Not many 30-year-olds hold the reins of an entire winery operation, but Akash Patel does. 他是 阿卡什酒厂 in 泰梅库拉, a property he built with his parents while he was finishing his college degree.
"My parents and I literally built this by hand. It all stemmed from my dad's dream他说。. "My dad liked wine, and after he visited 泰梅库拉 in 2001, he thought, 'Maybe we can get into the winery business.' "
The Patels didn't find a suitable property to buy until nine years later, 即便如此, 它只是泥土. "We saw 20 acres for sale in a beautiful spot. 那只是一条土路旁边的一大片. There wasn't even a water line他说。.
The family owned and operated lodging properties, but they had no experience with viticulture. "We started slowly developing the vineyard and building all the infrastructure他说。. “随着时间的推移, I got involved in every aspect—working the harvest, 加工葡萄, and learning winemaking from our head winemaker."
After nine years of development, 阿卡什酒厂 opened for wine tasting in 2019. 葡萄园种植长相思, 馨芳葡萄酒, 娇小的席拉, 赤霞珠, 和品丽珠葡萄, 他们准备种植赛美蓉. "We're trying to hone in on the Bordeaux-style wines他说。.
Patel says he has "a huge love for the industry and the craft behind it. Everything in this business keeps you on your toes. There are so many moving parts and it's never the same. I could be washing barrels, prepping for bottling, pouring wines for guests, giving tours."
近年来, Patel has seen his own horizons expand—he and his wife have a seven-month-old baby—and also 泰梅库拉's. The region is growing 更多的 popular all the time, he says.
"泰梅库拉 has definitely become an influencer-blogger-Instagram destination. If you want to put on a sundress and take amazing photos in the vineyards, you can do that. If you love beer, you can check out the brewery scene. If you want to live the small-town lifestyle, you can hang out in 老城 或在 维尔的总部他说。. "There's so much scenery and diversity. No matter what you're into, you can find it out here."
“Anybody who comes here is going to find something that they like in 老城帕特尔指出.
“It has wooden sidewalks and rustic Western-style buildings filled with a mixture of restaurants, 酒吧, 和商店. It's an attractive spot with a hometown feel. 家人在白天去那里. At night, there's a nightlife bar scene that can get a little rowdy. It has a little bit of everything for everybody.”
Patel calls himself a foodie and says 泰梅库拉's food scene is becoming 更多的 diverse, with 小谷仓 引领潮流. "It's New American cuisine but with an awesome twist of cultures. The chef likes to do creative, inspired dishes. 他给镇上带来了一种新的饮食方式. It's the kind of food that you might find in L.A. 或者圣地亚哥."
五个最爱
Patel calls out a few of his favorite spots in 泰梅库拉:
早午餐/早餐: “bbin游戏官网喜欢去 乐咖啡店 在旧泰梅库拉. It's a little hidden gem—a classic French bakery-breakfast spot. I usually get one of their lattes, and I love their croque- monsieur. It's a super-rich grilled egg and ham sandwich, and it's really good. All their breakfast sandwiches are amazing."
披萨: "山羊 & 葡萄树 已经经营多年了吗. They make pizza and all kinds of top-shelf Italian food. They execute everything perfectly, from hospitality to aesthetics to service. 这是一个本垒打点. We usually get the jalapeño lime carnitas pizza. 这是奇妙的. 这是一种很棒的味道组合."
啤酒: "8位酿酒公司 is run by two brothers and their parents. Their beers are named after eight-bit video games. They have great artwork on their labels. They're go-getters and they're always innovating. They're a collectors' brand, and they want to be better every time. They're trying to make the best craft beers out there. Sours and hazy IPAs are their specialties, but they also make lagers, blondes, and stouts. They're well respected in the brewery game, not just in 泰梅库拉 but throughout the 美国."
购物: "A cool little spot that a lot of people don't know about is 维尔的总部 在泰梅库拉 Parkway. It's tucked away by this big modern shopping center, so you might not find it on your own. It's a historic ranch site with buildings dating back to the 1860s, and it has a lot of historical displays and live music on the weekends, plus things for kids to do like a petting zoo, 一个像小滑索一样的秋千, 还有一列有轮子的小火车. 有一个叫 船上的厨房 that has several different places to eat and 媒体咖啡 coffee shop, plus some clothing shops and antique shops."
熟食店: "淘气的猪 是五星级的肉店吗. They make all our charcuterie boards for the winery, as well as fantastic hot and cold sandwiches. 他们卖和牛, fresh-made sausage links that they make from their secret recipes, 还有可以用来做饭的工艺品. We do private dinners with their chef, and we also have a wine club with them."
