We recently took a weekend road trip up to Monterey to see old friends from back east who had come out to the coast for a Northern California Summer vacation. From where we live, that’s about a five-hour drive, straight through, without traffic (and there’s ALWAYS traffic). Of course, only if you enjoy back stiffness and the thrill of risking deep vein thrombosis just so you can make good time would we recommend driving straight through and as much as we were anxious to see our friends, we didn’t either. We made two stops: one for lunch, sandwiches, tasty, but nothing fancy and to taste some of our favorite wines right at the source.

Justin Vineyards and Winery, situated in Paso Robles, California, was about an hour out of our way up north (along the 101 freeway), but the hour-long detour and the hour we spent on their beautiful tasting room terrace were well worth it.

We were greeted by knowledgeable and attentive staff who aptly described and poured some of the finest wines we’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy. And the surroundings (our photo of which is but a mere glimpse) enhanced the sensual pleasure of sipping the winery’s flagship red, Isosceles (the 94pt rated, 2013 vintage) along with some of their other outstanding blends, such as the 2014 Savant and the exquisite 2014 Trilateral, a classic Rhone GSM*.

The moral of this story is that, as at cliche as it sounds, life really is all about the journey and not the destination. So go ahead, take the detour, enjoy the drive, take time to enjoy the good things life has to offer (especially if you’re in Central California wine country) and DON’T sweat the traffic. 🍷 Cheers!

— TDL