Good Morning,

A few years ago, we got lost in Lake County, CA which is just north of Napa and we saw a winery sign and pulled in and decided to relax and enjoy the adventure. We ended up buying a case of wine and sharing it at our Christmas party later that year. We loved the building and grounds that the Tulip Hill winery sat on and the grounds were beautifully landscaped and the small but vibrant tasting room was the perfect pit stop and the wines we tried were all reds and we really enjoyed the 2005 Cabernet.

We had this 05 Cab before I started taking “real” tasting notes, but we bought a couple of bottles for ourselves and then picked up a case of the 07 for the Christmas party. We had not thought about Tulip Hill much since then, because we kept saying we are going to drive back up there one of these days and of course life goes in so many directions we just have not made it back yet.

So the day after Thanksgiving just a couple of weeks ago, we were having a girls day in Palm Springs and as we walked through an outdoor mall, I see a tasting room for Tulip Hill Winery, SURPRISE! Myself and the girls headed into the tasting room and the experience was as great as I remembered us having up in Lake County. Of course, I tried 7 wines and the Napa Reserve was my favorite. The wines all had the big California blast of dark fruit and the alcohol on the back-end was totally what I expected. The wines were well made and balanced, the Merlot was smooth as silk.

The inside of the shop was filled with all types of wine related gifts, cool Christmas and Holiday decorations. The place was filled with tasting customers and shoppers and the host was a quite knowledgeable guy with tons of spirit. The couple next to me bought a bottle, a corkscrew and glasses, they were taking the kids to the movies in the Mall and they figured they would enjoy The Muppets more with the Merlot. I found out the Tulip Hill Winery sold back in the fall and though they will still be producing great wines, they now have a new owner.

If you are in Palm Springs a few cool wine places are around, Zin American Bistro is awesome, sit outside, have a flight or glass or bottle from the extensive wine list, the food is very well prepared and the service is spot-on. I had a great time at the Tulip Hill Winery tasting room and the dinner with had at the Trio in Palm Springs will be remembered for the mac and cheese and I paired it with an un-oaked Chardonnay to cut the richness, it paired beautifully. We also had a very lively lunch at Hamburger Mary’s with mimosa’s one day…do not count calories during vacation, it will put you in a crabby mood.

Anyway, that is a little about the Palm Springs leg of our vacation and we go every year, my in-laws live there, what we are most looking forward to next year is we want to try the steak place inside the Riviera Hotel.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi