Wine is Fun

Who says touring the world and tasting wines can't be fun? If further proof is necessary, we offer this photo of Danny Baker, Soby's long-time sommelier, taking a break with a friendly kangaroo during a tasting trip to Australia.

This long-sought photo was recently forwarded by a friend (well, at least it has been long-sought by those of us who had heard they story of Danny relaxing with a kangaroo!). Couldn't resist sharing it with readers of Vine & Grape.

Paso Picks

If you're a fan of Rhone blends, then Paso is your place. The absolute hit of the trip was SummerWood's GSM 2004 (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend). If you can find it, you won't be disappointed if you like rich, velvet-textured wines. Fabulous balance, despite deep extraction and 15%+ alcohol.

SummerWood's website isn't up-to-date, so the label you are seeing is not for the 2004 GSM. But here's a link so that you will have basic info on the winery.

I'm not generally a fan of the new overly ripe, high-alcohol wines. Attaining good balance is extraordinarily difficult. Manipulation is often necessary (e.g., acidification to get the wine back into balance). But the SummerWood 2004 GSM showed absolutely no flaws. Nothing stuck out; there was no alcohol on the nose, and nothing on the palate that would have indicated the wine was 15%+.

Other producers worth watching: Adelaida Cellars, Denner, Stolpman, and Saxum. And when in Paso, or at your favorite wine store, don't pass up the wines of Robert Haas and the Perrin Family (Chateau de Beaucastel). Their story is too long to tell here, but this link will take you to their site.

Paso Report

The gorgeous photo is some of the newest vineyard land in the Paso Robles area, belonging to a friend of mine. This vineyard sits west of Highway 101 in the hills, as you can see. Look at the stony soil, visible particularly around the posts for the trellis system. These vines are just reaching early maturity and I'm looking forward to trying some of the Cab produced here.

You may have read recently that a group of vintners submitted a proposal to divide the Paso Robles AVA into eleven new American Viticultural Areas. That's a good thing for all of us who love the area. The current Paso AVA is so large as to be almost meaningless. The climate and topography is different east and west of Highway 101, but also from north to south. See the comments in this excellent article in WineBusiness.com, if interested. The Westside (where this photo was made) has terroir suited to produce outstanding wines. But don't make the mistake of automatically ruling out flatter Eastside properties, where a lot of serious winemakers are doing a good job with appropriate varietals and vinification.