Paso Robles – California’s Fastest Growing Wine Region
Story and
photo by Alan Boehmer
Family Winemakers of California
Public Tasting, August 2006
Just a couple decades ago Paso Robles was viewed as a rural cow town with little culture to sustain tourism. Residents always knew there was a quiet agenda lurking beneath the visible surface. As early as 1882 Andrew York planted vineyards on his 240 acre ranch in the hills west of Paso Robles and in the 1920s Ignaz Paderewski, former Prime Minister of Poland and internationally renowned concert pianist, planted a vineyard nearby and made wine in York’s facility.
The historic wine growing heart of the Paso Robles AVA (American Viticultural Area, also known as appellation) began to break through the languid cowboy façade of the region about ten years ago, when international investors and deep pocket Americans began building new upscale wineries, devoted to making the best wine the region was capable of producing.
Up till the 1980s Andersen’s of pea soup fame was offering a Traveler’s Special, consisting of Danish breads, pea soup, and a glass of Zinfandel Rosé made by Pesenti in Templeton, just south of Paso Robles. But the wine industry of Paso Robles was in its ascendancy. In the 1980s there were less than 50 bonded wineries in San Luis Obispo County. Today there are over a hundred in the Paso Robles AVA alone.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. remarked in the June 30, 2005 issue of the Wine Advocate, “there is no question that a decade from now, the top viticultural areas of Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills and the limestone hillsides west of Paso Robles will be as wellknown as the glamorous vineyards of Napa Valley.” Today the glamorous vineyards of Paso Robles are providing one of California’s most attractive wine touring venues, complete with opulent inns, villas, and B&Bs; superb restaurants, and one of the most scenic vineyard regions in the entire state.
Paso Robles Zinfandels,
once considered second to those of Sonoma
County, are now thought to represent some of the richest and most flavorful
in all of California, often approaching alcohol levels of over 16%.
Paso Robles’ long association with Zinfandel began to accelerate with the head pruned vines planted by the now celebrated families of Dusi, Rotta, Pesenti and Martinelli. These vineyards are still under cultivation by third and fourth generation sons. Ridge, one of California’s premier Zinfandel specialists, offers a Dusi Vineyard bottling and the Pesenti Vineyard has been sold to the Turley Wine Cellars of St. Helena, who make a rich and deeply flavorful Pesenti Vineyard bottling, available on the Internet for prices up to $100. The tasting experience at Turley is not to be missed. Also highly recommended are L’Aventure and Justin Vineyards—both offering wines of superb quality.
Information on Paso Robles Wine Region at: http://www.pasowine.com