WINE CHAT: Don't Let Paso Robles Wines Scare You

OK, so Halloween themes are the thing here in late October.  But I couldn't bring myself to do a "Halloween Candy Wine Pairing" article, so this article doesn't have much to do with Halloween other than the title.  Yet there is a connection to the season.  As the weather starts getting chilly, big hearty red wines are called for to match the comfort foods of late fall.  The long, hot and dry growing season of Paso Robles produces wines that fit the bill, thus it's a perfect focus for this late October Wine Chat.

Paso Robles is located halfway between San Franciso and Los Angeles on Highway 101.  A few decades ago, it was mostly cow pastures, but now its long growing season and soil conditions make it the third largest wine region in California.  Over 150 wineries produce make wine from 40 different varietals in the diverse terroir of this 24 square mile region.

I don't know that Paso Robles can aptly be called "up and coming" now that Robert Parker has extolled its virtues in a recent Food & Wine article.  Perhaps more interesting were the insights I got from speaking with Paso Robles based Four Vines owner, Bill Grant.  He emphasized that Paso Robles wineries are typically built from the ground-up through hard work and thus have a casual, approachable quality to them.  Bill also shared that there is a strong sense of camraderie and shared destiny among his fellow winery owners, "As Paso goes, we all go," Grant commented. 

I'd had my interested piqued about Paso Robles, so I jumped on the opportunity to attend an Epicurean Evening at Boston's Aujourd'hui featuring the region.  I've previously extolled the virtues of this every Tuesday night tasting, and this one did nothing to change my opinion!  I'll start my Paso Robles round-up with the three we sampled at this tasting.

2006 L'Aventure Roussanne ($23) I'm a convert to this white grape with Rhone origins, having now tried a couple of good versions recently.  My first impression of the taste of this complex wine was a sense of smokiness.  But the term used by the sommelier was "flint", and I did detect the underlying minerality of this.  Paired with Crispy Tempura Prawns.

2004 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel ($45) Forced to choose, I'd pick this as my favorite from the Epicurean tasting.  Another Rhone style wine, this one blends Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache and Counoise.  It features a violet bouquet and soft, supple flavors.  Paired with Seared Scallops, Celery Root Risotto and Braised Rabbit Leg.  A big red isn't what one would think of for seafood, but the richness of the accompaniments made it work very well.   You can get interesting insights into Tablas Creek's winemaking process on their blog.

2005 Saxum "Broken Stones" Syrah ($79+) It was hard to find a price for this wine, as it sells for quite a range through various online sources--but anyway you look at it, it's pricy due to the limited, high quality production.  Though listed as Syrah, there's also 24% Grenache, and 2% Mourvedre blended in.  A bold, spicy blackberry taste, another great bottle.  Winemaker Justin Smith earns his rockstar reputation with this one.  Paired with Veal Cheek Ravioli.

The wines above could be a bit tricky to find--Saxum for instance makes about 3,000 cases per year--not to mention the price.  So let me offer a few more Paso Robles finds that might be more accessible while also being very enjoyable.  I'll start with Four Vines, which produces about 10 different wines each season.  I want to try more of their offerings, but can definitely recommend their 2004 "Biker" Zinfandel ($20) from Paso Robles. The Biker name was chosen to suggest a wine that is big, bold and outrageous. OK, I'd give it big and bold at least--enough to stand up to the spicy pork dish I served it with. Ripe berry bouquet, velvety texture with a well-balanced cherry taste and clean finish. A very good wine for $20.

I was looking for a few more bottles to try for this article at the local shop, and found one I'd highly recommend.  The 2005 Clayhouse Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) is a well-structured cab with zesty blacberry taste.  If I were blind tasting it I would have called it a zin, but that's not a bad thing in my book!

I'd previously enjoyed some of the famous golfer's wines from Australia, and didn't realize until finding the 2004 Greg Norman Petite Syrah Paso Robles ($15) that he also owns some California vineyards.  This is a well-balanced red with medium tannins.  Opens up to some nice fruitiness after breathing a bit.  I had this with a pasta bolognese but it would go better with beef.  Not as good as the Clayhouse or Biker, but if you can't find those this wouldn't be a bad Paso Robles taste for you.

J. Lohr is a bigger producer from which I've had some pretty good, affordable merlots and chardonnays (around $10 per bottle).   And one more from my Paso Robles sampling is the 2005 Chateau Andrea Cabernet Sauvignon ($12).  This is light for a cab, low tannins.  Big cherry taste makes it a pleasant  enough drinking wine if not remarkable.

I've enjoyed getting to know more about Paso Robles, and will be sure to keep sampling more of the wines this region has to offer.  Let me know if you've tried any that you like!

David Crowley, Gather Food Correspondent

David enjoys sharing good food and wine with family and friends.  David writes about his wine explorations and discoveries in his column, "Wine Chat", a twice-monthly feature of Gather Essentials:  Food.  He has a new blog Just the Wine where you can search for wine recommendations to match foods you are making.  By day, David is the President and Founder of Social Capital Inc.