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.
1 comment:
group of 21 wineries currently has a Paso Robles Westside AVA proposed and in the public comment section of the TTB. Much like the Rhone Valley, Paso Robles needs definition. Using the Northern, Southern and Western boarders established in 1983, and adding the Salinas river as it's Eastern boarder, the Westside of the Paso Robles AVA further defines the Paso Robles AVA. The additional definition created by the 11 additional proposed AVA makes sense as well. Check out www.pasorobleswestsideava.com to get the whole picture.
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