OPOLO and TOBIN JAMES

 But first, two sports matters:

• About that NBA gambling problem, won't say much, except to just be aware of further developments.

• 
  The World Series games begin today.  They open with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Toronto Blue Jays at 8PM EDT.

•  
  Not to worry about the change in daylight savings time, for this will occur Sunday, November 2 at 2AM, where most states will set their clock back to 1AM so some of you can get one hour more sleep.
• All games will be on Fox, FS1 and Fox Deportes, also streaming on Fubo, Fox One, DirecTV, Sling, You Tube and Hulu....if you subscribe to them.
• First team to win 4 games will become the champion.

• 
  Starting pitchers in Game 1 will be Blake Snell for the Dodgers and Trey Vesavage for the Blue Jays, a rookie.
• Here are the details of other games.

• Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m. ET in Toronto.

• Game 3: Monday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

• Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

• Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 29, 8 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.

• Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. ET in Toronto.

• Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m. ET in Toronto.

• 
  Which team is the favorite?  The Dodgers.  They have spent more money over the past decade than any other team.  No doubt as a result, they have had the most victories.  They won the World Series last year.  Last time for Toronto?  1993.
• But this will not be a David vs Goliath series.
• For one, the first two games will be in Toronto.  If the series goes to games 6 and 7, they will be played in Toronto.
• Toronto is the only Canadian team,   Canada has a population on 40.2 million.  Only 3.9 million for Los Angeles.  So more than 10 times for people rooting for Toronto.  Well not much of a sensible comparison, but...
• Toronto ranks #4 in salary spending.  Payroll:
• Dodgers:  $350,024,105.
• Blue Jays:  $255,230,405.
• But this is misleading, for tricky financing show a lot more delayed payoffs for the Dodgers, and the like.  For example, Shohei Ohtani has a deferred salary of $700 million.  Read this article for details.
• 
  The Dodgers had a terrible bullpen, which is being made worse by the sudden loss of Alex Vesia, who will miss the World Series because of a personal family matter, and closer  Tanner Scott, who is not even on the World Series roster.  
• They also have several more relievers out because of injuries.
• However, they have starters Emmett Sheehan and Clayton Kershaw to bridge innings.
• Plus, the unexpected development of rookie Roki Sasaki as closer has made a world of difference.  If he continues to close well, and the Dodgers win the World Series, he could well become the most valuable player.
• Another help for the Dodgers is that Toronto just finished a seven-game series with Seattle, so both the starters and relievers will not be as well-rested.  The Dodgers won all four games in the League Championship series.  Their last game was a week ago.

So on to our final day of wine-tasting.  Today, Opolo and Tobin James.  In Honolulu, we can only find Opolo Mountain Zinfandel.  This happens to be their most popular wine.  But to start, more flora outside our hotel.

Then a drive to Opolo.

The tour began with a glass of Opolo Sauvignon Blanc, which we carried with us on our cart tour of the vineyards.

Next to the tasting house was a large plot of land that had fruit and nut trees.  First, quince.  Never heard of this fruit until this trip.  It is in the subtribe with apples and pears.  It is used to ferment into alcoholic drinks, eaten raw, processed into jam and used to flavor cheese.  The word itself is said to have been used by ribald Greek poets such as Aristophanes to signify teenage breasts.  Tree grows to 20 feet tall.  They are difficult to just bite into, and a whole series of steps is need to taken to enjoy them properly.  Quince and pomegranate below.

We wondered why there were so many walnut trees growing in Paso Robles vineyards.  The answer has to do with historical reasons, economic diversification and environmental benefits, like proving shade and moisture.  They also tend to reduce the incidence of mildew on the vines.

Steve, our guide, picked some, took the nut out of the husk, cracked the nut and gave it us to eat.  They are usually eaten raw, but sometimes toasted for baking.

The grapes are identified on posts.

I found it interesting that all these red grapes, Zindandel, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, were so small, that maybe, this was the first time I ever actually ate these grapes from a vine.

This is an owl home below.  There were eight of them at Opolo.  I'm think I heard Steve say that each kills up to 20 gophers and ground squirrels/night.

At the wine-tasting, we served Kimberly.

Snacks with the wine.

There is a limit to how many we wines could get tasted, but I think we went passed ten and drank whatever they had.  Steve came to me during the tasting and personally gave me a bottle of Petite Sirah.

It might look like Kimberley is pouring a giant bottle of wine, but this is just an optical illusion.

Then my ultimate, an Opolo Petite Sirah.

I've go to say that at Opolo, the 95-rated Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhapsody were better than their Petite Sirah, so we bought bottles of all of them.  How are we going to get them back to Honolulu?  Probably in our suitcases.  Hawaiian/Alaka air only allows 50 pounds for each suitcase.  Six bottles will get the luggage close to that weight.  Next time, we go business class in Star Alliance, because my 2-million mile status allows me up to 70 pounds.

Opolo extended their options by creating Willow Creek Distillery in 2013.  They now offer various types of whiskey, brandy and liqueur, served in an adjacent tasting building.   I first had their single malt whiskey.

Next, Tobin James.  In our San Diego dinner at Callie, this is the wine served.  Plus, we received gift of another wine from this company.

We then went to Sabor and Sazan for our final meal in Paso Robles.  This a restaurant focusing on South American and LatinAmerican dishes, especially from Columbia and Ecuador.

Rib eye, lobster ravioli and pork chop.

I had a corn souffle with Caesar salad and a Margarita.

We really had too much to drink today.  But our trip to Paso Robles was incredible and will forever be memorable.

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