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PASO ROBLES, CA--- A large crowd enjoys the beautiful tasting room at Vina Robles winery in Paso Robles. Hans Nef purchased the oak studded land that became the Vina Robles estate in 1996. Vina Robles wines are modern, emphasizing fruit intensity, balance and accessibility. Their selection features Chardonay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syr?e, Petite Sirah, Suendero, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel among others. Vina Robles Winery in Paso Robles has a sleek new 14,000-square-foot hospitality center, and it's a one-stop shop. Taste wine, get married, buy fine art, eat Dean & Deluca gourmet foods. Despite all the bells and whistles, this winery somehow manages to avoid the Disneyland phenomenon that's becoming so pervasive in wine country these days and still revels in the Central Coast's bucolic charm - just a little more slickly than most. The experts behind the Going Out Guide post daily on news and trends in D.C.'s arts and entertainment scene, including upcoming events and restaurant and bar openings. Every Monday and Thursday get picks for the best events of the week and the latest reviews delivered straight to your inbox. It's no easy feat to plan a day trip to local wineries. There are dozens of them, extending across Northern Virginia all the way to the West Virginia line, and that's not even counting the handful in Frederick County. LUXE LABELS: The La Vita label is always a work of art. This year it's a scene from a Goya. "Each year the wine gets richer and more complex," Bargetto says. And every year the label bears a different artwork image. This year Spanish painter Francisco Goya's pastoral scene of a grape harvest graces the label. "We've always done this as an artist's series," he continues. "Caravaggio was on the first La Vita, and last year we had a Vivaldi score on the label. Our Juan Gris image proved to be an award-winner." Bargetto is tireless in his quest to refine the winery's image as well as its wines. It's no surprise to me that the historic black-and-white photographs documenting the Italian family's winemaking fortunes in California were John Bargetto's choice. "It helps to tell our story." The biggest change for the current generation of Bargettos operating the landmark winery is the estate Regan vineyard. Planted to pinot noir, merlot, chardonnay and small blocs of Italian varietals, it sprawls across 40 acres overlooking the Monterey Bay. Since 1997, this vineyard has supplied the La Vita bottling. Building consensus on the special release can be a huge diplomatic venture, Bargetto admits. "I work to build consensus, bringing in the family to help make the decision of which wine will be selected as the La Vita. There are often eight of us in the lab," he laughs. "So the making of the wine and the choice of blend is a process that take place over time." The winery director pours another taste, this time of the 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve from Regan Vineyard, a distinctive creation of almost 96 percent Pommard clone aged in French oak. "It really expresses itself," he says, "but it's no fruit bomb." I agree. I'm equally impressed with a pour of 2007 Reserve Chardonnay, a wine I don't always associate with Bargetto. Loaded with mineral depth, it shows off the estate's Mt. Eden clone fruit. Vintners see bill as bad idea Virginia wineries fear House bill 5034 would limit their direct-to-consumer sales in other states. But a proposed federal law that strengthens states' right to control alcohol sales could turn that revenue stream into a trickle. "The perception is that it is not likely to proceed, but it could seriously impact not just Virginia wine producers, but wine producers across the United States," said Luca Paschina, Barboursville's wine maker. Israel on Wednesday was deporting more than 600 foreign activists whose accounts of a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla contradicted Israeli reports that its soldiers acted in self-defence. The Toronto Stock Exchange rose Wednesday, continuing its pattern since late last week of alternating day-to-day between gains and losses. Walking into the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank on Monday to pick up my emergency food hamper, I thought I'd be leaving with just that -- a laundry basket full of dried pasta and rice, a few cans of vegetables...
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