Paso Robles Wine Country is an American Viticultural Area located in the

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It has approximately 33,000 vineyard acres planted with

wine grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

s, and is well known for its heritage varietal Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Rhône-style wines.

History

Grapes were first introduced into the Paso Robles area in 1787 by missionaries at Mission San Miguel Arcangel, where more than one thousand vines were planted. Commercial wine growing, however, wasn't started until the 1880s with the establishment of Ascension Winery, later known as

York Mountain Winery The York Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is part of the larger Central Coast AVA, located on the eastern side of the Santa Lucia Mountains, west of Paso Robles AVA Paso Robles W ...

, and today known as Epoch Estate Wines. Among the winery’s early producers following prohibition was Polish pianist and composer

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

. Since 1990, when there were fewer than 20 wineries in Paso Robles, a large expansion of activity has seen the number rise to more than 200 wineries today. Wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. commented on the region's promise of quality of wine, emphasizing the wineries L'Aventure, Linne Calodo, Saxum Vineyards, Doce Robles "Twelve Oaks" Winery & Vineyard, Villa Creek Cellars, Castoro Cellars and Tablas Creek Vineyard as the "leading Paso pioneers". In 2007, a proposal to split the area at the Salinas River and form a new "Paso Robles Westside AVA" was made. The proposal was withdrawn in 2009, and a new proposal was made to break up the AVA into 11 smaller viticultural areas. In 2014, The United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau issued a final rule in the Federal Register establishing 11 new American viticultural areas within the existing Paso Robles viticultural area.

Paso Robles viticultural areas

Adelaida District AVA Adelaida District AVA is an American Viticultural Area located on the north west portion of the Paso Robles AVA in San Luis Obispo County, California. It was established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in 2014. Wineries located wit ...

Creston District AVA Creston District AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the south east portion of the Paso Robles AVA in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is located in the vicinity of the small community of Creston, California. It was established b ...

*El Pomar District AVA *Paso Robles Estrella District AVA *Paso Robles Geneseo District AVA *Paso Robles Highlands District AVA *Paso Robles Willow Creek District AVA *San Juan Creek AVA *San Miguel District AVA *Santa Margarita Ranch AVA *Templeton Gap District AVA

Viticulture

The Paso Robles AVA is still acknowledged for its heritage grape, Zinfandel, but has gained recognition from a wider range of grape varietals as well. In the 1950s and 1960s, growers began to plant

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

varieties, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, in the area. Starting in the 1980s, there have been increased plantings of many

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

varieties, including the first Syrah planted in California, as well as Viognier and

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage ...

to name a few. The emerging popularity of the region's wines led it to become the first site of the bi-annual "Hospice du Rhône" conference on Rhône style wine. Today, Paso Robles Wine Country is receiving attention for its unique Paso blends. These wines are unique to the area, and with varietal make-ups that do not follow traditional rules and expectations of winemaking, as characteristic in other regions of the wine world.

Wine Festivals

The Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival, now known as Vintage Paso: Zinfandel Weekend, is a festival focused on the Paso Robles area's heritage grape, Zinfandel. This event is held by the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, a non-profit cooperative marketing alliance. The Paso Robles Wine Festival is a festival focused on the wide variety of wines the area produces, held in Paso Robles' downtown city park. Attendees have the opportunity to talk with the Paso Robles vintners and taste their wines. The Harvest Wine Weekend is a celebration of the harvest season with three days of hands-on Paso Robles Wine Country activities. In 2015, the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance started a new festival, BlendFest on the Coast, dedicated to the unique wine blends of Paso Robles, held on the coast in

San Simeon San Simeon (Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is a village and Census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles ...

and

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, ...

Awards

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

#1 Wine in the World 2010: Saxum *

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

Magazine 2013 Wine Region of the Year * Sunset Magazine 2016 Best Wine Country Town

References

External links

Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance

US laws for labelling wine
{{coord missing, San Luis Obispo County, California American Viticultural Areas of California Paso Robles Aa Geography of San Luis Obispo County, California American Viticultural Areas 1983 establishments in California