The Wines of Paso Robles

The International Wine Review September/October 2012 Report # 33: The Wines of Paso Robles Introduction This summer we traveled to Paso Robles and spent In this Issue a week visiting the diverse vineyards, talking with Introduction ................................................... Cover many talented winemak- A Brief Wine History .............................................3 ers, and tasting over 300 wines. We discovered Geography and Terroir ..........................................4 that while the number of Viticulture in Paso Robles........................................6 15 Million Year Old Oyster Shell 1 wineries has grown rap- Wines of Paso Robles ............................................8 idly over the past couple of decades, Paso Robles has long been known for producing Fine Dining in Paso Robles ................................... 12 high quality fruit. We found small, dry-farmed and head Marketing Paso Robles Wines .............................. 13 trained vineyards, both old and new, as well as large, Tasting Notes and Ratings .................................... 14 irrigated vineyards, some producing grapes for markets outside the AVA. We found large fossilized oysters, flaky Annexes: calcareous soil, and alluvial clay in the vineyards. We met Map of Paso Robles Wineries ...............................34 with winemakers passionate about their work and whose The Vineyards of Paso Robles ...............................35 talent is shown in their outstanding wines. In this report we relate what we learned about the terroir, the vineyards, the grapes, and the wines of Paso Robles. Paso Robles is a diverse region comprising 26 thousand the creation of the AVA to about 50 in 2000 and over 270 acres of vines in an AVA with a total area of 667 thousand in 2012, an increase of over 400 percent in the last de- acres, almost three times the size of the Napa Valley AVA. cade! Most of these wineries are small and family-owned It has grown rapidly over the past three decades: vineyard and operated. acreage today is more than five times that when the AVA was created in 1983. Growing conditions vary widely de- The diversity in growing conditions, winery size, and pending on exposure to winds, topography, and distance varieties make it difficult to succinctly describe Paso Robles from the ocean. Recognizing these differences, a petition wines. The task is made still more difficult by the fact that to create 11 sub-AVAs was submitted to the Alcohol and over half of all grapes are sold to producers outside the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in 2007; a ruling on AVA, who mostly produce wines without a Paso Robles this petition is expected soon. AVA designation. Producers within the AVA range from tiny, very high end, boutique wineries to large, commercial Highly favorable growing conditions have contributed to wineries producing a wide range of wines. While Paso the rapid growth of viticulture in Paso Robles. And, as the Robles produces numerous single varietals wines, it is per- wines of the region have gained national recognition, the number of wineries has exploded from 17 at the time of Continued on page 2 Introduction Continued from page 1 The i-WineReview is published by the International Wine Review, LLC. Our office is located at 6625 Old Chesterbrook Road, McLean, VA 22101. Our email haps best known for its Bordeaux and Rhone red blends. is: [email protected] Rates for one-year subscrip- Among single varietals, we were most impressed with tions are $69 for the online edition and $89 for the Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Petite Sirah. print edition. Combined online and print subscriptions While not generally known for its white wines, we were are $99 for 1 year. Subscriptions include exclusive favorably impressed by the Rhone white blends. access to all online resources of i-winereview.com. Special group rates are available to wine clubs and As it has gained recognition for its wines, Paso Robles has wine schools. Contact us about eligibility and rates. become a lively tourist destination with fine restaurants and Subscriptions may be purchased online at www.i-wi- numerous, popular events like the Paso Robles Wine Fes- nereview.com Reproduction of the material contained tival, the Zinfandel Festival, Harvest Wine Weekend, and herein, including copying, without written permission the Paderewski Festival. In this report, we review some of is prohibited by law. Media, wine importers, distribu- Paso Robles’ best restaurants in addition to surveying its tors and retailers may use brief portions of this mate- terroir, viticulture, and winemaking. rial in its original form if attributed to the International Wine Review. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, in particular, Jennifer Porter, Executive Director, Chris Taranto, Director of Marketing, and Shannon Brady, Communications Coordinator, for their outstanding support in preparing this issue of the IWR. The Alliance is one of the most professionally run and helpful grower and producer associations we have yet to encounter in our years of wine travel. We also greatly appreciate the in-depth background information on the wine industry in Paso Robles provided by Steve Lohr, Dana Merrill, Kenneth Volk, Gary Eberle, Austin Hope, and other industry leaders. Lastly, we wish to thank all of the growers, vineyard managers, and winemakers, too numerous to mention by name, for their warm welcomes and for the wine tastings and vineyard tours they organized. And a special word of thanks to those who invited us into their homes or treated us to the culinary highlights of Paso’s finest restaurants. We have many fond memories of our visit, thanks to all of you. Mike Potashnik Don Winkler Publisher Editor 2 Paderewski: Composer, Pianist, Diplomat, and Paso A Brief Wine History Robles Winemaker Rheumatism brought composer and The wine history of Paso Robles parallels that of the pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski to European immigrants who displaced the indigenous Paso Robles in 1913 in search of the Chumash and Salinian tribes beginning over 400 years relief offered by its hot springs and ago. The first known vineyards were planted in the late mineral baths. He liked the area well 18th century at Mission San Miguel and at the Asistencia enough to purchase the 2800 acre (an assistant chapel to the San Luis Obispo mission) on Rancho San Ignacio and planted a the Santa Margarita Ranch (south of Atascadero on the vineyard to Zinfandel and Petite Sirah map). Beginning around the mid-19th century, European in 1922, producing (at York Mountain immigrants began planting vineyards and making wine Winery) what the Los Angeles Times in Paso Robles. The first commercially successful winery called one of California’s best ten was established by Andrew York in 1882. His vineyard, wines. Paderewski was a bigger than life, flamboyant now part of the York Mountain AVA (west of Templeton), character who not only made wine in Paso Robles but included Zinfandel, which early on became Paso Robles’ also became the Prime Minister of newly independent benchmark variety. Poland after WWI. Today his vineyard has been replanted, and superb wines are being made from it by Epoch and Saxum. And Paderewski is honored each year by the Paderewski Festival. Read the longer article about Paderewski on our blog. The Modern Era The modern era begins in 1964 when Dr. Stanley Hoff- man, following the advice of UC Davis and the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff, planted his vineyard, located adja- cent to Paderewski’s in the Adelaida Hills, to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. His was the first modern commercial scale winery in Paso Robles, and his wines won national acclaim, attracting other modern day pioneers to the area. While many of the early vineyards were planted in the hills The Paso Robles AVA 1 west of the Salinas River, the 1970s saw the creation of new, large commercial vineyards in the flatter, more eas- Surprisingly, Paso Robles’ first real boom in vineyard plant- ily cultivated terrain east of the river. These included the ing occurred during Prohibition in the early 1920s with the Rancho Tierra Rejada, the Estrella River Vineyard, the Red arrival of several Italian immigrant families. They planted Cedar Vineyard, and the French Camp Vineyard. today’s famous old vine vineyards, including the Benito and Dante Dusi Vineyards and the Pesenti Vineyard, which In addition to these large plantings, numerous small vine- provide the fruit for Paso’s most highly regarded Zinfan- yards have been planted throughout the Paso Robles AVA dels. This era also saw the arrival of diplomat and concert by individuals and families pursuing their dreams. Some of pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski who planted Zinfandel and these investors like Gary Eberle, Charles Munch, Stephan Petite Sirah on his Rancho San Ignacio in the Adelaida Asseo, and Matt Trevisan were seasoned winemakers area located due west of the city of Paso Robles. who wanted a vineyard and winery of their own. Gary Eberle left Estrella in 1982 to focus on his own winery. Charles Munch created Adelaida with Neil Collins (now winemaker at Tablas Creek and owner/winemaker of Lone Madrone) in the early 1980s. Stephan Asseo left the rules and regulations of Bordeaux for L’Aventure. Matt Trevisan started Linne Calodo with Justin Smith after an extended residency under Ken Volk at Wild Horse. But many of the investors were new arrivals from Southern California or Colorado or the Midwest, and a few were immigrants from abroad. Gary Eberle’s 1981 Cabernet Sauvignon became the first to carry the Paso Robles name on its label (our tasting of this wine with Gary showed it’s still a lively, complex wine). As Paso Robles wines garnered acclaim in the popular press, a number of growers, both large and small, de- 3 cided to make and market their own wines. Among larger Rhone Rangers now has 41 members. While still a small growers, Red Cedar Vineyard began its Clayhouse Wines percentage of total vineyard plantings in Paso Robles, in 2003, Steinbeck started producing wines in 2006, the wines made from Rhone varieties are winning critical Dusi Ranch started its J.

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