Why You Need to Drink Wine in Paso Robles Before the Region Really Blows Up

[Celerity]

These 14 wineries are just a starting point.

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/best-paso-robles-wineries



Think the only place to find world-class California wines that compete with other global wine regions like the Rhone Valley in France or Piedmont in Italy is Napa Valley? Think again. Taking a gorgeous drive down the coast from the famous wine region north of San Francisco, passing Monterey and Big Sur, you’ll enter into a once-sleepy Central Coast almond farming community known for its thermal hot springs that is gaining global acclaim: Paso Robles.

Paso Robles—pronounced row-bulls and referred to more casually and simply as Paso among locals—had a reputation for producing high-alcohol red wines, particularly cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel. But over the last decade, a collective of wineries has quietly moved away from those overly tannic or fruit bomb wines to create gorgeous, layered, nuanced wines that have caused people rethink to Paso.

In a region with more than 200 tasting rooms and 11 diverse viticultural areas enjoying the maritime effects of the Pacific Ocean, producers experiment with dozens of grape varietals. You can taste more than 60 single varietals and blends including syrah, grenache, mourvedre, roussanne, petite syrah, viognier, grenache blanc, sauvignon blanc, clairette blanche, and yes, zinfandel and cabernet.

“We’re an enormous grape growing region and Paso is a little harder to define,” said Anthony Yount, winemaker at Denner Vineyards and Sixmilebridge as well as his own labels Kinero Cellars and The Royal Nonesuch. “Napa is cab. Sonoma is pinot and chardonnay. Paso does a bit of everything.”



snip

[dutch777]

1. Would also suggest trying Edna Valley just south of San Luis Obispo as well

It has been a few years, but we found Paso Robles overly ambitious on what grapes worked well in their climate and which ones were just too much of a reach (pinots specifically). Edna Valley is not free of this sin but they are closer to the ocean and as such benefit from the maritime influence more. And as a town, San Luis Obispo is really neat with its historic Spanish Mission and college town vibe. I especially recommend their Thursday night farmers market on main street and, if he is still there, don't miss a performance by the Lord of the Cello. It's unique. Covid has kept us away for a few years but have a trip planned in June. If you have time and resources, a really cool trip is to fly into San Jose and or SFO and rent a convertible and drive down Highway 1 to Paso/SLO area. Spend a day or two in Monterey/Carmel and then work south. I've driven a lot of the U.S. and this is my top favorite drive when the weather is decent.

[Celerity]

2. The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County

https://winehistoryproject.org/





The Edna Valley AVA: A San Luis Obispo First

https://winehistoryproject.org/the-edna-valley-ava-a-san-luis-obispo-first/




Edna Valley AVA

https://sanluisobispoguide.com/wineries/edna-valley-ava/





snip



https://www.baileyana.com/






2020 Baileyana The Architects Pinot Noir

https://www.baileyana.com/wines/baileyana-the-architects-pinot-noir/

[Demovictory9]

3. pretty place...never heard of it... is it near Napa?

[Celerity]

4. No. San Luis Obispo is further south, closer to LA, and just off the

coast, 10, 20 minutes from the beach areas. Paso Robles is even more inland, around 35 miles straight north of SLO.

[dutch777]

5. Thank you for the added info!

We have tried Baileyana and Edna Valley in the past but new options are always worth a try. I am curious too how many new tasting rooms may be downtown SLO. Thanks again.

[hunter]

6. I love California wines. Sadly, the water issues are quite alarming.

Big money digs deeper wells and it becomes a race to the bottom.

Paso Robles groundwater pumped far beyond sustainable levels, new report shows

A new report shows that over-pumping of the Paso Robles groundwater sub-basin has continued at unsustainable levels, an issue worsened by the ongoing drought that has resulted in greater irrigation needs for agriculture operations in the region.

In total, groundwater users in the basin in northern San Luis Obispo County — generally encompassing the area east of Highway 101 and north of Highway 58 — pumped 82,100 acre-feet of water in 2021, up from 67,300 in 2020, a 22% increase, according to the latest annual report for the basin.

That’s a far cry from the estimated sustainable yield of 61,100 acre-feet per year and resulted in the basin’s groundwater supply being depleted by about 41,500 acre-feet, the annual report says.

In fact, the total groundwater pumped from the basin has exceeded the estimated sustainable yield in all of the past five years.

--more--

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/water-and-drought/article259988495.html