HOW TO CELEBRATE 25 YEARS? There's no book in the world that's going to tell you that a 25th anniversary isn't a big deal. It's one of the biggest of the big, an occasion met with special rituals and celebratory traditions galore (if you're a doubter, go to any party supply store and admire the sizable section devoted to 25th anniversary balloons, banners, and invites). But how does one celebrate if one isn't a couple, or isn't marking a work anniversary, and a lot of people will want to join the party? Well, you make that anniversary a full month, rather than a day, and you fill it with happenings of the jolliest order. Surely "jolliest" is a word that can be used when it comes to easygoing wine confabs, especially when they take place in that easiest of regions, the Central Coast.
MAKE THAT SAN LUIS OBISPO, to be exact, which is known for its area wineries and its relaxed approach to all things, including big anniversaries (it doesn't go by SLO just for kicks -- it is a local philosophy that's very much observed). Roll Out the Barrels is the doing marking its quarter-century birthday, and the people behind SLO Wine Country are blowing it out, SLO-style, with a month of merry gatherings. That month might just be the merriest of all, according to poets and weather forecasters and those who love the blooming of flowers and the coming of warmer days: April.
APRIL OUTINGS AROUND SLO: The wine-trying starts on April Fool's Day -- no fooling -- and wraps a couple of days into May. On the roster? A caboodle of "winery adventures and activities" including the largest of the larks, the Barrels on the Plaza party on April 30. Along the April way there shall be tours (Niner Wine Estates and a host of other vineyards have 'em going through the month) and oyster pairings at Ancient Peaks (that's on April 11) and a falconry demo at Autry Cellars on the 25th of April. (Beautiful birds and beautiful beverages so go together.) Want to find your ideal SLO weekend and wish a Barrels of a good time a happy 25th? The Cabernet-and-more calendar is this way, Central Coast sippers.
