Paso Robles Wineries - The West Side

Last time, I described the biggest and best known wineries on Paso Robles' East side. Venturing across Highway 101 you enter the western side of Paso. Full of rolling hills, canyons and big slopes, along with having greater coastal influence, this side is dotted with wineries throughout.

But the best place to start is once again along Highway 46. Within this relatively small stretch of 46 West, you'll find a bunch of great options with names you may or may not be familiar with.

One of the biggest and better known wineries is Niner with the picturesque "Heart Hill" visible through the tasting room windows.  The hill is named for the grove of trees on the hillside in the shape of a heart. 

Another larger and better known winery just off 46W is Turley. Larry Turley, formerly with Frog's Leap, sold his half of Frog’s Leap and started Turley Wine Cellars in 1993. This winery makes 28 separate wines from 35 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s.

Other great wineries right along Highway 46W include:

• Tooth & Nail - You can't miss this distinctive castle structure complete with a moat on the former site of Eagle Castle winery

• J Dusi - Run by Janell Dusi, this family’s heritage of grape growing dates back to the early 1920’s

• Peachy Canyon - Founded by Doug and Nancy Beckett in 1988, The Peachy Canyon "Old School House" tasting room is the historic Old Bethel School House (circa 1886)

• Grey Wolf/Barton Family - Joe and Shirlene Barton established Grey Wolf Cellars in 1994. Their son, Joseph, now handles all the wine operation in this family-run business

• Dark Star Cellars - Established in 1994, and named for the CSN tune, this low-key winery produces small lots of premium, handcrafted wines

• Sextant - Established in 2004 by proprietors Nancy and Craig Stoller, the Estate Tasting Room is located in the heart of their winery operations

• Epoch - Located on historic York Mountain, the original winery on this site was established in 1882

• Rotta - One of the original wineries in Paso Robles, this one has history dating back to early 1900s

Along with these wonderful wineries on the west side along 46W there's a bunch more off the highway and back in among the hills and canyons. And we'll get to those next time. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2014 Manzanita Creek Cloud Buster Zinfandel ($10)

Another good one from Sonoma's Manzanita Creek. 

This Cloud Buster is labeled as a Zinfandel varietal as it should be since it is produced with at least 75% Zinfandel (80% to be precise).  But, as is typical, winemakers then blend in other grapes to get their wine just where they want it.  With this one, the winemaker threw everyone in the pool.  The blend includes 6% Merlot, 3.5% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.5% Petite Sirah and the remaining 7% is comprised of Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Syrah, Barbera, Petite Verdot, Carignan and Alicante. Whew! Apparently the Zinfandel needed just a bit of help!

As usual here in the "Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week" feature, this is a nice wine from Sonoma County at a great price point.

Paso Robles Wineries - The East Side

Paso Robles is located along the central coast of California, essentially mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Conveniently, Highway 101 splits Paso Robles wine country into the East Side and the West Side. So, let's focus on visiting wineries on the East Side.

Whether you are traveling to Paso Robles on Highway 101 or entering from I-5, Highway 46E presents several good options for wine tasting.  Along the road, you'll find several larger wineries including Eberle, Vina Robles, and Tobin James. And just off Highway 46E is J. Lohr.  You may have heard of most of these wineries and probably seen their wines in stores.  But, don't let that keep you away from these wineries.  Most of the wines they produce and that are available for tasting are not available in stores. These are lower production wines that are just available at the winery or through their wine clubs.

Eberle winery was founded by Gary Eberle who is one of the original wine makers of Paso Robles in the 1970's.  Gary released his first Eberle wine, the 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon debuting the iconic boar logo, depicting the German origin of the name Eberle, meaning “small boar.” Eberle winery is one of the few wineries where tasting is free and includes a tour of the underground cave, storage facilities and VIP tasting room.  And, you'll often find Gary sitting out in front of the tasting room in the afternoon enjoying a glass of wine.

Across the street from Eberle is Vina Robles. This winery was founded by Hans Nef from Switzerland in the mid-1990s.  It is a beautiful California Mission-style facility with a large and modern tasting room. And, just across the parking lot is the Vina Robles Amphitheater that hosts a summer concert series.

Just off of Highway 46E near Eberle and Vina Robles is J. Lohr winery. While J. Lohr is likely the biggest name winery in Paso Robles due to its wine distribution, you'd never know it when you pull up to their facility.  There are no big signs, no huge fancy facility or other attraction. In fact, from the parking lot, you are not even sure you've made it to the winery. But once you walk up the steps of this farm-style home facility and open the beautiful carved wood door, you'll enter their simple, yet elegant, tasting room. Jerry Lohr opened the winery in the 1980s and to this day, as an 80-year-old, still remains actively involved in ensuring that his winery is producing great wines.

Heading out further east on Highway 46E is Tobin James Cellars. Built by Tobin James in 1993 on the site of an old stagecoach stop, you feel like you are in an old fashion western saloon.  But a broad range of wines are the focus and are poured from behind the grand, antique 1860's Brunswick mahogany bar.

So, that's a quick overview of some of the biggest and well-known names on the East side of Paso Robles wine country.  But, there's so much more. Next time well explore the west side. Until then, Cheers!

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Download a Paso Robles winery map from https://pasowine.com

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2013 Abadia Retuerta Selección Especial ($30)

Abadia Retuerta first started producing wines in Spain in 1996. The winery and surrounding vineyards are on the former site of the 12th century Santa Maria de Retuerta Monastery in Sardón de Duero. This land is just west of "The Golden Mile," a privileged strip of land where some of the most illustrious wineries reside. This relatively new winery has quickly forged a reputation for balancing the legacy of its surrounding, the monastery and its wine with innovative vineyard and winery practices.

This Selectión Especial (Special Selection) wine is a blend of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% of Syrah, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.

Out of the bottle, one might expect a big, full-bodied wine from its dark ruby color and full bouquet. But, true to it Tempranillo base, it has many red fruit flavors such as cherry and strawberry, along with a bit of black fruit flavors of fig and raisin. This is complemented by a touch of leather and tobacco from its 13 months in French and American oak barrels.

This Spanish wine worth seeking out. By the glass or with a meal, its one you will enjoy.

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission:  I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

Paso Robles - Great Wine Country

Having made several trips to wine regions throughout California, the one that keeps me coming back is Paso Robles. Located along the central coast of California, essentially mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco along Route 101, Paso Robles has lots of charm.

In Paso, with somewhere around 300 wineries, you'll find everything from large corporate wineries selling wines to supermarkets across the country to Mom and Pop wineries selling only from tasting rooms attached to their homes, through wine clubs or simply through word-of-mouth.

Highway 101 splits Paso Robles wine country into the East Side and the West Side. The East has more open plains with some low rolling hills. The West is comprised of steeper hills and canyons, winding roads and large trees.

Hot days and cool nights set up Paso Robles for great grape growing. During the summer, daytime temperature hover around 100 F while the nighttime temperatures drop into the upper 50s F.  This contributes to the multitude of grapes being grown.

The white grapes grown in Paso Robles include Marsanne, Rousanne, Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Chardonnay. Red grapes include Pinot Noir, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Counoise, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Malbec.

It seems that most grapes can grow well in Paso Robles, but the Rhône varietals do especially well.  So, you'll be hard-pressed to find a winery that's not doing some Rhône blends. While the classic Rhône blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) is produced extensively, the number of other blends of grapes seems endless.

So, over next few blogs, I'll share what I've learned about wineries and wine tasting in Paso. While a day trip will introduce you to the wine country, it takes days to really explore the depth of what Paso Robles has to offer. Until next time, cheers!