Paradise Pantry picnic with wildflowers on a foggy “Grapril” Day

Happy Earth Month! Happy National Parks Week! Spring is sprung, and wildflowers are everywhere— at least in my neck of the woods! In fact, there’s so many wildflowers that my latest article for the VC Reporter published April 17 in the “Great Outdoors” issue   is all about three easy accessible wildflower walks with picnics in the parks! The three parks are in Ventura– Channel Islands National Park, Ventura Botanical Garden, and Arroyo Verde Park—and we put together a picnic from Paradise Pantry paired with a rose from Clos des Amis Ventura County Estate Vineyard and a Pinot Noir from The Ojai Vineyard’s Fe Ciega Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills.

Poppies tickle the toes of aniron sculpture of a Chumash man by Eric Richards at Arroyo Verde park

Go here to read my article “Al fresco with flowers” with the featured walks and picnics. Scroll down for more details about the wines and the pairings plus pictures of wildflowers and more details that couldn’t fit in my VC Reporter article.

Two Picnic Wines from Ventura County Wineries

Two Picnic Wines from Ventura County Wineries

• 2023 Clos des Amis Rose, South Mountain Vineyard, Ventura County, CA
• 2019 The Ojai Vineyard Pinot Noir, Fe Ciega Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills, CA
• These vineyards practice organic viticulture.

Paradise Pantry Picnic

Paradise Pantry Picnic

• Cheeses:
  Gourmand Gruyere, Il Frastuchino, Pecorino Moliterno, Toma Alpage la Baou
• Paradise Pantry Country Pate with pistachios
• Mitica Almonds
• Dried Fruit
• Rustic Sourdough
• Big Picture Farm “Farmstead Milk Caramels”
• Note: I purchased the cheese and bread and Paradies Pantry supplied the pate, nuts, dried fruit, and chocolates!

I carried the picnic in my beloved Alpenlite pack made here in Ventura (a reproduction of the pack I had in high school!), and we spread out our picnic and settled ourselves on a picnic beach blanket from Lobos Del Mar located in downtown Ventura… which is also now my favorite table cloth!

2023 Clos des Amis Rose, South Mountain Vineyard, Ventura County, CA

2023 Clos des Amis Rose, South Mountain Vineyard, Ventura County, CA

ABV: 12%
SRP: $18
Grapes: Estate Blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre
purchased with an industry discount from the winery 

These days just about everyone makes a rose of one kind or another. But not many of them are made from grapes from Ventura County much less with pictures of Ventura County flora and fauna like this wild rose drawn by assistant winemaker Gretel Compton. And who else puts hiking trails on their labels?? This wine was a clear and obvious choice for a picnic— even when we didn’t choose the picnic to pair with the rose! Rose goes so well with many foods but particularly well with smoked meats and smoked cheeses. This one is so delightful and refreshing, and you can buy Clos des Amis wines at the Ventura Farmers Market from winemakers Bruce Freeman and Gretel Compton! Lots more about Clos des Amis here on Wine Predator…. 

Appearance:  Salmon, clear, platinum rim

Aroma: Fresh wild strawberry, raspberry, orange oil, soil, chaparral, wild roses.

Palate: Fresh wild strawberry, mint, savory, salinity, easy to sip, tart tangerine on the finish, good acidity, nicely balanced.

CHEESES–Very nice with the Il Frastuchino creamy richness of the cheese that pairs well with the wine, also very lovely with the Pecorino Moliterno the creamy salinity and earthy richness go so nicely with the rose, also very good with the Gourmand Gruyere bringing out a rich nuttiness in the cheese and bright fruit in the wine, Roma Algae la Baou is a very fun and interesting cheese and goes wonderfully well with this wine, bringing out all the ripe fruit.

ALMONDS and DRIED FRUIT— The Mitica almonds are a fantastic bite all on their own and completely lovely with the wine, the wine even handles the dried fruit well,

PATE —Beautifully brilliant with the Paradise Pantry country pate with pistachios.

2019 The Ojai Vineyard Pinot Noir, Fe Ciega Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills, CA

ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $56 (current release)
Grapes: Pinot Noir 10% whole clusters, `15% French new oak
256 cases
purchased as a Wine Club member

Love this winery. Love this wine. Love this AVA. Love this vineyard. Love what Adam Tolmach does as a winemaker — including giving Bruce Freeman his start! I pulled this out of my cellar because this is what I wanted to enjoy with this picnic of pate and cheeses! While this is not an inexpensive wine, why not have a special wine with a special picnic and that special person? We had a little taste with the picnic and I had plenty of wine to enjoy on subsequent days. We wrote about the current release here.

Appearance:  Very pretty, cranberry, mauve rim, medium light, unfined and unfiltered,

Aroma: Raspberry, strawberry, cherry, cherry cola, dried roses, eucalyptus,

Palate: Tart cherry, raspberry, rhubarb, orange oil, allspice, the wine is aging very nicely, it could lay down a bit longer, but it is very enjoyable right now, very balanced and enjoyable, light, lively and elegant.

PATE— Pinot and pate are always a great combination and this is no exception. The wine loves the richness and complex spices of the Paradise Pantry country pate as the pate is earthy and rich and so is the wine. The wine has enough intensity to complement the pate nicely, and this is a very good pate.

ALMONDS and DRIED FRUIT–The wine is very nice with the Mitica almonds and it also works when the almonds are mixed with a dried fruit or two.

CHEESES–It is so amazing how different the wine is with all of these cheeses! The Il Frastuchino worked fine with the wine: the cheese was still creamy however the wine brought out more salinity in the cheese while the cheese brought out more tart fruit in the wine.  the nutty richness of the Gourmand Gruyere and the lovely tart fruit in the wine went together so nicely, the earthy funkiness of the Roma Algae la Baou is absolutely fantastic with this wine, the wine and the cheese elevate each other perfectly, then we came to the Pecorino Moltenero and are absolutely in heaven, the wine becomes light and bright and ethereal, the earthy truffle cheese is also elevated by the rich earthy characteristics in the wine.

Channel Islands NP VC interpretive path view of lupine and coreopsis