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Helping People Live the Paso Style; Real Estate News, Events, Wine, Food, Living September 2010

WINE NOTES(Local Wine and Real Estate News)

Crush

The excitement is starting to build.  Crush time is quickly approaching in Paso Wine Country.  The wineries will be working overtime to bring in the new harvest.  It's an exciting time for all.  Opinions vary on quality and timing of this year's bounty.  Most seem to agree that the season is running about 3 weeks behind normal due to the cooler summer we have experienced.  Probably the important thing is quality,  most agree that quality has not suffered.  Unless we are hit with early moisture or frost it should be a good year. 

 

Old Wine

I've made my love of aged wine very clear.  I opened a bottle of wine recently that I'm guessing most people wouldn't have bothered with.  A 1985 White Zinfandel from Martin Bros.  Oh, the mid 80's and White Zinfandel,  the beginnings of what some consider a birth of the American wine market and to others the dark days of it. 

I have to admit,  I had very low expectations when opening this bottle of wine (I was looking for some cooking wine and found it in the cellar).  I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.  This White Zinfandel had held up quite well for 25 years.  Most of the sugary, "Kool Aide" taste and character was gone.  What remained was a slightly sweet wine with hints of mature flavor.  I'm guessing this wine tasted better than when it was bottled so long ago.  

QUICK REAL ESTATE STATS:(California)

Median Home Price-
California $314,850
Highest Median Home Price
Santa Barbara So. Coast $871,250
Lowest median home price
High Desert $128,950
Mortgage rates- week ending 8/26/10:
30-yr fixed 4.36% Fees/points: 0.7%
15-yr fixed 3.86% Fees/points: 0.7%
1-yr adj 3.52% Fees/points: 0.7%

WINE AND LOCAL TRIVIA

It's Crush time in Paso Wine Country, almost.  Grapes appear to be a few weeks later this year due to the unseasonal cooler temperatures we've experienced this summer.  Grapes are starting to ripen and the sugar levels develop.  A key time in the life of a grape is what's known as Veraison.  Veraison is a French word which has gotten acceptance in American viticulture.  What does Verasion mean?  
a)Sugar
b)Ripe
c)Color Change
d)Raisin Sec

(Please visit http://www.pasostyleliving.com for the answer)

PASO STYLE LIVING REAL ESTATE (Local Real Estate Market Conditions)

   
Paso Robles Housing InventoryAbsorption Rate.  There are so many Real Estate statistics published it can be confusing.  Especially when often the information seems contradictory.  There are two key numbers most often reported.  The Median Sales Price and the "Sales" or volume of homes sold.  It's confused more by New versus Resale homes, but that's another discussion.  Median Home price is not an average,  but a ranking of home sales price taking the one in the middle.  These two indicators will often be in conflict during market shifts.  In a steady state market these numbers can measure growth,  but it's been a while since we're seen a steady state Real Estate market.

Real Estate professionals look more at Absorption Rate during a unsteady market like we are in now.  Absorption Rate is the measure in months of how quickly the available inventory of unsold homes can be sold or absorbed by the market demand.  The rule of thumb is an  absorption over six months is considered a buyers market.  You can see by the chart,  the Absorption Rate is hovering in the 7 month range locally and is trending upward.  I publish this chart each month.    
 

Real Estate Up, Down, and Around:

Area(08/1/10-8/31/10) Avg Price Homes AvailableSold Pending
Atascadero $354,601 113 21 26
Paso Robles $386,083 28236 39
Templeton $543,500 595 4
All Paso Wine Country $363,248548 71720
Paso Wine Country contains the following real estate areas (Paso Robles, Atascadero, Templeton, San Miguel, Creston, Shandon, and Santa Margarita) (Single Family Homes, SFRSB)

REAL ESTATE HOT LIST (Special Properties for Sale in the Paso Wine Country)

● Lowest price Single Family Residential Property

● Most Expensive Single Family Residential Property

The above properties are listed in the Central Coast MLS and may or may not be listed by  Home and Vineyard Real Estate Brokerage.  The presentation of this information is not meant to imply any advertisement of these properties. 

FOOD CORNER (Personal Recipes and Favorite Restaurants of the Paso Wine Country)

Risotto



I love good Risotto.  So, here's my recipe I use when making it.  It's takes some time and effort,  but it is delicious.  Now when I made this last,  I used the 25 year old White Zinfandel mentioned above.  You don't have to do that,  any good white wine should be fine. 

2 cups Risotto Rice,  Please don't try it with regular rice
2 tbls Olive Oil
2 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups White Wine
1/2 cup Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Place the sauce pan over high heat,  add the olive oil and rice.  Continuously stir the rice to prevent burning.  When the rice starts to change color slightly add the chicken stock.

Gently stir, continuously until all the liquid of the chicken stock is absorbed.  Now add the wine and repeat the process.  Continuous, gentle stirring.

When all liquid is absorbed,  add the cream and cheese, reduce the heat and stir until the rice is cooked, but still slightly firm. 

Enjoy!
Ron Johnson
Broker, RealtorŪ
(805) 423-1902
www.PasoStyleLiving.com

945 12th Street, Suite F
PO Box 1981
Paso Robles, CA 93447

www.PasoStyleLiving.com