April 14, 2004
Hot Fun in Paso
In a month, the wineries of Paso Robles will be holding their 22nd annual wine festival!
Saturday, May 14, from noon to 5 p.m., 60 wineries will be pouring over 300 Paso Robles wines in the historic downtown city park. The price is $30 per person and it includes a souvenir logo glass and eight tasting tickets. Additional tasting tickets are available for $1 each.
It will be hot at the festival-it usually is at that time of year, so dress appropriately. The Paso Robles wine growing region is typically warmer than the cooler climates of the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills appellations here in Santa Barbara County.
Red Rhone varieties like syrah, mourvedre and grenache produce wines of distinction in Paso Robles. Paso is also known for its zinfandel, with some plantings actually going back into the 1800s! Syrah-unlike pinot noir, for example, which likes the cool climes of Santa Rita Hills and Lompoc, one of the coldest wine growing regions in the United States-makes great wine in both cooler and warmer climates. Grenache and mourvedre, workhorse red varieties grown in the southern Rhone, come from Spain. Their Spanish names are garnacha and mataro respectively.
I have always liked San Luis Obispo County and its wines for many reasons-from the wines produced in the Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley in the south county to Paso Robles in the north county. The first winery I ever visited was the old HMR (Hoffman Mountain Ranch) west of Paso Robles out on Adelaida Road.
When the Hoffmans owned the winery, Mike Hoffman was making legendary wines! The 1973 HMR Doctor's Reserve cabernet sauvignon, and the 1975 and 1976 HMR zinfandels were seminal-very pioneering wines from Central California, proving that Napa had no lock on fine wine making in the Golden State.
Today, Paso's great producers include Tablas Creek, in the cooler, western side of Paso Robles. Tablas Creek is a partnership between the Perrin Family of Chateau de Beaucastel and the Robert Haas Family who used to own Vineyard Brands, the importer of Beaucastel wine into the U.S.
San Luis Obispo County's climates offer more extremes than Santa Barbara County. South county with its coastal marine influence is much like the cool Santa Maria Valley. Out east of Paso Robles in the north, temperatures can rival the Central Valley of California.
I would recommend staying over for the festival if you plan driving up from Santa Maria. Call the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce for festival tickets or for information on accommodations. (805) 238-0506 extension 13, or visit www.pasowine.com
Bon appetit!
Wine lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the bucolic Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
