This past weekend we were honored to be interviewed by Boyd Matson on his National Geographic Weekend radio program. You can listen to our eight minute interview here:

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We’d been told to expect to spend most of the interview talking about National Parks so we mentally revisited the more than 100 National Parks we’ve been to since our Journey began in in 2006. This was a fun bit of prep during which we came up with a kind of National Parks Hit List. In the end, our interview with Boyd focused almost entirely on the whys and hows of our Trans-Americas Journey and not on National Parks, but we don’t want our list to go to waste so here it is. Need more reasons to go visit a National Park this summer? August 15 and 16 will be the last of this summer’s Fee Free Weekends during which most National Parks waive their entrance fees.

Park It!

Most Unique: Denali National Park & Preseve in Alaska because the wildlife here is still wild (and everywhere) which means you really feel like part of the food chain, not just another ho-hum human visitor. Also, this is the only National Park we know of where you’re allowed to hike anywhere you want, not simply on established trails.

Most Varied: Lassen Volcanic National Park in California because it delivers bears, volcanoes and geysers in one package.

Biggest Surprise: Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida because even the two hour ferry ride from Key West out to the park is full of marine life and because the snorkeling and beach camping once you get to this park, which protects the third largest barrier reef system in the world, is some of the most beautiful, accessible and low key in the country.

Most Underrated: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park in California because the redwood groves rival (and even outdo) Yosemite’s and because we saw seven bears in one day here.m

Friday morning we visited Alta Colina’s beautiful vineyards where we were treated to the first signs of veraison, the change in color of the grapes berries. The Mourvedre blocks were well on their way and the Syrah was just beginning. It was too beautiful to keep to ourselves.

It was a Twitter message that did it. 140 little characters about a crazy big sale on delicious 2005 Viognier and Roussanne that worked out to less than $100 a case. Huh?

We read that post at 3:45 and still managed to get to the Clautiere Vineyard tasting room (a 30 minute drive away) before it closed at 5. When we walked in we told the woman behind the bar that we were there because we’d just read a Tweet about the blow-out sale on cases of white. Her reaction “No way!”

Way.

Tweeting about an impromptu sale like this is a prime example of one of the many ways Twitter should be used by wineries for immediate results (ie, sales), though alarmingly few Paso Robles wineries are doing it. Yet.

But Clautiere has always been a leader, not a follower right down to its motto which is “a winery like no other.” Clautiere’s tasting room lives up to that motto with an electric palette, a penchant for harlequin prints and epic portraits. The owners themselves describe it as “Edward Scissor Hands meeting the Mad Hatter at the Moulin Rouge” and who are we to argue? Actually, the cartoony rendering of the tasting room on the winery’s web site is not that far off from the reality…

One of two lively tasting bars at Clautiere Vineyard.

Oh, did we mention the basket of hats and piles of wigs for customers to try on and the shed out the back that’s full of even more costumes and fun house mirrors?

Which one goes with Mouvedre?

This wonderful wackiness is the brainchild of Clautiere owners Claudine and Terry (Clautiere, get it?) who between them have previous careers as a fashion designer, a welder, a landscape designer and a restauranteur. Now they make wine that’s fragrant and friendly and surprisingly serious given the eclectic surroundings.

We also love their latest brainstorm: a spin-off label called Two Cocky Sisters that’s meant to be an “economy buster” with a price tag of $11 per bottle. Essentially, they blend all of the leftovers together into deliciousness.

The painting that inspired the "economy buster" Two Cocky Sisters label at Clautiere Vineyard. Looks like they could bust more than just the economy...

Speaking of blending, Clautiere does a full complement of single varietal wines, but they’re not afraid to throw in the kitchen sink. Their 2002 Grand Cru ($35), for example, is a happy mix of Syrah, Cuonoise, Grenache, Mouvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier. Just drink it. It’s a pleasant surprise to find many of Clautiere’s wines under 15% alcohol as well.

You’ll want to linger at the tasting room bar, but pull yourself away long enough to check out the Clautiere version on a winery gift shop. No dopey wine glass charms or bottle stoppers in the shape of dolphins. Nope. The Clautiere shop sells killer t-shirts that say things like A Day Without Wine is a Drag printed over a Warhol-esque photo of a male fan of the vineyard in a florescent wig.

Tasting room hours: Daily 12-5

Free or fee?: $5 (free for club members)

Bar snacks: None, but it was closing time when we arrived

Soundtrack: None, but it was closing time when we arrived

Bottle prices: $20-$69 (mostly in the $30s)

Wine club: Yes and accepting new members who can opt to receive two shipments of six or 12 bottles each every year and enjoy wine club member savings of 20%

What we walked out with: A mixed case of 2005 Viognier and 2005 Rousanne for 96 bucks people

More information: Nothing quite conveys the essence of this unique and tasty winery like an actual trip to the tasting room. Make your visit a doozy by signing up for Clautiere’s Cops Criminials Kimonos event on August 18 (free for cub memeber, $30 for the rest of us) and be treated to the full Clautiere effect with costumes (come dressed as your favorite cop, criminal or kimono wearer) plus food and great wine and probably wigs. Lots and lots of wigs.

More info: Winery profile from the Paso Robles Country Wine Alliance