A three-hour ride later, north of Los Angeles, you enter the outer skirts of the town Solvang. A Scandinavian transplant into the heart of the Californian wine country. I was hoping to find Pølser here and they had, somewhat close, but simply called it danish hot dog.
A minute after the freeway exit you pass the Hitching Post, which you might remember from the movie “Sideways” – a personal favorite of mine.
Solvang itself is a nice little and buzzing town with a astonishing gallery as I discovered. The Artist Chris Pavlov, who is also the owner of the Pavlov Art Gallery, shows European artists ( France, Montenegro and Macedonia ) , as well as local artists and is focused on impressionistic and contemporary art.
My favorite painting, indicated by the red arrow below, is rich in structure and very complex in color. I am still guessing around how the artist actually applied the different layers of color onto the very structured surface and it might remain a puzzle but is fascinating none the less.
Pavlov Art Gallery
1608 Copenhagen Drive
Solvang, CA 93463
Approved: The Reds are right
There are wineries called Grey Wolf, Dark Star ( seriously! ), Castoro, Peachy Canyon, Denner Vineyards and the Hearthstone Winery, the winner, in my opinion.
This small Winery is a little bit hidden and therefore easy to miss on the Vineyard Drive but believe me, I liked all of their wines they offered for the wine tasting except the first on their list, a white one. I never really was fond of sweet whites and still don’t like them but what is the exception for me might be a treasure for you. I assume it was a Zinfandel.
I also like this place so much because I learned something new. I learned that I love Grenache, pure – not blended. This grape never crossed my path before and just tastes round and right with a simple and unaffected structure. A light red wine that doesn’t want to impress. A wine you will enjoy in the future the same way you enjoy it today. A wine that won’t get out of fashion – an evergreen so to speak ( I could rave on forever ).
And again it is a Spanish wine in origin, so I went full circle and remained true to myself.
Another really good wine that is my second favorite since this weekend and which I also didn’t know before is Sangiovese , Italian in its origin. This one is very forgiving and fun to explore if you enjoy it, non-blended – again. Try it! The Sangiovese is actually available for purchase right now at the Hearthstone Vineyard, unlike the Grenache that first will be available again, in its pure form, next year.