeing Examiner for examiner.com. I wanted to see how your average "Joe Blow Newbie" might be treated.
Into the tasting room/gift shop I walked. People already there (and yes, it was not that busy at this point) seemed to know what they were doing. They also seemed to be enjoying themselves. A good sign.
Being a first-timer, I had no clue what the protocol was. So I looked around at the gift shop offerings, the posters on the wall and the people while walking around in the tasting room. No one behind the bar said anything to me. What the "blank" was I waiting for? I have a mouth. I know how to use it.
I made contact with one of the gals behind the bar. "KK" according to her name tag, which I wrote down for future reference. "So, what's the scoop?" I asked. That's when KK got out the two sheets of paper everyone else seemed to be sporting and writing on. One sheet listed the 15 different wines available for tasting with their price per bottle and a box to fill in if the particular wine listed is one you wish to taste. The other sheet listed and described the wines.
Let me just be honest here. Most of the time my wine buying experience consists of the "two-buck chuck" at Trader Joe's (which interestingly to me is three-bucks in Arizona...but I digress). Sometimes, I'll go as high as six or seven dollars a bottle for a Riesling, which is one of my favorite white wines. Without the label to guide me though, I'd have a hard time discerning one red from another. The same goes for the white. So, the sheet which described the wines, I found to be helpful.
Now your wine tasting choice is either the regular, which means for $12 you taste four different wines of your choice or the premium, which means for $15 you taste eight different wines of your choice. Of the choices you are to choose half white and half red. Two of the fifteen possible choices are reserved for Wine Club Members Only. I'm not going to get into the wine club member info. If you are interested, click here.
I chose the regular for $12. After all I was driving. The first wine I chose just had to be their Reisling. Sadly, not as sweet as I like mine. My last choice, their 2004 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon, was my favorite. I chose it because the sheet mentions its mocha aroma. This particular choice is also their most costly bottle ($31.20) of the thirteen choices available to non-members.
I am happy to report that KK was delightful and knowledgable. She patiently answered all my questions, which included her sharing that the tasting room is only a mere four years old. Yet it has been successful enough to have since spawned three other wine tasting room venues in Malibu.
Even though each taste of each individually chosen wine amounted to only about a sixth of a glass (meaning the actual wine consumed with four tastes is equal to about one glass full), I admit I was beginning to feel that warm sensation and relaxation coming on from just this small amount. Maybe a good wine is worth it. Made me glad I chose the 4-taste regular and not the 8-taste premium.
So what did I conclude? As I drove home part of me was thinking that my trip was a bust. It was farther away from Sunset Boulevard than I hoped. There was no vineyard tour. It was just a place to go taste some wine from a local vineyard.
Still, a vineyard in the greater Los Angeles area does seem novel enough to write about. It still was on my mini-sightseeing tour route for the most part. And I had fun. If you enjoy the "vino", I think you would have fun too. Plus, instead of trying to guess which wine you might enjoy, tasting helps you make a more informed decision. And when you purchased your chosen bottle, you have something to bring back with you to your hotel room for a proper "celebrating the sights of L.A.".
Since you are reading this, you know which part of me won this debate.
Ahhh! It feels good to celebrate the sights of L.A.
P.S. If you are reading this before 2/14/2010, Rosenthal Winery is offering a tour of the vineyard for Valentine's Day. It sounded like fun. I would call first (310.456.1392) to get more info and make sure there is still availability.
P.P.S. When I was looking at this #56 blog post in published format to proof read, I noticed the Google Ad at the end of the post was for Passages Malibu (TM) - The World's Premier Addiction Cure Center. Just sort of struck me funny.
That's all.
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