Not sure if this should be under Entertainment, Restaurants & Food or as a Trip Report; but what the hell....
I read about the winery located in Pahrump and had it on my Vegas "bucket" list for several years. During my last trip in September, I decided to schedule some time and make a day road trip to check this place out. It's no secret, if you read any of my trip reports, that I do enjoy a good glass of wine or two or three...you get the picture.
The Winery is a little less than an hour's drive, west on Hwy 160. The road is in good shape, with many stretches four lanes. When you get into town, take a right at the stop light and the winery is about a half mile on your left. It was started sometime in the early 90's when Pahrump was not that big of a town. The owners had a tough go, as the local wildlife took full advantage of their crop as a food source. They also had a herd of wild horses stampede through their vines one year. The current owners bought the place around 2002 and are making some decent wines. There is a restaurant on the premises, but I did not stay and dine there.
I arrived in the early afternoon on Wednesday Sept 17th to find the tasting room empty of patrons. I 'bellied' up to the bar and chatted with the lady behind the counter and she explained to me about the tastings and handed me a list of their available wines. Their acreage is rather small, so most of their grapes that go into making their wines comes from other vineyards in southern Nevada and California. I am amazed that they can grow anything in that rocky soil under the broiling southern Nevada sun. You can try a sampling of up to seven of their wines at no charge, which is a terrific deal in comparison to what some of the wineries in Napa Valley charge you.
I started out by sampling a couple of their white wines, a chardonnay and a white blend called "Symphony". The later was a little on the sweet side, but would be a good choice on a warm day with some fresh fruit and cheeses sitting on your deck. Their syrah had a little spicy taste at the finish, the zinfandel was fruit forward and not too dry and the tempranillo had a nice nose, earthy flavor and a smooth finish...probably the best of the lot.
They offer a brief tour of the grounds and the "back room" where they make and store the barrels for ageing. I paid for a glass of their Symphony wine and hung around for the next tour. There were only myself and a couple that were on the tour which didn't last that long, but gave us an idea of the early struggles getting this operation off the ground and the progress they have made in the past ten years. Being so small, their wine making and bottling processes still involve a lot of hands on work.
The past couple of years the winery has sponsored a Wine Stomp festival in early October. They have a contest in which teams of two people compete to see who can produce the most juice from stomping some grapes in a barrel in a two minute time period. The idea of the "Stomp" comes from an episode from the TV series of "I Love Lucy". There is live music, food and of course plenty of wine. Costumes for the participants are encouraged. Sounds like that might be an interesting way to spend an afternoon during a Vegas vacation.
I enjoyed my stay at the winery, but don't know if I will return. Maybe I can talk my daughter into entering as a team and participate in their Wine Stomp one year....that would be a hoot....have to work on an idea for the costumes.... thanks for reading.
Glasses can affect your vision; especially when they have been emptied several times......
Spring Break 2000 !!!
I read about the winery located in Pahrump and had it on my Vegas "bucket" list for several years. During my last trip in September, I decided to schedule some time and make a day road trip to check this place out. It's no secret, if you read any of my trip reports, that I do enjoy a good glass of wine or two or three...you get the picture.
The Winery is a little less than an hour's drive, west on Hwy 160. The road is in good shape, with many stretches four lanes. When you get into town, take a right at the stop light and the winery is about a half mile on your left. It was started sometime in the early 90's when Pahrump was not that big of a town. The owners had a tough go, as the local wildlife took full advantage of their crop as a food source. They also had a herd of wild horses stampede through their vines one year. The current owners bought the place around 2002 and are making some decent wines. There is a restaurant on the premises, but I did not stay and dine there.
I arrived in the early afternoon on Wednesday Sept 17th to find the tasting room empty of patrons. I 'bellied' up to the bar and chatted with the lady behind the counter and she explained to me about the tastings and handed me a list of their available wines. Their acreage is rather small, so most of their grapes that go into making their wines comes from other vineyards in southern Nevada and California. I am amazed that they can grow anything in that rocky soil under the broiling southern Nevada sun. You can try a sampling of up to seven of their wines at no charge, which is a terrific deal in comparison to what some of the wineries in Napa Valley charge you.
I started out by sampling a couple of their white wines, a chardonnay and a white blend called "Symphony". The later was a little on the sweet side, but would be a good choice on a warm day with some fresh fruit and cheeses sitting on your deck. Their syrah had a little spicy taste at the finish, the zinfandel was fruit forward and not too dry and the tempranillo had a nice nose, earthy flavor and a smooth finish...probably the best of the lot.
They offer a brief tour of the grounds and the "back room" where they make and store the barrels for ageing. I paid for a glass of their Symphony wine and hung around for the next tour. There were only myself and a couple that were on the tour which didn't last that long, but gave us an idea of the early struggles getting this operation off the ground and the progress they have made in the past ten years. Being so small, their wine making and bottling processes still involve a lot of hands on work.
The past couple of years the winery has sponsored a Wine Stomp festival in early October. They have a contest in which teams of two people compete to see who can produce the most juice from stomping some grapes in a barrel in a two minute time period. The idea of the "Stomp" comes from an episode from the TV series of "I Love Lucy". There is live music, food and of course plenty of wine. Costumes for the participants are encouraged. Sounds like that might be an interesting way to spend an afternoon during a Vegas vacation.
I enjoyed my stay at the winery, but don't know if I will return. Maybe I can talk my daughter into entering as a team and participate in their Wine Stomp one year....that would be a hoot....have to work on an idea for the costumes.... thanks for reading.
Glasses can affect your vision; especially when they have been emptied several times......
Spring Break 2000 !!!
