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Paso Robles Wine AdventureSaturday, January 21, 2006We ran across an article at Holister FreeLance about a recent wine tasting road trip to Paso Robles. Highlights are shared below. The entire article can be read here.The writer shares, Paso Robles is the fastest-growing wine region in California. Although the area has been growing grapes since 1797, its burst of prominence and growth has taken place in the last 30 years. There are more than 100 wineries that currently call Paso Robles home, with more than 25,000 acres of vineyards planted. Boutique wineries that only produce a few thousand cases a year to big names like Bonny Doon, Meridian and J. Lohr can all be found in Paso Robles. The Paso Robles appellation has different micro-climates and various soil types that help create optimal growing conditions for premium wine production. You can find more than 25 wine varieties in this area alone. The grape variety that is most popular has to be zinfandel. Other grape varieties grown are marsanne, roussanne, viognier, grenache blanc, mourvedre, counoise and cinsault. I had not even heard of some of these. Most of these wineries have huge wine club memberships. Tobin James Cellars claims to have the largest wine club in the world, with 13,500 members. Their membership is so immense that almost 90 percent of what they produce is reserved for those members. One of the 9 wineries visited was Stephan Vineyards. Stephan Asseo, a French ex-patriarch, discovered the Paso Robles region to be perfect for producing his Bordeaux/Rhone style blends. The company's moniker is "where Bordeaux meets the Rhone." Similar to the Australian wine company Penfolds, the L'Aventure Optimus line from Stephan Vineyards does a very good job of melding syrah, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel together to create a masterpiece. The winemaker does not let the high alcohol content (15-17 percent) overwhelm the wine. This was a solid wine but a bit overpriced at $45. Other favorites included a white table wine from Halter Ranch called Ranch White. It combines viognier, marsanne, roussanne and sauvignon blanc to produce a fragrant wine that is less than $12. Tablas Creek's 2004 grenache blanc ($21) has lemon, licorice and caramel aromas and a finish that lingers perfectly on the palate. Paso Robles is a quick jaunt down Highway 101, a little more than two hours drive. For comparison, the Napa and Sonoma regions are about the same distance away from Gilroy. Our trip was not during the peak season, but at only one winery did we have to wait to be served. If you want to avoid huge crowds and traffic, Paso Robles is a good option. |
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