Paso Robles--can it be saved?

[JasonA]

originally posted by Emilio Castelli:

originally posted by Florida Jim:

Maybe it suffers from the same malady as most of CA (and the US) - all things considered, its a pretty young growing area and folks haven't found the right matches of place and variety yet.
And considering the demands of the market that they're doing it in, it may take longer than it should.

Best, Jim

And we'll never find out unless we stop irrigating.
E

Pretty much says it all. How can you express terrior if the roots are firmly planted in the topsoil?

I went to school in San Luis Obispo way back when and is now probably be classified as "cool climate" California AVA. Though there was then, and is now, a large marine influence in San Luis Obispo, let's just say I would hardly classify it as "cool" unless you mean being able to where flip flops 365 days a year and never using an supplemental heat as "cool".

Paso Robles, OTOH, as Steve points out, is just too fucking hot. One of my college buddies used to work summers for the Forestry Department putting out brush fires during the summer. The place literally burns up every summer. Sort of Richard Prior in a way, spontaneous combustion - so hot and so dry, with almost all of the measly 15" of rainfall occurring in the winter.

The sun always shines, it never rains, might as well be Australia.

 

[MarkS]

Perhaps the winereis believe are using 'physiologically ripe' grapes??

Hot climate...uber-ripe grapes, pretty conducive to flab. And the wineries even on the western ridges closest to the ocean produce big wines.

 

[Steve Edmunds]

Not sure there's any plantings there that qualify as "on the western ridge;" the western ridge, in fact, is quite high, and blocks really direct marine influence. By the time the cooling air comes in through the "gaps," it's not quite like being close to the ocean.

 

[MarkS]

originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
Not sure there's any plantings there that qualify as "on the western ridge;" the western ridge, in fact, is quite high, and blocks really direct marine influence. By the time the cooling air comes in through the "gaps," it's not quite like being close to the ocean.

Well, that was my point. The vineyards begin on the eastern-fringes of the western ridges, and what are they? Something like 8-10 miles from the Pacific?

 

[VLM]

originally posted by MarkS:
Perhaps the winereis believe are using 'physiologically ripe' grapes??

Ah yes, the old physiological ripeness bugbear. That's probably my favorite.

 

[Steve Edmunds]

originally posted by MarkS:

originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
Not sure there's any plantings there that qualify as "on the western ridge;" the western ridge, in fact, is quite high, and blocks really direct marine influence. By the time the cooling air comes in through the "gaps," it's not quite like being close to the ocean.

Well, that was my point. The vineyards begin on the eastern-fringes of the western ridges, and what are they? Something like 8-10 miles from the Pacific?

I'd guess more like 12-15 miles, Mark.

 

[Eden Mylunsch]

originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
Matt Smith farms James Berry, so he is both grower and vintner (Saxum). I suspect all the fruit there is pretty good. I don't think any of the guys who get fruit from there are "lesser known."

You're probably thinking of Justin Smith, whose family planted the vineyard. Matt Trevisan was Justin's partner in the Linne Calado winery awhile ago.

Soil is as much of component of why Paso wines taste as they do as are other factors such as climate, clonal selection, and even the grape varieties planted in a particular vineyard or block. The diversity of the geology of the region makes it generalization difficult; check out Steve Vierra's letter to the TTB regarding the application for a Westside AVA: http://tinyurl.com/ylad4xp

The Cambria/San Simeon corridor shows tremendous promise every way but financially. Flowering is excruciatingly uneven due to the weather and yields are invariably almost good enough to qualify as "minuscule". What does result in fruit has a tremendously long hangtime and can be turned into some quite good wine.

I think it likely that the winemaking style thought of as prototypical Paso is inspired by what's easiest to sell. This will change over time, although the economy isn't exactly encouraging experimentation. It's too bad that the Church is in disarray (WRT viticulture) and there aren't cadres of monks with nothing but centuries of time on their hands with which to perform the due diligence necessary to discern what should be planted where.

-Eden (what if the monks divined that eastside Paso was best suited to growing Ploussard and westside to Assyrtiko?)

 

[MarkS]

It's too bad that the Church is in disarray (WRT viticulture) and there aren't cadres of monks with nothing but centuries of time on their hands with which to perform the due diligence necessary to discern what should be planted where.

Certainly glad they prospered in Europe for so long, esp. in Burgundy!

 

[Steve Edmunds]

Eden; yes, Justin. I know a Matt Smith up here in the Bay Area who used to work for Dashe.

 

[Unknown]

SFJoe, I can find you some Chinon which will compete. Same alcohol levels. Highly rated, too. And I don't mean highly rated by pulications you don't read.

And while on the subject of Chinon, what's with all the criticism I hear of 2005 Raffault Picasses ? Just tasted it for the first time. Rustic, tannic, ripe, clean, and very nicely balanced. No crap, no bullshit to try to mask its ultimate rusticity with anything sleek.