Over the Hump to Pahrump
Trip Start
Jun 24, 2011
1
Trip End
Jun 24, 2011
What I did
Explored the Pahrump Winery
Pahrump, Nevada
Friday, July 1, 2011
Located only an hour or so (depending upon who is driving) outside of Las Vegas, Pahrump is an easy drive over Route 160 (off the Blue Diamond Road is the easiest for non-Vegans), heading straight west. The route takes you up and over the Spring Mountains (if you have time, stop at Mountain Springs Saloon - a fun time with really good bar food) and down into the Pahrump valley, located in Nye County. You will see plenty of advertisements for the ladies of leisure (prostitution is legal here), but don't digress. The Winery is your goal and it is a worthy goal!
With all six of us crammed into Lynda's SUV (the only one big enough to take all of us), we headed out. Lynda had not been to Pahrump so it was an adventure for her. If you are lucky, you can see wild donkeys and the occasional wild horse along this route. This is a four lane road, but if you go in the winter, beware of snow and ice. I kept up the commentary, as I used to own property out here, and frequently came out to play golf at the Pahrump Golf Course (a fairly long course but quite flat and straight).
You will see billboards for the Winery, and just follow the signs. The Winery is off to the right. Now for those of us who are used to the wineries of central California, this is a little different. The winery has gone through several sets of hands, and the vineyards (what there are of them) are finally getting old enough to produce wine. The wines sold and bottled at the winery are actually mostly from Central California vineyards.
The winery itself is now engulfed with homes (the bane of Southern Nevada), but is a lush oasis. The building is a splendid representation of a winery, the grounds are well maintained and beautiful (weddings frequently occur here - in fact I would be willing to be married here), and the people are delightful. I found it equal to pulling up to many wineries in California. (Which I have done a LOT of - I like wine.)
Our first goal was to eat lunch at the well appointed Symphony Restaurant. It is bright and airy and pleasantly appointed. They easily accommodated the six of us, without reservations (we had called ahead and they told us it would not be a problem). The linens, china, and crystal made us feel like princesses. The service was quick but not intrusive - an important feature for the MOMs who want their wine quickly, but their conversations to not be invaded! This is a semi-gourmet restaurant, open for lunch and dinner, and business casual dress is the code. (I just wish that the family with the small crying child would have chosen elsewhere to eat - the crying was disrupting.)
Several of us decided to start with the Incredible Lobster Bisque - go for it! It was creamy, with a nice undertone of the Creme Sherry. They will sell you the Creme Sherry to try and replicate this at home. The Apple Pecan Salad was also ordered and was quite tasty. Of course, this was all to be accompanied by wine (why else would you go to a winery to eat?). We went with a bottle as it was a better value than individual glasses. It allowed us all to have a taste of the featured wine.
Since we were here for lunch, we skipped down the menu to the Lunch Specials, served from 11:30 a.m. (opening) until 3 p.m.. We skipped the sandwiches (*I have had these previously and can vouch for the eat worthiness), and went with the lunch entrees. I personally had the Chicken Tuscany, which was delightful. Anything with Marsala and mushroom wine sauce I figure is great and it was. I all but licked the plate. This was pretty much the opinion of the others, regardless of what they ordered. Diet be damned, this was good! The prices (mine was $14.95) were not cheap, but well worth the quality and quantity. If we wanted cheap, we would have eaten at McDonald's!
After lunch we headed back to the wine tasting. You can taste up to seven wines without charge. The owner, Gretchen Loken, was funny, going along with us in our MOM hood! We tried several different wines, starting from the whites and working up. She provided food pairing for each wine. There was no pressure to buy, and you must enter the store area to buy. One of the nice things this winery offers is your own labels. For $1 per bottle, you can add your own personal label (like for birthdays or thank you's). They also have the requisite bottle openers, mouse pads, and t-shirts. We gladly filled up a case (they were having a half off sale on the Loken Pinot Noirs, which were what we just happened to have had with lunch).
Bill Loken (husband and co-owner), helped us take out all we had bought, and then gave us a (quick - maybe ten minutes?) tour of the winery; vineyards and bottling station. We also saw the wall of award winning Pahrump Winery wines - which was impressive. They are competing well with the California wines.
Full of good food, with a trunk full of wine and wine related goodies, we headed back to Las Vegas, this time taking the route past Blue Diamond and Red Rock (we all live on the west side so this was actually the fastest way, especially since I was driving by now and I drive a wee bit faster than Lynda!).
Although this will not replace my wine trip to Central California (Morro Bay here I come), it was a pleasant diversion from daily life in Las Vegas. If you are visiting Las Vegas and are there for more than a couple of days, this is a nice little trip. If you play golf but are in the high 90's or above category, head out to the golf course, and stop to eat lunch at the winery on the way home. It is worth the drive.
