The Paso
Robles AVA (American Viticultural Area) gained recognition thirty two years
ago. Since then, additional areas were included in 1997 and 2009. It has been a
region of great growth, now the third largest in terms of the number of
wineries, and as a center for Rhone varietals, Zinfandel and Cabernet. It was
named Wine Region of 2013 by Wine
Enthusiast magazine. But, is it all really the same AVA or a series of
subsets? It is, after all one of the largest AVAs in the country.
This discussion had been ongoing even before 2007, when
conjunctive labeling was agreed to. More
on that concept in my next posting, about similar sub-AVA ideas in the Santa
Barbara area. A great deal of time and effort was contributed by a small
committee and supported by a representative board group of 59 winemakers and growers. The group
has defined eleven distinct terroir based areas within the north San Luis
Obispo county that make up the Paso Robles AVA and submitted the proposal
through government channels. The final hurdle seems to have been cleared and
would result in allowing labels (when the wine meets the defining rules) to
include more distinct areas within the
AVA. These proposed districts are as follows: San Miguel, Adelaida, PR Estrella,
Geneseo, San Juan Creek, PR Willow Creek, Pomar, Creston, PR Canyon Ranch,
Templeton Gap and Santa Margarita Ranch, including the 2009 addition to the
overall AVA on the south. The York Mountain designation remains as a stand-alone
AVA.
The process requires public comment and 47 supportive
responses were received prior to the January 21, 2014 closing date and a
timeline for implementation has been approved. Considering that it took 18
months to prepare the 1,000 page submission document, this was good news
indeed.
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