As we passed vineyards on our drive to Vinos Las Nubes, the Missus and I noticed olive trees being used as windbreaks for the grapes. We asked Isaac if Valle produced olive oil and he mentioned several producers of that product in the area. Now this was something we really didn't know! I guess it seemed that we were quite interested in the olive oil and being ever so proactive, when we returned for our next stop Isaac asked us if we'd like to do a tasting! While we were doing our sampling of the wines at Las Nubes, Isaac called around and found a tasting room open, which we headed to after our tasting, lunch, and tour at Decantos Vinicola.
The producer was Olibaja.
The young lady who provided our tasting was very sweet and also gave us a short tour of the facilities. She was full of information….the few notes I took mentioned Manzanilla olives…..
The olive oil was slightly fruity, with a hint of bitterness, and quite green in color. The Missus had a great time; you know how much She loves Her olive oil having done tastings in several locales.
We ended up purchasing two bottles of olive oil, which is good for daily use, and a couple of bars of olive oil soap as gifts.
Olibaja
Carretera Principal al Porvenir
B.C., Mexico
And then while we were headed to our last stop, Isaac mentioned that his friend, who brews craft beer was working at a tasting room and if we'd like to visit. We said "of course", he then mentioned that it was at Vinicola Retorno which we had visited on the previous day. When we told him this, he was going to revert back to the previous plans, but we told him that Retorno was our favorite wine stop on our tour of Valle and we'd be glad to return. And thus, we "returned" to Retorno.
And we got in a nice tasting of beer and also a special tasting of something, at that time Retorno was doing as an experiment.
Producing a version of Port Wine. Since our visit to Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, I've come to appreciate a nice glass of Port. Especially with Blue Cheese, something I learned during our cheese tasting at Le Cheese Geek in Paris.
This was pretty good!
Good enough for me to talk them into buying a bottle. And the Missus got a bottle of Her two favorite whites as well.
In the end, we enjoyed the more casual, warm, and personal atmosphere of Vinícola Retorno. In fact, we'd like to "return to Retorno" again soon!
Vinícola Retorno
Santos Degollado 161
Villa de Juárez, B.C., Mexico
We really enjoyed the friendliness, flexibility, and expertise of the drivers that Aimee coordinated for us. She was such a pleasure to work with and arranged all the initial tastings and lunches.
As for this evening; well, four stops worked just fine for us as part of the goal was to relax as well. Which we did back at Contemplación Hotel.
And knowing we'd be wanting to just "chill", I had dinner reservations at the restaurant in the hotel complex, Salvia Blanca which I mentioned in my previous post. We got a lovely al fresco table.
Which came with it's own special "host". This super sweet and friendly pooch!
I think he must be one of the dogs considered to be "staff" by the hotel. The actual host did come by immediately and asked if he was bothering us…..and of course we told him that we loved the extra attention!
Having had my fill of wine for the day; I started things off with a cerveza.
I guess the restaurant has its own line of beer? This was on the fruity-sweet side; but nice and light as well.
As for the food; well, in keeping with we had been eating in the region; it was seafood heavy.
Starting with the Aguachile Oysters.
Nice and refreshing, upfront citrus, with a hint of spice and pungency. The oyster's true colors comes thru in the finish with a meaty-brininess.
The oysters outshone the Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche.
Which seemed bland in comparison. While the shrimp was tender, the scallops seemed tasteless and the marinating liquid seemed a bit on the lighter side in terms of crisp sourness….it could have been that this was served alongside the oysters.
The one non-seafood item was the Tuetano; bone marrow.
A bit of overkill with slices of beef tataki on it, but this was really good on the blue corn tostadas. Wish the bone marrow was a bit more "jelly-ish", but an interesting range of flavors with the blue corn tostadas, avocado cream, cilantro, and pickled onions. Perhaps a bit over-the-top since I like my bone marrow plain, but an interesting dish overall.
The fish of the day was interesting.
A lot going on here. The skin was nice and crisp, the flesh had a nice sweetness to it but was on the drier side. The "sikil pak", a pepito and tomato based sauce could have used a bit more acidity and spice; but was quite rich. The salsa topping had the nice kick of jalapenos and some garlicky pungency.
Which meant I needed a cocktail as dessert.
Overall a nice meal. We love the atmosphere and the vibe.
The wonderful "host" is a plus!
Salvia Blanca (Contemplación Hotel)
Calle Merlot Parcela 325 Ejido El Porvenir
Francisco Zarco, B.C., Mexico
Since we had spent some time exploring the hotel grounds earlier, we decided to take the road down the hill to Calle Merlot and take a short walk down the dirt road.
We had enjoyed our stay at Contemplación Hotel and really had fun experiencing some of what the Valle de Guadalupe had to offer.
Surprisingly mild in flavor, the rabbit was super moist and tender. The celeriac added some nice sweet tones as well. This was served with some blue corn tortillas, which, unlike the sopes were mildly sweet and "maizey".
This was really not to my liking. The crust of the pizza was rubbery and soggy, the edges quite chewy. I don't think it had been baked long enough. It did look nice and I thought the amount of cheese was good, but in spite of the curry, I thought this a bit bland overall. The curry itself was quite thick and had some spice; but for some reason the flavor just seemed to vanish in the entire package.
Well, I wasn't too inspired by the whitish color. Was not a fan of the way too soft coating which lacked crispness, something that I like in my karaage.
As for the Sisig slice……well, this was fairly bland, even with the slices of serrano chilies; it really lacked the tangy-sour-porky flavors that make 
The katsu was really crisp, perfectly fried….I think I'm going to ask Rob the next time I see him, what kind of panko he uses. The chicken was moist, nicely seasoned without being overly salty, though I think it could be a bit more tender. 
Man, look at the langostas! The beans were bland and watery and the rice on the harder side and also very mild in flavor, but those lobsters! There was a time when the Missus just didn't care for lobster; having had quite a few bland versions of them . But time and visit to places on the east coast and Canada, She has come around. And these were delicately, sweet-oceany, with a firm, yet pliable texture. 
Which came with a side of sticky rice; which was actually more hard and dry than "sticky". The dish consisted of two whole "wings" and another odd piece. The chicken was nicely fried, more crunchy than crisp, and very moist. The flavor seemed to be a bite "off" though. There was a hint of lemongrass and garlic; but it seemed to need a bit "more" savory-salty tones, and came thru as being on the bland side, an adjective that one really doesn't associate with Lao cuisine.
Well, this was quite a hefty lunch! The miso soup was fine; not watered down like many other versions these days.
The rice was moist, tender, and fragrant; though the portion size was a bit too large for me. I think if I go solo again I'll make sure to get a half portion of it. I was really heading into 
I waffle between getting the filet or loin cut….after this meal, I guess I'm back on "team loin"? I really like the meaty texture, fat content, and the porkiness. The sauce tends to the sweeter side in my opinion, so I use it sparingly.