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.