A Marine on leave enjoys his first wine tasting

This is the first update to take us out of the Bay Area, but with good reason...

My brother, a Marine stationed in Iraq, was home for a short holiday. Needless to say, we were SO happy to see him! Home is Los Angeles, so we met him and the rest of the family in charming San Luis Obispo, a lovely halfway point. After catching up over a hearty meal, we ended up at the hospitable Baileayna Vineyard tasting room. Baileyana, a little Edna Valley Winery, specializes in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. The tasting room, located in an old country schoolhouse, is crisp and clean exuding only the faintest hints of spelling tests and paper airplanes. The air smells of musky grapes rather than of dusty chalk, and the jovial servers wipe away any thoughts of school marms and detention.


After our tasting, we took a generous pour of their amazing port (which my brother thought tasted like Manischewitz-what does he know?) outside to enjoy the sunset and watch the dog run around the lawn. It was an amazing day.