Grapes, Hops & Shots: A Roundup of the Latest Suds, Watering Holes & Award Winning Wines in Monterey County

Celebrate Monterey's Liquid Assets at Key Events, Tasting Venues & Restaurants

News provided by

Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Feb 19, 2014, 01:46 ET

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif., Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Sip your way through Monterey County with Manzoni's award-winning wines, Craft Artisan Ales at Post No Bills and classy cocktails at Terry's Lounge.

Grapes

Voted Best Wine Travel Destination in 2013 by Wine Enthusiast, Monterey County boasts over 45,000 acres of grapes; Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes grow best in the cool coastal climate. The Carmel-by-the-Sea Wine Walk offers a unique experience to sample some of the best wines from Scheid, Wrath, Caraccioli and Manzoni. Dawn's Dream the latest tasting room in downtown Carmel has an open rustic feeling that delightfully welcomes patrons and their 7-wine flight for $10 is a real steal.

Carmel Valley's new Cellar Pass, valid from February through April, gives wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste a flight of 3-4 wines and receive discounts on wine at boutique wineries including Bernardus, Cima Colina, Holman Ranch, Joullian and Parsonage. Play it safe and take MST's Carmel Valley Grapevine Express for $10 for an all-day pass. Get up-close and personal with the vineyards on the River Road Wine Trail in the Salinas Valley for a truly viticultural vacation. With over 13 wineries to choose from, visitors can have a unique experience riding ATV's through vineyards before tasting at Hahn, and barrel at Paraiso, McIntyre and Manzoni.

Don't miss out on the 7^th Annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival April 10-13. Visitors get a unique experience to meet, greet and taste with celebrity chefs Guy Fieri and Masaharu Morimoto, notable winemakers, expert mixologists and master sommeliers. Make sure to come hungry and thirsty!

Hops

Post No Bills is a hidden gem in Sand City that has an unbeatable selection of over 80 hard-to-find beers from Belgium, hard ciders from our British friends and even unique craft sodas. Since they don't have a kitchen, feel free to bring some take out from any of the delightful restaurants nearby.

English Ales Brewery in Marina specializes in concocting delicious brews such as Fat Lip Amber Ale, Big Sur Golden and Monterey Bay Wheat. Go into just about any bar or pub on the peninsula and you will be able to enjoy one of their creations. You can even stop into their cozy restaurant adjacent to their brewery for some good old fashioned fish 'n' chips and wash it down with a pint or two.

Peter B's Brewpub, located adjacent to the Portola Plaza Hotel & Spa near the heart of downtown Monterey, stands out as the only craft brewery in Monterey County. Brewmaster Kevin Clark has overseen the recent expansion of the brewery and cellar, featuring four bright tanks, adding 18,000 gallons of beer production per year and enough storage to concoct special seasonal brews. The brewpub itself got a facelift with new floors, furniture, menu items and HDTVs to watch your favorite sports.

Cannery Row Brewing Company, just a stone's throw from the water on Cannery Row, awaits you with a "fluid" selection of draft beers, rare bottled beers and creative pub fare to make you thirsty for more. Snuggle up to that special someone outside by their toasty fire pits or swing by on a Saturday night to enjoy some live music.

The Monterey Beer Festival brings beer lovers together on Saturday, June 14^th at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center. Over 80 breweries will be there to make sure no one goes thirsty. No beer festival would be complete without live music and this year's fest features Powerage (AC/DC cover band) and Journey Revisited.

Shots

Mixology is in! Bartenders create delicious cocktails a la chemistry lab. Swing over to Restaurant 1833, where you can sip on aphrodisiac or painkiller inspired drinks or their barrel-aged Negronis. Looking for more bacon in your beverage? On Sunday Brunch, Terry's Lounge at the Cypress Inn in Carmel offers a Bacon Bloody Mary with a few shots of homemade bacon-infused vodka and a generous hunk of bacon just waiting to be savored. If you want to feel good about slinging down a martini, head over to The Sardine Factory near Cannery Row for an Antioxidant Martini, which features liqueur infused with acai and pomegranate; of course it's good for you!

VISITOR INFO.
Monterey County is located 120 miles/192 km south of San Francisco and 345 miles/552 km north of Los Angeles along the classic California corridor. The region boasts 99 miles of prime Pacific Coastline, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, three historic missions, 40,000 acres of premium vineyards, 24 golf courses and over 250 lodging properties. Monterey County includes the Monterey Peninsula, Big Sur, North County and the Salinas Valley. The Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY), just three miles from historic downtown Monterey and minutes from the area's major attractions, is served by non-stop flights to and from Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Phoenix (PHX), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN) and San Francisco (SFO). www.SeeMonterey.com.