RESOURCES (PART II) FOR PLANNING TOURS & TASTINGS ©

Here are more of the sources and descriptions for helping you enjoy the Central Coast mentioned in Part I, a recent post.   

          Central Coast Winegrowers Association (ccwga.org) - Over 200 wineries from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are affiliated with this organization. Primarily an education and best practices innovation resource for vintners and viticulturalists, they do offer some events of public interest. They also promote understanding of the industry and offer seminars of interest to even the hobby wine maker.

            San Luis Obispo Vintners Association (SLOwine.com) - This group promotes what is locally referred to as "south county" (Paso being "north"), and the focus is from Cambria and down the coastal area and inland wineries around SLO and Arroyo Grande. With twenty nine current members - including the Cal Poly wine program's winery - it is a great area for lovers of Pinot Noir. Nearly everyone in the group makes Pinot, as opposed to Paso where higher temperatures limit vineyards that can be used for that variety. Since the hours and availability of public tasting vary, plus the much less dense winery population over a large area, be sure to check the web for making your plans.

            Monterey Vintners & Growers Association (montereywines.org) – Includes 40 members of the approximately 85 wineries in the county. This is a great source of information on the unique aspects of the AVA (and the various subsets) as well as for travel tips for this very popular area. One feature is "Three Perfect Days" a long weekend type of getaway that is pre-planned to maximize all the area has to offer, including great food, a world class aquarium and lots of delicious wines, spas and a wide selection of lodging options.

            S.B. County Vintners Assn (sbcountywine.scom) - There are 111 wineries, some of which double dip into the Paso Robles PRWCA as well. The area is so active, large and diverse that there are subsets in the region, as noted below. It is easy to spend a day or several in such clusters as Lompoc, Santa Ynez or north county for example. A popular weekend getaway location, the region has a wide variety of hotels, spas and restaurants to chose from and a (usually) quick drive from L.A.

            Urban Wine Trail (urbanwinetrail.com) - This is a group of 16 wineries is located in downtown Santa Barbara. They offer a way to do a walking tour of the town while enjoying wines, some of which also have tasting rooms at the actual winery location and others who have production facilities in town.

            Foxen Canyon Wine Trail (foxencanyonwinetrail.com) - This group includes nineteen wineries north of Hwy 246 and east of Hwy 101. I had difficulty in making the mapping feature work, it isn't a map per se but a Map Quest linkage to the listed wineries, showing individual wineries vs. the entire trail. It may be easier to check the site for wineries of interest and then go to their individual web page for details and directions.

Stay tuned for Part III - More regions, outside of but on the way to, the Central Coast and more resources for general wine touring suggestions and information.

Villicana Clarification

I meant to edit the last paragraph of my prior post on the grape based brandy offerings from Villicana. Just to avoid confusion, the idea they have regarding planting rye as a vineyard cover crop would not become a rye based spirit. They are only allowed to make products from grape juice. The rye in this case, as with any botanical products, could only be used as a flavoring ingredient but not used to produce alcohol as is done with rye based whiskey.

My apologies for any confusion.

SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT - WINE GIN!

            Alex Villicana is on to something, or at least 94.9% of something. He and his wife Monica started planting their vineyard in 1996 and after an attempt with Chardonnay, they discovered a truism for much of the Paso Robles area - it was too warm at their site, so they grafted over those vines to Rhone varietals.

As every grower or hopeful winery operator knows, they needed a market for the product. Part of the winemaking process often used in the Rhone is the bleeding off of some juice prior to starting fermentation to aid concentration of flavor. As with many agricultural byproducts, finding a use for that excess juice might be a business opportunity. In Villicana's case, this was a significant part of the yield from his available tonnage. Thus was born Re:Find Distillery.

As we all know, the government loves to regulate things. Alcohol is one of its favorites, putting a "sin" tax and lots of rules along every step of the way from production to consumption. Alex discovered a favorable unintended consequence. Wineries are allowed to make brandy from their grapes, with a controlled level of alcohol. As long as the distilled spirit does not reach 95% alcohol, and it is derived from grapes, it is legally a brandy. an allowed use. So, they pull the neutral result of brandy distillation just short of that mark. This can then be treated and aged for flavoring, as has been done for many years with other fruit infused versions of grape based spirits.

Getting the heart of the ethanol fraction of the total alcohols available means a loss of about 50% of the initial volume of juice. The juice is fermented to about 17% before a first run through the condenser, raising the total alcohol to the 40% vicinity but retains the "heads & tails". Those are the unwanted components such as methanol and acetone that bracket the desired neutral spirit. The final distillation completes that separation.

In this case, the resulting spirit is either bottled as a neutral brandy or is flavored with botanicals, much like gin in terms of the end flavor profile, and is sold as a botanical brandy. Voila! It took several years of development and paperwork that led to a 60 gallon copper still, heated by steam, brought over from Germany. After some trial runs, Villicana found that the larger Rhone grapes, when well ripened gave the taste he liked and produced a soft and pleasing beverage. The unflavored version is much like a triple distilled vodka and carries a trace of the fruit onto the palate.

Alex hopes to see a six hundred case level of production soon and sells the result at the winery or on line at refinddistillery.com or check out their wines at villicanawinery.com. The future may hold a rye based offering, growing his own flavoring botanicals at the winery and experimenting with other flavors in the infusions.

TWO MORE SITES OF INTEREST WITH UPCOMING PARTIES!

            Central Coast Garagistes (garagistefestival.com) - This is not quite the same model as the groups dedicated to marketing tasting rooms, direct to consumer and wine club sales. The Festival is really the only "organized" part of the concept. This is the second year of the event, which takes its name from the Bordeaux term (somewhat like garage bands) in the U.S.) for those making small lots of wine in their sheds or cellars. The event, in its second year is held in Paso Robles and proceeds support the Cal Poly SLO wine program.

The founders estimate there are upwards of 200 garagiste style makers on the central coast. This is defined as less than 1,200 case production but many are much smaller. They point out that about sixty percent of the labels in the area have no tasting room and what sales there are come from mailing lists and word of mouth.

Many of the winemakers are actively working at larger wineries and others are growers who want a little wine of their own. They often have access to space and equipment at local wineries rather than slaving away in a cold shack ala France and produce flavorful, well made small lots of artisanal wine that reflects a personal style, lesser known varietals or special terroir.

The Festival is the only public opportunity to try many of these wines, as well as a chance to meet some talented and interesting folks dedicated to their craft. It will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 10th & 11th with a Grand Tasting ($60 with VIP option) at Windfall Farms. Forty eight garagiste labels will be involved. Go to the web site above for details.     

 Monterey Vintners & Growers Association (montereywines.org) – Includes 40 members of the approximately 85 wineries in the county. This is a great source of information on the unique aspects of the AVA (and the various subsets) as well as for travel tips for this very popular area. One feature is "Three Perfect Days" a long weekend type of getaway that is pre-planned to maximize all the area has to offer, including great food, a world class aquarium and lots of delicious wines, spas and a wide selection of lodging options.

On Saturday, November 10 from 1-4 PM, the champions of Monterey Wine Country will host a “Party in the Hangar” at the Del Monte Aviation Center’s private hangar (at the Monterey Airport) to pour local wines for gourmands and wine lovers who want to experience the essence of this burgeoning California wine region alongside fun, delectable dishes made from locally-sourced ingredients.

A VIP ticket will include early entry, a Riedel tasting glass, and access to an exclusive Bubble Lounge, where Monterey sparkling wines and caviar will be offered. A Sparkling Winemaker Discussion Panel will be hosted by Steve Heimoff, West Coast Editor of Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Party in the Hangar is touted as an opportunity to witness the exceptional quality and flavors from Monterey Wine Country. The MCVGA, whose members represent nine distinct American Viticulture Areas (AVAs) and forty-two winegrape varietals grown throughout the county. For tickets and details see montereywines.org

CORRECTIONS/ADDITIONS TO THE PRIOR POSTING

In the haste to put out some information on the upcoming events, there were a couple of errors and omissions I want to correct.

In the brief comments about the history of some of the 46 East group, it was mentioned that Meridian had recently changed name; the full label is now Cellar 360.

The correct web address for 46 West Wineries  should have been shown as paso46westwineries.com. The following information was accidently omitted in the description of the wineries involved: Seventeen producers make up the marketing group and, while a fairly small percentage of the wineries on the west side, offer a passport tour. Visit seven or fourteen of those in the group, get your passport map stamped and receive one or two tickets to the 46 West neighborhood block party events, held on a regular basis. Most of these vintners are also in the PRWCA, as are the majority of west side wineries and some are also in the Far Out group profiled in an earlier posting.

SOME ADDITIONS TO THE PART ONE LIST

46 East Wineries (pasorobleswinerieseast.com)  - Not a large group of wineries (13) but some large and well known producers are mixed in with some smaller gems that begin just east of Hwy 101 and are easily found right along Hwy 46E or just off it on parallel roads. This was where many of the original vintners and growers began the Paso wine boom. Either planting ranch land to acres of grapes destined for the big brands or starting new wine labels such as Estrella, Eberle and Martin Brothers. Eberle continues successfully, Estrella became Meridian and recently changed to 360, Martin Brothers picked up a partner, failed and its tasting room is now operated by LA based San Antonio, the winery itself is now a Chinese owned operation, focused on exports for distribution in China.

46 West Wineries (46west.com) - Starting about a five minute drive west of Hwy 101 and extending just a few miles to Vineyard Dr., there is a concentration of wineries that easily rival parts of Napa Valley for density. On the main road, Hwy 46, and on side roads to both the north and south, more than four dozen wineries are cheek by jowl.

Back Roads Wineries (backroadswineries.com) - This group includes 25wineries on the east side of Paso Robles, most of which are off the well beaten path of highway 46 and smaller producers than the 46E group. There are some excellent member wineries and on fun and scenic roads to travel. The main group is located north and south of Hwy 46 on side roads, see map on the web site.

Event Notes for these organizations - Friday October 19 is set for the first Taste of the Back Roads event. Fifteen wineries will be pouring, olive oils from the area are also available for tasting and a panel of winemakers will hold a seminar & tasting from 5 to 6PM. Music and food is included and ticket details are available on the above web site.

The 46 East group is sponsoring a motorcycle Poker Run on Oct 27/28 to benefit Zoo To You, an animal education foundation. They will have animal ambassadors in each of the 13 wineries. A game board can be purchased at any winery for a $20 donation. Best Costume awards with additional discounts are part of the fun, so dress in your scary best. More info is on their web site.

PRWCA (details at pasowine.com) will hold its final local event of the year, Harvest Wine Weekend, on Oct 19/20th. There are over 120 events planned with most wineries doing their own food-wine=music parties and wine sales and special tastings are common. An online brochure is available at the web address above.

VINO ROLLS OUT HARVEST 2012 ISSUE AT TASTING

            The wine lifestyle publication VINO , hosted its latest group of Rockstar Winemakers at an issue roll-out and tasting last Friday. The winemakers pouring, and profiled in the harvest edition of the magazine, included; Joey Arnold of Pozo Valley, Lood Kotze from Cass Vineyards, Carmine Rubino and Mike Mooney of D'Anbino and Chateau Margene/Moody Family wineries respectively. Halter Ranch's Kevin Sass and Guillaume Fabre from Clos Solene L'Aventure were also included in the six "rockstars" in the latest issue. The (dare I say) pressing demands of harvest kept them from participating in the tasting but are wineries with which I am familiar. Check out the group on line or in print and plan to add a visit to your next tasting tour of the area.

Without going into a lot of tasting note details, it was a great group of winemakers with vastly different methods of entering the business. Pozo remains a working family cattle ranch and offered a selection of 2006 Zin, Cab and Black Rock blend. It is rare to see that vintage being poured or even for sale in these days of three years and out the door being the standard sales cycle. Yes, Joey told me, "I have the hat and we still have the cattle.

Carmine uses his music production background and that of his nephew/partner John D'Andrea to style his wines with musical references on the labels at D' Anbino. These included Quadrophonic '07, a four wine Bordeaux blend that adds Syrah to the mix and a Syrah, Cab &Petite Syrah combination, Orchestration '07.

Lood (a South African moniker) opened the Cass '09  Flying Nymph, a blend combining Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache. Other recent Rhone bottlings were also sampled and he discussed his formal education in wine and travels throughout the world in perfecting his skills.

Mike Mooney came from a corporate tech sales background and is determined to make a very few thousand cases of really nice Pinot (under the Family label) and Cabernet with the occasional experiment with other varietals just to keep things interesting at Chateau Margene. Meritage and a super Tuscan style are offered as Chateau Margene while Rhone varietals fall under the Moody Family label.

RESOURCES (PART ONE) FOR PLANNING TOURS & TASTINGS

            Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance (pasowine.com) – The PRWCA is the organization  that represents the largest group of wineries in the region. It is a membership group that markets the destination on a national basis and is responsible for several large wine events throughout the year. The web site is very well done and a great tool for those coming to area and locals alike. Tour planning, maps and in depth profiles of wineries are there as well as lodging options and dining recommendations. Details on events and ticketing is also included. There is so much to tell, I'll do a separate posting on the organization soon. When looking at the site, just know that only about 50% of the area wineries are members. There are four other Paso centric subset organizations, shown below.

            Far Out Wineries (faroutwineries.com) - This is a group that promotes nearly 20 wineries on the western fringe of the AVA or along the Adelaida and Peach Canyon roads the connect Paso to Vineyard Rd., the westernmost north-south connector. They offer a brochure specific to the touring of their "out there" neighbors.

            Paso chapter of Rhone Rangers (RhoneRangers.org & email pasorobles@ rhonerangers.org) - Is a state wide organization dedicated to Rhone varietals and Paso Robles is a major grower of the well and lesser known wine grapes they promote. There are over four dozen wineries in the area that focus on these wines and most are members of the local chapter. While many also make wine from non-Rhone types, they are a good resource for those seeking to focus on that style. A tasting pamphlet for the group is available.  

            Pleasant Valley Wine Trail (pleasantvalleywinetrail.com) – Pleasant Valley is in the NE corner of the Paso Robles AVA and is easily reached via San Miguel off Hwy 101. Most are small family operations and some have limited hours of tasting room operations. Check the web site. Currently, there are ten member wineries.

            Union Road Wine Trail (unionroadwinetrail.com) - This small group of wineries is located on a road parallel to E Hwy 46 and offers some quality wines that are often passed by due to the large number of well known wineries on the highway. A dozen wineries are in the group, including a port style producer. Close together, they are a great side trip from the beaten path, mostly small and quiet with sometimes limited hours. The exception is the locally popular and old-west-raucous tasting room at Tobin James, open daily and usually busy with multiple tasting bars.

            Cambria Wine Trail - Likely the shortest set of wineries to comprise a trail, the four wineries involved seem to no longer run a web site. But all are within a couple of blocks of each other in downtown for those enjoying the lovely beach village of Cambria. The individual wineries can be found at Black Hand, Moonstone, Red Poets & Skyhawk Lane.

            Paso Robles Wine Grape Growers Association (pasorobleswinegrapes.com) - This organization is a trade group and the local branch of the International Grape Growers, a viticultural group dedicated to improving the quality of wine grapes and farming practices. They are a good source of information in that field and on current methods in use in the Paso Robles AVA. They do have social events as well and non-members are welcome. These are posted on their web page.

ON THE CALENDAR

Well, it's good to be back and blogging after nearly a month of tech headaches. But, new laptop and operating systems are now up and running and I'm trying to catch up.

Here are some of the big fun events coming up in the next week or two.

            VINO is rolling out the latest edition of its wine lifestyle magazine this Friday (21st) in conjunction with a "Rock Star Winemakers" tasting. Join the juice jockeys from 3 to 5PM at the Niblick Rd. Albertsons in Paso Robles. On hand will be winemakers from Pozo Valley, L'Adventure/Clos Solene, Cass, Chateau Margene, D'Anbino and Halter Ranch. Tastings of recent releases are available for those of legal age, and autographed bottles will be offered for sale. VINO is also developing a web site at www.vinopasorobles.com.

            Savor the Central Coast (www.savorcentralcoast.com), a major annual gathering of wine and food fans, takes place beginning Thursday the 27th and runs through Sunday.  The main location is Santa Margarita Ranch but events include many locations in the region.

Celebrating three years with Sunset Magazine as the title sponsor, the festivities include celeb chefs such as Susan Feniger of Mandalay Bay and Food Network stars Aarti Sequeira from Aarti's Party and Ted Allen from Chopped. The event has an array of events (many of which have sold out), beginning with a gourmet kick off dinner at Hearst Castle on Thursday. The 28th features a variety of small group adventure tours, with some still having openings, plus the international wine competition and grand tasting in Pismo Beach. This includes a dinner (also sold out) but still has room for the reception and after party available.

The Sat/Sun main event, with tickets available for $85 per day or $150 the weekend, provides access to the primary public tasting and associated seminars for a $20 charge from the menu of topics covered. Local residents can check the box when buying tickets and receive a 15% discount for the main event. Check the web site for those listings and various cooking demonstrations and contest style shows. Tickets remain for the Santa Maria BBQ seminar on Saturday (2PM) and the Lamb Jam at 2:30 on Sunday.

One of the still open (50 slots remain as of this writing) events could well be the most fun and a huge value. Known as Paso Glow, it is a wine/beer garden plus Santa Maria style BBQ event with a group of well regarded local chefs from restaurants such as Villa Creek, Thomas Organics, Paso Robles Inn and Artisan, features meats from Harris Ranch and the mobile smokehouse of the Dean Brothers. Grammy award winning recording artists Rio Salinas will provide a Tex-Mex groove for your dancing pleasure. Starting at 6 in the evening, the cost is only $75!

Mary Ann, event marketing guru, suggests you plan early for next year if your favorite event has booked to the max this year! I still see many opportunities remain for a great weekend of Central Coast culture at the main event and a few openings remaining for the Friday adventure tours. These run from 10 to 2 and include lunch with wine.

            Fans of things that fly, including one of the original flying wing concepts, are looking forward to the Warbirds Over Paso airshow (www.ewarbirds.org). Held at the Paso Robles airport's Estrella Warbirds Museum (with co-sponsor Planes of Fame Museum) on Saturday the 29th, gates open at 8AM. Children under 12 and active military with ID are free. The $20 regular admission fee provides access to the car museum and static aircraft display as well as fly-overs and the opportunity to see a variety of WWII fighters and bombers. Some aircraft are offering ride-along opportunities. Food and beverage vendors will be on hand, including a Firestone-Walker beer garden, to sustain all the pilots, vets and those who fly or wish they could.

Technology Vacation

Over a period of a few days a week or so ago, both my laptop and desktop computers had a meltdown. My laptop contained most of my draft postings and research on the subjects. So - I'll be back with you as soon as I buy a new box and attempt to offload files from the toasted machines. Hope to see you back here soon.

Hospice du Rhone Plans New Venue

After twenty years of meeting in the Rhone varietal rich Central Coast town of Paso Robles, the organizers of the Hospice announced that they are taking the event to Tennessee in 2013. This event had brought about 1,000 lovers of Syrah, Grenache, Viognier and other Rhone wine grapes to the region for seminars and tastings, detailed in a blog posted prior to the event earlier this spring. The three day event was a sell out this year. It brought together makers and fans of wine based on the twenty two varietals grown in the Rhone Valley, and included representative of the world-wide regions growing them.

The announcement was via email with a copy posted on the event’s web site and signed by John Alban, the winemaker who convinced Matt Garretson to move his fledgling Viognier event to the Central Coast two decades ago. Vicki Carroll, the director of Hospice also signed the letter, which laid out plans for moving the event to more outreach and education in other parts of the country. It appears the hub will be Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, well regarded for its lodging and food & wine programs including Hospice seminars for small groups over the past few years.

I may understand the decision from a marketing standpoint but have mixed feelings about the abandonment of the Rhone-ish capital of California. That may not be the case as the announcement does not say that the new concept would exclude the Central Coast. I hope not. It allowed the attendees to actually visit many wineries producing they style and kept the logistics fairly simple for the many small producers involved. Another plus is the lure of the area as a general travel destination. Those who came for the event (many from overseas) could easily justify the three days with extending their stay and having a long list of things to enjoy with all that the state offers between San Francisco and LA.

It may also prove a smart move to take a more evangelistic approach to spreading word of Rhone varietals. Despite our local fervor for the grape varieties of that region, even fairly knowledgeable wine drinkers can seldom name a half dozen of the wine grapes grown in the Rhone Valley. One thing that hurts moving the production is a lack of distribution. Increasingly consolidated over the past couple of decades, few of those who make less than 25,000 cases of wine are of interest to those who fill shelves in the major markets. That volume describes most of the winemakers who are dedicated to the purpose of HdR and since they can’t get the ear of the distributors, there is a lack of proselytizing on behalf of their product.

Wholesale reps are paid to move cases not spin tales of a tiny winery with a great $40 Syrah blend, of which they have only two cases and contains a couple of grapes unfamiliar to the buyer. It is often the other way around; good sommeliers and savvy wine focused retailers ask about the wines from places they’ve been or read about. Many are not available in their market, generally due to financial and logistic realities. It is also true that many wineries offering Rhone style wine have found it is just easier to blend something with Cabernet or Zinfandel to make it easier for the consumer to relate. Sales are easier if they can say, “This is our Cabernet blend with Grenache”, even if the ratio is 10 to 90%. In any case, it was a pretty good run for twenty years and I wish Hospice the best in taking the word to the street. I remain hopeful that now and then that will continue to be Spring Street, Paso Robles, CA.

You may wish to see Fred Swan’s take on this and an interview with the HdR director at NorCalWine.com

Paso Wine Fest Posts Successful Numbers

The Paso Robles Wine Alliance, a group of nearly 150 of the wineries in the area, reports that the 30^th version of the event was one of the best ever. Great weather and some tweaks to the main tasting event combined for ticket sales of 4,500. A “thirty years – thirty dollar” ticket to the afternoon tasting in the city park was provided for advanced sales to local residents. The idea was well received and accounted for about 25% of advanced sales with 500 people making a last minute choice and buying same day ducats.

PRWA stated that the combination of profits from ticket sales and the auction of wines in conjunction with the winemakers’ dinner on opening night provided over $30K to be used for their support of local causes. Attendees were pleased that despite larger numbers, access to the tasting tables and other vendors was better than in past years. In part this was due to a drop in the number of wineries pouring but few could successfully absorb the sixty that were available anyway. Lessons learned from prior events in how to handle the crowd, parking, food service and the like also helped. It made for a great overall experience.

FESTIVE TIMES IN ATASCADERO

If you’re looking for some Central Coast fun the weekend of June 22, the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival may be just the ticket. Technically, the kickoff event will be on the evening of Wednesday the 20^th with a showing of Gigi at the Performing Arts Center. On Friday the Mayor and Kiwanis host a winemaker’s dinner, featuring nearly three dozen local wineries and benefiting city and Kiwanis Club services. The social hour/tasting will begin at five that evening. Both live and silent auctions will be part of the evening. Dinner is served at 6:30 with tickets costing $75 per person or a table for six at $425. Proceeds will aid in completing the bandstand at the lake, community services and youth scholarships.

Saturday morning a golf outing benefitting The Link Resource Center will tee off at 8:30 and held at the Chalk Mountain course. The Link aids families and youth in the area. Lunch is included in the package, priced at $420 for a group of four or $250 for two which includes tickets to the festival. Those not able to attend the festival can purchase tourney tickets at a reduced rate. Details are given from the festival home page noted below.

The afternoon’s main event will run from 4 to 8 at Atascadero Lake Park and provide food from at least ten local chefs in addition to as many as 80 wineries pouring for your tasting pleasure. Art from a variety of mediums and styles will also be shown at the event. The Charles Paddock Zoo and community projects will be beneficiaries of ticket sales. The cost is $50 and a link to ticket information is on the atascaderowinefestival.org home page. Save $5 if you purchase by June 10^th.

AS PROMISED – MORE WINNERS

A few postings back, I promised to provide more of the major Central Coast award winners at the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle wine judging.  I explain the format there (wines are judged in price point groups), which you can review and allows me to simplify this version, starting with the low end prices and go up the scale. I’ll deal with Zinfandel and Syrah/Rhone Blends in this version. A full listing of winners can be seen at winejudging.com. A disclaimer is needed here. While this is a ginormous event and has a quality (and large in number) panel of tasters doing the judging, it is not the final word. The format allows for comparison across price points to determine best of class but that is limited to those who are actually in the running. When it comes to the lesser award winners, the process could lead to some confusion as to relative value.

Also, many producers of highly regarded wines don’t participate in major tastings for a variety of reasons; they only due direct purchase and have a waiting list, they sell direct to consumer only or have very little wine due to limited production. It can also be expensive and a bit of a paperwork exercise to submit multiple samples of each wine, fill out the needed details and pay for shipping. There is also the fear of getting a buzz kill award. Meaning if you win less than a gold medal, they don’t even send a medal and there may be more than two dozen wines in your price group that beat you, so how does that work for you. This phenomenon is true of other awards, such as Wine Spectator/Enthusiast rankings. If you are a highly respected winery and selling in the over $35 price point, receiving an 85 when your competitors are scoring in the low 90s it is considered a kiss of death. Plus, if you make a barrel each of only three vineyard designated wines it can be hard to justify.

Thus, while the major award winners can be relied upon as solid efforts, this tasting is much like other large judging events or various wine newsletters or writers opinions. In the end, you decide the value what you drink and there is a bit of buyer beware involved in using professional opinions. If you trade with a quality wine shop and discuss what you’ve liked in the past, the staff may be as reliable as any source in pointing you in the right direction.

So, as promised here are more of the major awards presented to Central Coast wineries in various red wine categories.

For Zinfandel, De Paola Vineyard took a Best of Class ($25 - 30) with the ’08 “Emilio” from Arroyo Grande Valley and Paso Robles’ Peachy Canyon a Double Gold ($30-35) with its ’09 Vortex offering. Gold was awarded to (by increasing sale price from under $20 to over $50) Paso Creek ’09, Paso Robles (confusingly, this label uses Sonoma for copyright information and has no tasting room but produces 25,000 cases of wine from 350 acres on the east side of Paso) and 4 Vines ’09 “Biker”, Paso Robles – the winery has undergone business changes and the label may not be continued but some excellent deals can be found in Paso grocery stores on the remaining inventory of the brand. Soquel Vineyards (Santa Cruz area) also took a Gold with grapes sourced from Paso Robles’ Blazing Hill Vineyards and estate grapes from Pasos’ Dauo Vineyards ‘09 and Arroyo Grande Valley’s Saucelito Canyon ’09 “1880 Estate” did as well.

The Syrah/Shiraz competition saw a Best of Class ($20-25) go to the Castoro ’09 Paso Robles Reserve, and Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards received a Double Gold ($25-30) for its Santa Ynez Valley ’08 version. Gold medals by increasing price went to J. Lohr ’09 South Ridge, Paso Robles, Eberle’s “Steinbeck” ’09 also from Paso, where Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery also makes wine under its own label. Paso grapes were also a winner for Vines on the Marycrest ’09, Caliza Winery and Nova Vita (Veris Cellars) ’09 efforts along with Zaca Mesa’s ’08 Mesa Reserve from Santa Ynez Valley.

Phantom Rivers Winery took a Gold in the Grenache (20% Tempranillo) group with its Santa Barbara County grown Hi Vineyard ’09. Paso Robles’ Eagle Castle Winery won a Best of Class ($20+) with its Paso Robles ’08 Petite Sirah. The same region produced a Double Gold award for Two Brothers Vineyard’s estate ’09, Paso Robles and Gold for Imagery (a Glen Ellen, Sonoma winery) ’08 made with Paso grapes and for Carruth Cellars ’09 Solaa Farms, Paso Robles from this variety.

Rhone blends were split into under or over $20 groups with two Double Gold winners in the lower price range coming from the Central Coast. Those went to Hearst Ranch for the Paso Robles ’08 Three Sisters Cuvee and Vina Robles ’09 Estate “Red 4”.

Four wineries in the under $20 and seven in the over group were winners of Gold ratings. These included Broken Earth “Quadrant” ’10, Paso Robles, Monterey County’s Hahn Winery ’10, Central Coast, Sycamore Family Estate’s ’09 Arroyo Seco (Monterey) “GSP” and Troublemaker by Austin Hope NV “Blend 3” from Paso.  A 2010 Cinsault from Santa Barbara County’s Alapay Cellars, Pasos’ Anglim Winery’s ’07 “Cerise” (5 grape blend), Ecluse Wines ’09 “Rendition” and Lone Madrone’s ’08 Glenrose/Heaton “Enigma”, both from Paso Robles, were all in the upper group Gold winners. From Santa Barbara County, Fess Parker also was in that group with its ’08 “The Big Easy” blend, as was Zaca Mesa’s ’08 Santa Ynez Valley “Z Cuvee” and Minassian-Young Vineyards ’09 “Cuvee de Paso” with grapes sourced from Paso Robles winery/grower Halter Ranch.

The Central Coast, especially the Paso Robles AVA is also producing a great deal of Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends along with Rhone/Cab combinations. The region had good success in this area as well as can be seen on the competition web site. Another very strong showing was seen in the Silver award section of Rhone blends, indicative of what a great region for this style of wine produces. While noting I wouldn’t go that deep into the winners in this blog, I do want to give a shout out to my Kiwi friend Martin (pron: Mah’tn) Croad of Croad Vineyards in Paso for receiving  Silver awards for his over $20 blends, the ’08 estate grown Towhenua Pure and Kavakia Pure bottlings.

Caring Community Contributes To Cancer Cause

The Paso Robles area Relay For Life, benefitting the American Cancer Society, takes place in late June but participating team Vino Vice organized its third annual fund raising kickoff event. The team comes from the event security company of the same name, founded by former LA Sheriffs officer Jim Davis. The Wine-Cheese & Chocolate theme drew a large supportive crowd to the lawn at Vino Robles winery on a perfect spring afternoon. Entertainment, auctions and a raffle added to the experience and there were offerings from over thirty local wineries to be sampled.

I’ve been to a large number of tasting events and many of them take on some less than pleasant aspects, especially as the fight for position at the table and the increasing degree of lubrication grows. Those, in the main, were marketing events and attendees often had no real connection other than liking to drink wine. While it is fair to say that the wineries who generously donated (100% of the proceeds go to ACS and the team has been the largest contributor for the past two years) both wine and time to the event hope those attending think of their product in future purchasing decisions, there was a much different vibe.

What set the tone as I met the team and tried to take time to introduce myself and this blog, as well as thank the representatives for their support of the event, was the sense of connection to something bigger. When I asked why they chose to donate to this particular fundraiser, those I spoke with were universal in speaking of a personal experience with the disease; they were survivors in some cases and others mentioned family and friends who had contracted and not always lived through cancer. They believed in finding a cure because of that personal exposure.

The other constant theme was that of Paso Robles being a small town that, despite recent growth and various civic problems that go with that, was still a community where people strongly believed in giving back and adding some glue to that sense of community. That was evidenced by many of those manning the sponsoring tables. Saturdays are busy for tasting rooms and often have a small (if not just family) staffing. This leaves nobody to do these events. But friends and neighbors came forward and donated their time to help out. With enough space and tables to visit, the whole atmosphere was relaxed and allowed for time to speak with the sponsors as well as fellow participants. More like a social event among friends, it was an outstanding display of commitment to both the cause and the area in which they choose to live and support. Not only wineries but many local retailers, grocers and small business contributed to the cause. For a full listing of those who donated their products go to the vinovice.com site.

No Shortage of Worthy Causes & Fun Events

Vina Robles winery is the sight of a fund raiser benefiting Relay For Life, being held this Saturday, May 5, from 2 to 6 PM. Jim Davis, former LA sheriff tuned Paso Robles olive grower and the relay team from his event security company, Vino Vice organized the event. The actual relay is a few weeks away but this is a kick off in support of the RFL charity that provides funds for the American Cancer Society. The cost is $30 and features 30 wineries as well as cheeses and chocolate as well as music and auctions. Everything needed for the event is donated, allowing all the proceeds to be donated to the cause, so a big THANK YOU to all involved. Tickets available at the Chamber of Commerce or email norma@vinovice.com for more information.

The Wine Experiencia takes place at Mission San Miguel (missionsanmiguel.org) from 2 to 6 PM on Cinco de Mayo as well. Featuring many local wineries (some not generally open to the public) restaurants and food vendors, art and entertainment. The cost is $40 in advance or $45 at the door. Funds raised will aid the ongoing ($14MM) efforts of the mission in renovating the popular attraction, repairing damage from the 2003 earthquake as well as bringing the structure up to current standards. This is the second year for the event and includes the release of a mission labeled “Saint Claire” Sauvignon Blanc made by Locatelli winery. It will also be a sort of bon voyage for Father Larry who was instrumental in starting the concept and has recently been told he’ll be moving to another mission in the state. Best wishes in his new position.

The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance will hold its 30^th anniversary Wine Festival the weekend of May 18^th. Tasting in the downtown part, dinners and an auction are offered in various ticket packages. With over 140 participating wineries, there is something for just about everybody, with many tasting rooms doing special events and plenty of music to be found. Details on what is happening where are available in booklet form at most wineries or go to pasowine.com for more information and how to obtain tickets. The local Rotary also runs a golf tourney in conjunction with the Wine Fest, held at Hunter Ranch and starting at 8:30 on Friday the 18^th. Details are at pasoroblesrotary.org/WineFestivalClassic.cfm.

THIS JUST IN!

Your vinewright just got the new issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine and it was chock full of good stuff. Several items of special interest to Central Coasters (and fans thereof) were included. First was a review of the Class of ’72, early players in the yet-to-bloom California wine resurgence. Among the alums of the 40^th reunion class was Jerry Lohr who planted his original vineyard in Arroyo Seco that year. Other powerhouse wineries that were founded or provided first offerings in 1972 included Chardonnay specialist Sonoma-Cutrer (Brice Jones), Cabernet stars to be Silver Oak (Ray Duncan) and the (Tom & Sally) Jordan, as well as Caymus (Chuck Wagner), Clos du Bois (Bernard Portet) and Warren Winiarski (Stag’s Leap Vineyard). Pinot and Carneros region pioneer David Stare and distributor/Rutherford Hill owner Anthony Terlato were also noted alums profiled. There was a lot of class in the Class of ’72.

Turning a few pages, there were the results of the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition which is proudly the largest competition of American wines. If you’d like to see the very long and detailed list of winners, go to winejudging.com. Of interest to this blog theme were some of the Best of Class (type by price) winners from the Central Coast. These included 2010 chardonnay offerings from Cupcake (Central Coast), Francis Coppola “Diamond” (Monterey), Chamisal (Central Coast) stainless and Rock Wall (Santa Lucia Highlands). Kendall-Jackson won with a Monterey County Vintner’s Reserve Riesling for the class of the varietal with more than 1.5% residual sugar. The over $50 Pinot Noir group kudos went to Wild Horse (Santa Maria) for the 2008 Cheval Sauvage. The Jan Kris label of Veris Cellars (Paso Robles) won the Sangiovese class with the 2009 “Riatta” blend.

In the $10-14.99 range of 2010 Chardonnay, Donati (Central Coast), Noble Vines (Monterey) and Vinifera (Paso Robles) were Gold Medal winners. In the $15-19.99 group, Joel Gott (Monterey) received a Double Gold and Angeline (Santa Barbara County) a Gold. At the $20-24.99 level Gold was awarded to Hahn SLH Estate (Santa Lucia Highlands), Surfrider (San Luis Obispo County) and William James ’09 (Santa Barbara County). At the group at $5 more were the 2009 offerings from Hearst Ranch (Santa Lucia Highlands) and Huber Cellars Estate (Santa Rita Hills). At $30-34.99, the ‘09s from Alapay Cellars (Central Coast) and Wrath “Fermata” (Monterey) both received Double Gold ratings.

Sea Glass 2010 and Main Street 2009 (both Santa Barbara County) Pinot Noir won Gold in the under $19.99 group. Up to $24.99, Paraiso Vineyards ’09 Estate took Double Gold with CRU (Monterey) getting a Gold award. Hahn SLH Estate ‘10 and Sonnet ‘09 “Tondre Vineyard” (both Santa Lucia Highlands) took Gold along with Scheid ’09 Estate (Monterey County). Double Gold also went to Mendelson Vineyards ’08 Doctor’s Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands) with the 2009 given Gold as was Kelsey See Canyon ’09 “Laetitia” (Arroyo Grande Valley) and the “Unbridled ’09 from Wild Horse (Santa Barbara County). Going to the $40-$49.99 set sees Flying Goat Cellars ’09 “Rancho Santa Rosa” (Santa Rita Hills) and grapes sourced from Gary’s Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands) in ‘07 by Truckee River Winery receiving Double Gold status and taking Gold for the same offering from ’08. Alapay’s 2010 “Bien Nacido” (Santa Maria Valley), DiFronzo ’09 Estate (Arroyo Grande Valley), Sanford ’09 (Santa Rita Hills), Tondre ’09 (Santa Lucia Highlands), Topei ‘09 (Monterey) and Vision Cellars ’08 (Santa Lucia Highlands) were Gold Medal winners.

In the top range of $50+, Pinot from the Central Coast took not only Best of Class but 30% (four of twelve) of the Gold Medals awarded. These include Carmel Hill 2010 (Carmel Valley), Fess Parker ’09 (Santa Barbara County), Pacific Coast Vineyards ’08 (Santa Rita Hills and Sanford ’09”Sanford & Benedict Vineyard” (Santa Barbara County).

This is a great showing for the wineries of the Central Coast and many more medals were given in the Silver or Bronze categories. This posting was reaching critical mass so I’ll go back to the winners in the Syrah and Zin competition soon as well as reporting on the annual restaurant survey of wines and pricing trends at dining establishments throughout the US.

A little more insight into Hospice:

From part of aWine Spectator, Aug 31, ’02 – “Dream Weavers” article by James Laube

The article was about the 10^th anniversary of what had become Hospice du Rhone and is about hold the twentieth version of that event. Beginning with an idea called the Viognier’s Guild, twenty eight people attended the original event, held in Georgia and hosted by Mat Garretson. There were more viogniers to taste than there were attendees but one of them was John Alban. He convinced Garretson to move the event to his Edna Valley winery near Paso Robles, CA and include Rhone style wines from anywhere they were made. Some well respected producers took part and attendance grew to one hundred fifty.

Now a decade old, the event had grown from a one day event to a three day weekend of all things Rhone-ish and offered the over 3,000 people who came more than one hundred fifty wines from a half dozen countries.  Laube noted that, “Overnight, the city of Paso Robles, a sleepy cowboy-town midway between LA and San Francisco, is transformed into an international mecca of Rhone-wine fanatics.”

This coming weekend, the 20^th anniversary of Hospice du Rhone (all one word .com for details) runs April 26-28 and lists around 150 wineries and export companies pouring wine. The full weekend pass ($795) allows access to tastings, seminars and events on Friday & Saturday and includes three meals each day from selected wine country caterers and restaurants. A tasting event focused on large bottle formats will feature food from Tennessee’s famous Blackberry Farm. Thursday’s events are all about Chateauneuf du Pape, offered ala carte or as a package ($395) but have already sold out. Lunches, tastings/auction and the individual seminars are also offered separately from the package but are space available options. The main venue for the events is the Paso Robles Events Center which locals refer to as the Fair Grounds, on the north end of town between Spring St. & Hwy 101. Lodging is at your own option, with a couple of the best known hotels within walking distance and many choices within fifteen minutes drive time. There are also a number of small B&B operations, many at wineries, and rarely more than thirty minutes from the main venue. Check www.pasowine.com for places to stay.