CHANGES COMING TO HISTORIC PROPERTY ©

The wines of  historic Hoffman Mountain Ranch (HMR) vineyards were the first commercial offering from the Paso Robles area. It was developed from a 1,200 acre walnut ranch purchased by well known Beverly Hills cardiologist Dr. Stanley Hoffman in 1965. Planted to 120 acres of Burgundian (and other) varietals and with Andre' Tchelistcheff as his consultant, wines were first offered in 1972. Hoffman's two sons had been mentored and formally trained and were responsible for the vineyards and production, which grew to 400,000 cases by 1982 - this would still be sizeable for local wineries. The vineyard portion of the HMR property grew to include 419 planted acres.

About the only other Paso Robles exposure to the mainstream market at that time was a Zinfandel made by Ridge but sourced from the Dusi ranch near Paso, beginning in 1967. Even three decades after the initial Hoffman release, there were only 65 wineries in the area. In the next ten years, that number neared five times as many!

In the early days of vineyard expansion, the planting concentrated on the east side of town, where rolling land was easier to plant in quantity and more easily adapted to mechanical harvesting techniques. But Hoffman had picked his hilly site in the west side hills because of the limestone found in the soil. He enjoyed wines from Burgundy and believed that to be a basis for good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. His versions of those wines found favor with critics, and others began to plant in the hills with the idea of being estate wineries rather than grape growers. Even in 2002, about 60% of the grapes grown in the Paso Robles area were shipped to large production facilities, a trend which is still strong but infused with many smaller operations making small lots of award winning wines.

Unfortunately, HMR is not among them. In 1976 an actual winery (vs. a make-do facility initially used) was built on the ranch. But, Paso Robles was not really on the wine radar nor Pinot Noir the varietal getting market share in those Cabernet/Chardonnay, Napa-centric days. HMR was not able to compete with that market focus. With so few wineries on the Central Coast at that time, the logistics of distribution was also a likely hurdle to sales and the operation shut down in the 80’s. The original ranch was parceled out to various owners over time.

 The actual HMR vineyard fell into a sad state over about ten years of neglect.  In 1994 it was purchased by a neighboring property, Adelaida Cellars, which primarily produced cabernet. The HMR vineyard was rescued and an estate bottling of Pinot Noir now bears that designated (and trademarked) label. The nearby site of the old winery was not included in the vineyard purchase and was most recently operated as Twilight Cellars. That parcel bordered the Daou Vineyards which recently acquired 200 acres of land related to that site, along with the winery & tasting room. They plan to develop that land and plant it to primarily Cabernet Sauvignon for the Bordeaux style blends for which they are best known. Meanwhile, Adelaida is planning to develop 23 acres of their "Surf Song" block to enable expansion of their current offerings. It is good to see such a landmark name and pioneer vineyard owner continues to have a place in Paso.

RESOURCES (PART III) FOR PLANNING TOURS & TASTINGS ©

Pacific Coast Wine Trail (pacificcoastwinetrail.com) - This group represents a rebirth of a small group of wineries near Cambria, on the Hwy. 1 coast, thirty miles north of San Luis Obispo. I previously referred (first part of this series, Sept. 24, 2012) to what was once called the Cambria Wine Trail appearing to have gone away. But it has come back as a group of six wineries that grow and purchase a wide variety of grapes from the Paso Robles and Monterey areas. Some of the offerings include Tempranillo and Albarino along with Rhone varietals and Cabernet plus Chardonnay and Zinfandel. The tasting rooms begin on the south at Harmony Cellars neat the junction of Highways 1 and 46W, continue into the village of Cambria with Blackhawk and Moonstone Cellars, the new Stolo Family Vineyards, Twin Coyote Winery and ends with Hearst Ranch Winery.

There are several wineries in San Benito County but no active marketing group. Some can be found by a search for San Benito Wineries but a good general search tool for the various regions in California, including this area is found at cheers2wine.com .

Santa Cruz (santacruz.winecountry.com & scmwa.com) - Most of the actual wineries in Monterey County are actually south of Monterey, along the San Lucia range. Even though Santa Cruz is on the north side of Monterey Bay, the wineries are in the mountains north of the town. Therefore the clusters of wineries are more than an hour from one another. So, I struggle a bit in considering it part of my Central Coast focus. Yet there are some excellent wines there and if you are coming from San Francisco, it can be worth a side trip to some of the tasting rooms. I'd also suggest looping up to the 380/280 (if from SFO) south on the 1 to Pacifica and on to Half Moon Bay. There you can take Hwy. 92 back east to the 280 or take the scenic and winery friendly Skyline route (Hwy. 35) which offers several options. One being going through Saratoga to Los Gatos and Hwy. 17 into Santa Cruz and then Hwy. 1 toward Monterey along the bay. A very scenic drive will be your reward.

The first web site shown is an offshoot of Wine Country Magazines, these being regional in nature and noted below. The second site listed has over eighty members with links to each. Both sites offer general touring information on things to do and places to enjoy in the area.

          Santa Clara (santaclarawines.com) - What was once open farm land and orchards, most of the county has been covered up by progress, in the guise of San Jose. There are twenty two tasting rooms in this group, which is centered on the Hwy. 101 corridor from San Jose to Gilroy. Locations include Saratoga, Watsonville and Morgan Hill. There are some fine options that work well for the mostly travelling but tasting prone folks using this major pathway to or from the Bay Area.

          Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association (lvwine.org ) - Not so many years ago, the gravelly hillsides around Livermore was open land, best known for the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and a growing bedroom community for the cities on the east side of San Francisco Bay. Forty wineries are involved with the association and there are more than fifty wineries in the AVA, which was officially recognized in 1982. For some time, since the 1880s when Wente, Concannon and Wetmore built wineries in the area, the first two (who survived Prohibition) were about the only know producers. Livermore wineries led the trend to varietal labeling of wines and in experimenting with less well known wine grapes. It is said that over three quarters of all the chardonnay grown in California traces its roots back to the Wente clone, originally planted in Livermore.

          Contra Costa  County - Tucked behind the east bay hills and north of Livermore is an area that was not well known as a source of good wine until recently. There is no official organization but the source wine-searcher.com lists four actual wineries in the area and there are many growers in the region. Details on the wineries can be found on the web site listed.

          Ventura County Winery Association (vcwines.org) - Many people only know about Ventura from a song that said a highway went there. But the association lists six members and there is also a  Ventura wine trail .com) with seventeen wineries listed. It includes Malibu to Ojai in that group but is a good source for other tourist needs such as hotels and dining.

          Malibu (malibuwineries.com) - While the beach colony and celeb lifestyle gets most of the attention, there is a large amount of lightly settled land in the hills and canyons above the beach. Most of the Santa Monica Mountains are federal lands but tucked away are several fairly new wineries. If your plans to visit the Central Coast include landing in L.A. consider that it is sometimes faster to take the "PCH" (Pacific Coast Highway - Hwy 1) to connect to Hwy. 101 in Oxnard, about 1/2 hour SE of Santa Barbara. Hwy. 1 actually borders LAX on the east but includes a lot of city surface driving of little interest. Get the 405 (Californians refer to many roads as the "the"), then west to Santa Monica on the 10 and north on the PCH. Doing this offers the chance to check out Malibu, including wineries and some excellent places to eat and comes back onto the 101 close to Ventura (above) and the many labels worth a stop in Santa Barbara.           

Resources and Guides  - Nearly every association offers newsletters, email blasts and on-line or by mail brochures. There are also various monthly or quarterly tourism based publications, some of the best know are listed below.       

            A good option for general information, especially for lesser known areas or wineries that don't work within an association is Californiawineryadvisor.com as is calwineries.com.

            Central Coast Food Tours (centralcoastfoodtours.com) - An interesting foodie concept that you may wish to utilize.

            Wine Country This Month, (winecountry.com) a magazine available in many tasting rooms, also provides an excellent source for maps in a larger format than some area brochures. It covers the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County wineries and offers a monthly e-letter at www.winecountrythismonth.com. Discount coupons for tastings and product are a nice feature. Different wineries (due to advertising basis vs. organization membership) are provided on these maps. Though there is a lot of overlap, wineries that use the magazine may not belong to the larger regional marketing groups. A recent edition, for example, showed about forty fewer PRWCA wineries that were listed in that association's guide but included an equal number of wineries in the AVA that were not members of that group nor on their brochure map. This can be helpful in locating wineries you may be looking for or make for a geographically easier group of visits.

            Visit Paso Robles (visitpaso.com) - The Chamber of Commerce visitors guide and travel planner covers many of the usual food, wine and lodging (many B&B) options but also branches out to farm stand and equestrian suggestions,  spas/salons & family fun ideas. Relocation help is also featured along with a wide ranging annual calendar of events.

            VINO  (vinopasorobles.com) - Fairly new on the scene and five issues under their belt, this is a seasonally (1/4ly) published magazine addressing wine and the associated lifestyle. Paso area events are covered, winery listings and a well done map are included. Other articles feature local chefs, dining options and profiles of those in fields related to the main theme. For example, a piece on an artisan vinegar producer is in the current issue.

            SLO Visitors Guide (slovisitorsguide.com) -  A quarterly magazine format publication focused on all the SLO County, going town by town. That includes the Paso Robles AVA south through the San Luis Obispo wine region as well as coastal wineries. The format offers a more  general overview of wine touring, lodging, restaurants, local attractions and events than wine association brochures. It is in wide distribution in hotels and many wineries.

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.