Living
the good life, tasting wine
By Toby Lewis
On-line Forty-Niner
Wine
tasting in Paso Robles wine country offers
scenic drives on uncrowded roads and visits
to small, family-owned wineries in some
of the most pristine landscape found in
California.
Located just three hours north of Los Angeles,
the Paso Robles wine region offers a unique
microclimate that produces world-class wine
grapes.
There are more than 50 different wineries
in the region with over 200 vineyards growing
premium wine grapes and most of these wineries
offer tasting rooms and are open seven days
a week.
Many of the wineries in the region are small,
producing less than 1,000 cases per year
of their respective varietals. It is not
uncommon for a visitor in a tasting room
to have a personal conversation with the
winemaker.
“It’s just my 20-year-old son and me [making
wine],” Norm Benson, a local winemaker said.
Benson’s winery, Dark Star Cellars, was
founded in 1994 and produces a total of
4,000 cases a year of award-winning wine.
“We have won 60 medals in national and international
competitions,” Benson said.
One such wine is Dark Stars 1999 Ricordatti,
a meritage made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
and Cabernet Franc, which won the double
gold “Best in Class” award at the San Diego
National competition.
The Paso Robles wine country is located
about 20 miles off the coast of California,
halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
With the Santa Lucia Mountain Range to the
west, a combination of numerous canyons
and valleys along with elevation differences
creates various microclimates.
Subsequently, the region is ideal for growing
a variety of grapes, ranging from the cool
breeze-loving grapes such as Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir, to grapes such as Cabernet
Sauvignon and Zinfandel, which thrive in
a hot day-cool night climate.
About 76 percent of the grapes grown in
the region are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay,
Merlot and Zinfandel.
Rhone varietals such as Syrah and Barbera
became popular during the 1990s and the
region is now gaining international notoriety
for its Rhone-style wines.
Most of the wineries in the region use grapes
grown exclusively in the central coast region
to produce their wines.
“We only use grapes that were grown in the
[Paso Robles] region,” said Brian Storrs,
of Wild Horse Winery.
As a result, many wineries from the region,
like Wild Horse, produce award-winning wines
that exclusively exhibit characteristics
of that region.
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