Vino Magazine

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Hunt Cellars

Port in a storm of vines

Page 14 WINEMAKER

Dave McGee

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

In This Issue WINEMAKER REVIEW Dave McGee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Daou Vineyards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Garagiste Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 FEATURED WINERY Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery . . . . . 22

WINE COUNTRY WEDDINGS . . . . . . . . . 10 All About Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Hop On Beer Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Annie Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

FEATURED BREWERY Libertine Brewing Company . . . . . . . . . 24

COVER STORY Hunt Cellars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Winery of the Year, Cass Winery . . . . . . . . . 28

CALENDAR OF EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

FEATURED TASTING ROOM Epoch Estate Wines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 PUBLISHER Kevin Davis kdavis@pasoroblespress.com EDITOR Brian Williams bwilliams@pasoroblespress.com

ADVERTISING Beth Bolyard Adriana Novack Sheri Potruch

GRAPHIC DESIGN Jim Prostovich

EDITORIAL Elizabeth Enriquez-Phillips Camas Frank

COVER PHOTO Hunt Cellars Photo by John Patrick Images VINO MAGAZINE PasoRoblesPress.com 805-237-6060 935 Riverside Ave, 8A Paso Robles, CA 93446

VINO is published by the Paso Robles Press. All rights reserved, material may not be reprinted without written consent from the publisher. The Paso Robles Press made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in the magazine, but assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions.

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Uncorking Winemaker

Dave McGee

Focus is exclusively on white wines

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Story and Photos By Camas Frank OF VINO MAGAZINE ave McGee is owner and co-winemaker at the up-and-coming Monochrome Wines, produced at a facilities in Paso Robles’ “Tin City.” McGee’s biography lists varied careers from fields as diverse as radar design, stealth aircraft technology, interventional neuroradiology, orthopedic surgery, and cardiac electrophysiology. More recently, he completed the online version of UC Davis’ winemaking program and helped with the winemaking at Villa Creek and Alta Colina wineries in Paso Robles before starting Monochrome in 2016. Dave earned BS, MS, and MBA degrees from Stanford University. Their tasting room is located at 3075 Blue Rock Rd. in Paso Robles and they can be reached at 805-674-2160 or online at monochromewines.com.

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DAVE McGEE

WINEMAKER

MONOCHROME WINES

Dave McGee of Monochrome Wines gives notes on the 2016 Barrel Distortion Albariño at this year's Festival of Albariño.

Q: So starting off, I know everyone asks about the name. Can you shed some light for readers? You only make white wine but monochrome is thought of as light versus dark as well.

A: Tracing it back to its Latin and Greek origins, the word “monochrome” means “of one color,” which seemed appropriate for a winery that only makes wines of one color (i.e. — white wines). Additionally, I am a photography enthusiast, and it seemed to me there was an analogy between monochrome (or “black and white”) photography and what we were doing with white wines. Specifically, some people think of black and white photography as somehow simpler or less complex than color photography….. and yet most fine art photography is done in black and white! Furthermore, most photographers will tell you that making a black and white photo “work” is more difficult than doing so with color because you can’t rely upon a pop of color to create interest and must therefore get all the basics (i.e- subject matter, composition, tonality, etc.) right or the photo just comes off as flat or boring. I think the story is similar with wines. With reds you can add in a lot of oak, or tannin, or extraction and cover up for a lot of things. Not so with whites. With whites you need to get the basics right or the wines will come off as flat or boring.

So that analogy was another reason I thought Monochrome would be a good name for the project.

Q: Why did you decide to only make white wines?

A: Well, it seemed that white wines were being underserved in the Paso area, both literally and figuratively.

Most Paso wineries tend to produce only one or two whites. Some of those wineries make a serious effort at making great white wines, but they tend not to make much

of them, so you’re never sure if they are actually pouring their whites at any given moment. At other wineries, it’s pretty clear their passion is for their red program, and their whites don’t receive the same level of care, attention and effort that goes into their best reds. We wanted to make a full line of white wines made with the same level of passion that top Paso producers put into their best reds.

Furthermore, there are now somewhere between 300 and 350 wineries in the Paso area, and basically all of them are either exclusively or primarily focussed on reds. We didn’t want to just be number 351! As Coco Chanel once stated, to be memorable, you must first be different.

Q: We last saw you at the Festival of Albariño. Any ideas for next year’s variation yet?

A: For the 2017 vintage, we made a version of Albarino that was fairly similar to our 2016 vintage (i.e. — barrel fermented in neutral oak and stainless barrels and aged on the lees, with about 4 percdent that was skin-fermented), but we also made a small experimental bottling (only 17 cases!) that involved carbonic maceration of Albarino. I’m not aware of anyone having ever done that before, so it was a lot of fun. It turned out really good, so we decided to bottle it and offer it as a club member exclusive wine called the X-2. For 2018, we’ll see where nature and our spirit moves us, but we will definitely do some barrel fermentation, some skin fermentation and some carbonic maceration, and then decide how to combine them into one or more final blends. It should be fun!

Q: What sets your process apart from all the Paso newcomers?

A: Well, we focus exclusively on white wines, so that certainly makes us unique in the Paso area. However, our Continued on page 29

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DAOU VINEYARDS & WINERY WELCOMES MASTER SOMMELIER FREDERICK L. DAME

Photo Courtesy of Daou

America’s most honored sommelier drawn to Paso Robles-based winery by opportunity to join Daou brothers as Global Wine Ambassador in quest to establish Adelaida District

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Staff Report

AOU Vineyards & Winery announces that Master Sommelier Frederick L. Dame is joining the familyowned company as Global Wine Ambassador. One of the most renowned and revered sommeliers in the world, Dame will work with founders Georges Daou and Daniel Daou to continue transforming the Adelaida District of Paso Robles into the global wine industry’s next frontier for producing the finest Bordeaux varieties while enhancing awareness of DAOU’s spectrum of exceptional wines.

Founded on the premise that great wine should be accessible and shared with the world, DAOU Mountain is home to some of the most sought-after wines that receive the highest ratings possible from all major critics. What was once a lone, undiscovered mountain in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles is now a breathtaking estate built on Georges and Daniel’s eternal commitment to their people, their wine and the beautiful environment that continues to make their dream a reality.

The addition of Dame will further the brother’s undying commitment to DAOU Mountain and the region itself.

Dame, the first American to serve as President of the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide and to complete the Master Sommelier Examination in one year, is one of the wine and restaurant industry’s most acclaimed advisors. His decision to join DAOU, an award-winning winery established on DAOU Mountain in 2007, was driven by the

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opportunity to help blaze a trail in an emerging wine region with a distinctive terroir, a vineyard land and a family-focused approach.

“I couldn’t think of a better final chapter of my career than the opportunity to work alongside the Daou brothers,” said Fred. “Georges and Daniel have a passionate commitment to excellence that sets them apart and it has been demonstrated year over year with the purity and ascent of their wines – from Estate to Reserves. When you combine the Daou brothers’ extraordinary vision and culture with the ideal conditions and developing potential of the Mountain, you can imagine my delight in becoming part of this extraordinary winery and its quest to produce the ultimate wines in terms of grace, structure and complexity.”

Dame is the founder of the American Branch of the Court of Master Sommeliers and the former Vice President of Prestige Accounts for American Wine & Spirits of California. A graduate of Washington & Lee University, he is widely recognized as an educator and storyteller, and holds honorary professorships at Purdue University and The University of South Carolina. Additionally, Dame is an inductee of the American Academy of Chefs Hall of Fame, is an active member of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs and is Chairman of the Board of GuildSomm.com.

A sixth generation Californian, Dame’s interest in fine wine was ignited during a high school trip to Europe. He has been pursuing his passion ever since. One of only 250 individuals worldwide to have passed the Master Sommelier Examination, he won the coveted Krug Cup of the British Guild of Sommeliers in 1984.

“Wine is a story, not a product,” Georges said. “And with the addition of Fred, the DAOU dream will be shared and celebrated within the industry and beyond. As a worldrenowned teacher and master sommelier, we are fortunate Fred chose our collaborative community as his swansong. Since the beginning, our desire has been to create high-end wines that open doors to opportunity, and we are both humbled and thrilled for Fred to join our team and continue sharing the DAOU experience.”

Born in Lebanon, Georges and Daniel Daou were forced to flee with their family to France at the start of the Lebanese Civil War. There, they developed a love for the vineyards that recalled their grandfather’s ancient olive groves. As college students, they emigrated to California to study engineering at the University of California San Diego, and, after successful careers in the tech industry, eventually returned to their passion: wine and its elements. Captivated by the Adelaida District’s unrivalled growing conditions for producing Cabernet Sauvignon, the brothers discovered what is now DAOU Mountain, or otherwise heralded as the “jewel of ecological elements” by Father of American Winemaking Andre Tchelistcheff. 14 miles from the ocean at 2,200 feet above sea level, DAOU Mountain is home to an unparalleled terroir built on a family legacy and an extreme passion for ever-evolving quality.

“From the beginning, it has been our goal to express the passion we have for our terroir through the wines we craft,” Daniel said. “This passion continues today and will be communicated even further with the addition of Fred Dame to our team.”

VINO Central Coast Edition

About Daou Vineyards & Winery DAOU Vineyards & Winery is a high-end, family-owned estate rising from the heart of the Adelaida District in the rugged coastal range west of Paso Robles, California. Established in 2007 by brothers Daniel and Georges Daou, DAOU Mountain spans 212 acres – 120 of which are under vine – and resides 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean at 2,200 feet above sea level.

Planted with predominately Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals, the mountain is home to an extraordinary phenolic output – among the highest in the world – that yields rich, precision-based wines of prodigious color, texture and structure. DAOU wines showcase the limitless potential of the Mountain’s unrivaled terroir while embodying Daniel and Georges’ passionate dream to create a global community of wine aficionados. For more information on the brothers, the wines and the DAOU mountain, visit www.daouvineyards.com.

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Wine Country W E D D I N G S

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Staff Report company The Wedding Report Inc., the average American ine country weddings, in case wedding costs over $25,000, though many are significantly you weren’t aware, are a thing. more expensive.

A quick and informal survey of Flowers, dresses, tuxedos, food, and rings can all rack some wedding venues in the Paso up a large bill for the families of the couple, or the couple Robles area found that many are themselves — and that's not counting the bill from wedding booked out and having to refer planners hired to make everything move smoothly. While couples to their neighbors. weddings can be costly anywhere, the amount Americans According to The Knot, a popular online wedding spend on nuptials varies from state to state. information site, there are more than 150 wedding venues In the US, California ranks ninth based on the total cost. within 50 miles of Paso Robles — a majority of which are Here’s a breakdown: Central Coast wineries and vineyards. And more and more are cropping up every season.

• Cost of typical wedding: $32,770 • Number of weddings in 2017: 246,700 (the most) Wineries and vineyards are building venues that can • Average dress cost: $1,433 (6th highest) host a variety of events, from not only the wedding, but • Average ring cost: $3,929 (9th highest) the rehearsal dinner, to the after-party to the post-wedding • Median household income: $63,783 (9th highest) brunch.

If you are looking for some help with planning your big day Weddings are a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of love, so consider supporting these local businesses on the following brides and grooms are often willing to spend a small fortune pages. on the big day. According to wedding industry research

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For the love of glass Annieglass celebrates 35 years

By Johanna Miller

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The first time that Annie Morhauser witnessed the art of glass blowing, she knew immediately that she’d discovered her life’s passion.

With that passion, Morhauser would eventually graduate from the California College of the Arts with a degree in glassmaking, then rent a place in Santa Cruz to start up what would become the nationallyrecognized studio Annieglass.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Annieglass, which now sells its handcrafted glassware to some of the most high-end retailers and restaurants across North America. Two pieces are also on display in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Morhauser maintains, however, that despite its success, the company never slows down — it is always on a mission for more unique, sustainable and innovative creations.

“We’re constantly in design mode,” she said. “Every six months a new collection is introduced. We’re always looking ahead.”

The company’s lines of both practical and decorative bowls, plates, serving dishes, candleholders and more have garnered attention since the 1980s, when Morhauser developed her own distinct version of the “slumping” process, an ancient glassmaking technique.

Over its 35 years, Annieglass has forged ahead with various projects, one of its most recent being “Elements,” a line of trays made from 100 percent recycled Annieglass.

Looking ahead, Morhauser said the company is hoping to expand its craft bar workshops, and continue experimenting with new techniques in order to stay innovative.

“Glass is beautiful, seductive and hard to control,” she said. “And just when you think you know what you’re doing, it teaches you that you don’t.”

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COVER STORY

Hunt Cellars Port in the storm of vines

By Camas Frank OF VINO MAGAZINE

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Photos by JohnCoast Patrick Images Central Edition VINO

I

n October, Hunt Cellars continues their tradition of intimate dinners in their tasting room, candle lit for the occasion, with six courses prepared by acclaimed local French Chef Andre Averseng.

While the meals feature epicurean delights paired with Hunt Cellars wines, a candle lit dinner generally isn’t as unique as this one. The man with his name on the entrance, winemaker David Hunt, personally serenades guests on a baby grand piano after the meals. It’s one of the little touches that wine club members and frequent visitors to the small tasting room on Paso Robes’ “Wine Trail” have come to expect over the last two decades. Famous for their meals and councerts, the events sell out nearly as quickly as the next can be scheduled, and are one of the factors in something of a cult following as guests are introduced to local chefs.

One of the few local wineries to have a club for their Port as well as wine, Hunt is known for offering something of a complete sensory experience. The tasting room features a Cabernet Bar, knowledgeable staff a 1,200 square foot veranda where smoking a cigar or taking a stroll wouldn’t be out of place. Frequent guests describe the chocolates Continued on next page

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Continued from page 15

served with port as equally important as cheeses and other offerings with wines.

Vintners as a profession already being keenly aware of the nose on their product, chemistry and the interaction of compounds on the pallet, Hunt fields more than his share of questions on the topic.

Living with functional blindness, people often wonder if it gives him some sort of edge in the trade even as other tasks are more difficult.

“I would say I do have a heightened sense of taste and smell,” he says, “but I know things from many [forms of experience]. I mix art and science.”

He doesn’t name competitors, but continues that the art can go missing in the modern wine industry, more importantly, he adds, “I’m a perfectionist. I taste some things that most people don’t think about.”

By way of example, he’s been known to add five gallons of a varietal to a 1,000-gallon tank to achieve the perfect blend, “that’s not even a percentage point, but I do it out of an innate understanding of what I’m looking for in my head.”

He’s free to be a perfectionist with every vintage, he says, because he knows what his vines will offer up well in advance.

“We have a magical vineyard at Destiny. There is a blessed consistency in the what the vines deliver,” he says. “The quality of the fruit has always been the best.”

Planted at the location he scouted in Paso Robles while Debbie Hunt was pregnant with their daughter Destiny, Destiny Vineyards bears her name. It’s an apt name as despite rough moments at the

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start everything worked out fine for them.

“I still had some sight when I first visited,” David Hunt explains, adding that he was searching for prospective vineyards on his own while Debbie was home suffering from gestational diabetes and he had to call to tell her he’d found the perfect spot. “The soil, the conditions were perfect.”

The family had been searching wine regions near and far for the perfect terroir , specifically Oregon, Washington, and across California before the Central Coast became quite so well known as a growing region.

The 550-acre property on Highway 41 in Creston met two out of the three criteria critical to producing excellent wine; the micro-climate and soil conditions were on the mark, but they didn’t know about water until they gambled on an agricultural well.

“All that was there was a residential well on the property.

When I bought it we really didn’t know what we’d find,” he added, while they were able to make it a condition of escrow that water had to be present, it was up to the Hunts to invest in an agricultural well.

Luckily a hydrologist was able to pinpoint the perfect spot.

That water’s gone into the plants at Destiny Vineyards, ever since, delivering grapes that enable David to use his gifts since the late-1990s.

Their first planting consisted of: cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, sauvignon blanc, merlot, syrah, petite syrah, cab franc, viognier and zinfandel. The tasting room opened in October of 1999.

Recent examples of acclaim include critic Robert Parker’s high marks for the 2013 vintages. With whimsical names joining the pallet descriptions: the Cabernet Sauvigon Reserve “Cabovation” received 91 points; Cabernet Sauvignon “Cloud 9,” 91 points; Syrah Reserve “Hilltop Serenade,” 91 points; Syrah/Petite Syrah “Que Sirah Sirah,” 90 points; and the Grenach “Let it Be,” 90 points.

Those are just examples, Hunt points out that all his wines have names pairing musical themes with the the character of the vintage, and over 150 of them have scored points ranging from 92-98 points, with the the most of any winery to score as “Best of California,” until that competition was recently discontinued.

Destiny Hunt, the winemaker reports, played host to her first tasting at the cellars in June.

“She’s grown up around it. You can’t be a winemaker’s daughter without learning a thing or two along the way,” he says.

The Hunt Cellars Tasting Room is located at 2875 Oakdale Rd., Paso Robles — www.huntcellars.com.

David Hunt can be reached by telephone at 818-7001600 or email at huntwine@gmail.com.

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ESTATE WINES

EPOCH

FEATURED TASTING ROOM

Photo by SLOtography Photo

York Mountain Tasting Room A nod to the past, present and future

By Brian Williams OF VINO MAGAZINE iterally no stone or brick was left unturned in Bill and Liz Armstrong’s quest to bring life back to the York Mountain Winery.

Today, the iconic piece of property nestled in the oaks trees of York Mountain west of Paso Robles off of Highway 46 has been transformed into the tasting room for Epoch Estate Wines, the label started by the Armstrongs in 2004, when they purchased 350 acres originally owned by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Paderewski that dates back to the 1920s. The aptly named Paderewski Vineyard sits in the Willow Creek District of the Paso Robles AVA. The repurposed York Mountain space stands as both an homage to the historic past of winemaking on the Central Coast

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Photo by SLOtography Photo

Photo by SLOtography Photo

Photo by Brittany App

Photo by Brittany App while at the same time giving Epoch a befitting place for people to begin their exploration of terroir and wines by critically acclaimed winemaker Jordan Fiorentini.

York Mountain Winery was established in 1882 and was the first bonded winery on the Central Coast.

“Every little piece along the way is fun,” says Epoch Vice President of Sales Kristen Darnell, who has been with the winery since the start. “There’s stories everywhere.”

Darnell is happy to tell those stories as well as a number of “fun facts” to visitors.

The winery’s name — Epoch — is a nod to the Armstrong’s love of geology, having met in a class while at Southern Methodist University. Epoch is a geologic term, defined as a moment in time characterized by monumental events or happenings.

“We like to think of our name being very fitting in that it’s a new epoch at York Mountain,” Darnell says.

Epoch is an ultra-premium producer of wines from Rhone, Zinfandel, and Tempranillo varieties grown on their two west Paso Robles vineyards — Paderewski and Catapult. Production is at about 7,000 cases a year and the wines are highly allocated and sell out quickly.

The tasting room opened to the public at the end of 2016 after being rescued by the Armstrongs in 2010. It’s airy and modern, but like the wines that visitors taste at

the expansive redwood-topped bar, there is a lot more going on.

“We received our certificate of occupancy on Dec. 22, 2016 which is exactly 13 years to-the-day after the San Simeon earthquake condemned the building,” Darnell says.

The Armstrongs purchased the York Mountain Winery property in 2010 out of foreclosure after the building was condemned, following the 6.6 magnitude San Simeon earthquake in 2003, and began their meticulous restoration project.

“A lot of the pieces that made the original building were still here and accessible,” Darnell says. “Bill and Liz said, ‘We want to put this back together, but we want to put this back together the way it’s supposed to be.’

“So many great pieces and stories,” Darnell says.

In the end the layout and the square footage of the finished product is the same as when it was York Mountain Winery and the “walls are placed where they are placed because that is where they were,” Darnell says — the last part being a recurring theme throughout the rebuild of the tasting room.

The Armstrongs enlisted the talents of Lake Flato Architects to design the project, which was led by architect Brian Korte AIA, now a partner with Clayton & Little. Everything that could be repurposed from the Continued on page 30

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September/October 2018

19

The Garagiste Festival

Photo Courtesy Garagiste Festival

8 years of matching undiscovered wines with enthusiastic consumers

By Brian Williams OF VINO MAGAZINE

When Stewart McLennan and Doug Minnick met in 2011 and started kicking around the idea of showcasing Paso Robles’ underground, small production winemakers, neither could guess that, seven years later, the Garagiste Festival would be celebrating its 8th anniversary and 21st event at its Paso Robles home base on Nov. 9-11 — having achieved international renown as one of the most popular wine events in the country. In fact, just this month, the festival was named the country’s “Best Wine Festival' in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest.

Clearly, The Garagiste Festival is not just any wine festival.

“We are the first and only festival to feature microwineries and share their renegade, rules-breaking ‘no snobs allowed’ ethos,” said McLennan.

“There is great freedom in being small,’ adds Minnick.

“Getting their wines into supermarkets isn’t even a consideration, so they just make the wines they are passionate about, the wines they want to drink — and they are among the most interesting, iconoclastic and delicious wines in the world. We want to drink them, too!”

The festival has showcased over 3,000 wines for over 10,000 wine lovers at twenty Garagiste Festivals across California since inception — igniting the awareness, business, and reputations of hundreds of artisan 20

September/October 2018

winemakers.

McLennan and Minnick were no strangers to winemaking when they met. Each had been producing wines in their garages with an eye to future commercial production, inspired by Paso Robles’ growing population of commercial winemakers who were handcrafting small batches of really interesting wines.

“As we were honing our own winemaking and leveraging the generous advice of these winemakers, we were also tasting our way across the Paso ‘underground’,” said Minnick.” We realized that there was a wealth of undiscovered wines out there. While most had websites, very few had tasting rooms, and lacked the time, staff and resources to market their wines widely.”

“We wanted to bring attention to these wines just as Robert Parker had shone a spotlight on the ‘garagistes’ of Bordeaux,” added McLennan. The term garagistes (pronounced garage-east) was originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade smalllot winemakers, sometimes working in their "garages" (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules.” Robert Parker ‘discovered’ them and today those “vins de garages’ are some of the most highly-sought after wines in the world — and the term ‘garagiste’ is now synonymous with artisan, quality winemakers.

Even though the winemakers McLennan and Minnick

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were discovering were not making wine in their garages, they were under the radar and shared the ‘garagiste’ rulesbreaking spirit, so ‘Garagiste’ became the festival’s name, launching in Paso on Nov. 12, 2011. It was an immediate hit with both winemakers and consumers.

A signature feature of the festival is that the winemakers are onsite to pour their wines. The festival limits attendance to encourage interaction between attendees and winemakers, meaning it routinely sells out.

Demand has driven expansion to Los Angeles, Solvang, and Sonoma; but, as McLennan notes, Paso will always be the ‘mother ship’ and spiritual core of the festival.

Many of the winemakers who poured at the first festival have grown well past the festival’s 1,500 maximum case production requirement and are thriving, partly as a result of the attention they received at the festival — for example, over 60 percent of the winemakers resident at Tin City poured their wines at early Garagiste Festivals, and wineries that are becoming Paso institutions such as Vines on the Marycrest, Nicora Wines, Alta Colina, Caliza Winery, Ranchero Cellars, ONX Wines, and Paix Sur Terre, were key early participants.

The festival also has an educational component, offering dozens of seminars over the years allowing attendees to taste the influence of various oak treatments, steminclusion, and rare varieties, as well as in-depth interviews with wine industry luminaries such as Justin Smith of Saxum, Madeline Puckett of Wine Folly, Matt Kettmann of Wine Enthusiast and Bob Lindquist of Qupe. This year’s seminar will feature winemakers who focus on Spanish varieties including Enrique Torres of Diablo Paso and Louisa Sawyer Lindquist of Verdad.

The non-profit festival supports The Garagiste Scholarship fund at Cal Poly. Students who directly benefit from the festival can be found working in wineries across the county.

Minnick and McLennan have moved their own winemaking ventures well out of the garage, and today are commercial winemakers with thriving labels. Minnick’s winery, Hoi Polloi, also boasts its own tasting room, the Double Trouble Wine Room in Newhall. McLennan, whose label is Golden Triangle, evangelizes for garagistes on his radio show, The Garagiste Show, which is heard weekly on the KRUSH FM. And, to the delight of their ever-expanding audience thirsty for new discoveries, their mission of bringing underground winemakers above ground is ongoing — over 20 percent of the 60-plus winemakers pouring in Paso this November are brand new to the festival. Said Minnick: “At The Garagiste Festival, everybody wins. We’re like a matchmaking service where everybody ends up getting married!"

The 8th annual Paso Robles Garagiste Festival with 60-plus micro-production winemakers, an Industry Night, Rare and Reserve tasting, rocking After Party and more will be held Nov. 9 through 11 at the Paso Robles Fairgrounds and other local venues. For tickets and more information, go to www.garagistefestival.com.

• Private Label Artisan Condiments • Jewelry, Gems, Minerals & Fossils

24th St.

Winery Tasting & Vineyard Tours most Sundays from 11am-5pm & by appt.

7340 Drake Road, Paso Robles

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(805) 467-2138

Atascadero’s Own Winery & Tasting Room 6175 El Camino Real Just steps from the Historic Carlton Hotel Open Thursday-Sunday Noon til 7:00 P.M. 805-460-7422

Come and taste our Award Winning Wines

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Photos Courtesy Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery

FEATURED WINERY

‘One family, seven generations, 134 years’

By Brian Williams OF VINO MAGAZINE

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F

or decades the Steinbeck family was known for growing some of the most sought-after wine grapes on the Central Coast for decades. And now it’s becoming known for its wine and history that dates back to the early days of Paso Robles.

“One family, seven generations, 134 years,” says a proud Cindy Steinbeck. The family history adorns the walls of the Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery tasting room. “This is not just a fascinating, unique Paso Robles story, this is a unique story in the state of California.”

While the Steinbeck vineyards date back to 1982, the Steinbeck label is a relative newcomer to the Paso Robles Wine Country having started in 2006.

The Steinbeck’s, led by patriarch and matriarch Howie and Bev, continue to farm 525 acres of premium wine grapes west of Paso Robles — 99 percent is sold to large local brands such as J. Lohr,

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Justin and Eberle, while a mere 1 percent stays home for the family label.

The family’s lineage goes back to 1884 and the Ernst family, which is Cindy’s grandmother’s grandparents. The Ernsts moved from Geneseo, Ill., to the Paso Robles area, and a plot of land near the corner of Geneseo and Creston roads they named Geneseo after their hometown. They built homes, barns, a little church and school here in the new Geneseo. The school is displayed at the Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles.

It wasn’t until Cindy Steinbeck began doing research for her agri-tourism wine tours that she learned of her family’s long, rich history on the Central Coast. Her mother had stored away articles and artifacts over the years.

“I just started gathering historic pieces and then we started decorating the tasting room with things I had found in corners of the barns and shops and such,” Cindy Steinbeck says.

According to newspaper articles published in 1900 and 1901, the Ernst brothers of Creston “manufacture some very fine grades of wines” and will make 2,200 gallons of wine.

Frank and Rosie Ernst bought the current Steinbeck property in 1921 and built the house that Cindy Steinbeck lives in today. They raised their family there and farmed grain and cattle.

Howie, the son of George and Hazel Ernst Steinbeck was born in 1938. Bev Jespersen Steinbeck was born in 1940. The high school sweethearts, Howie and Bev, married and moved into the “ranch house” in 1959 and Howie worked for Western Farm Service.

On April 11, 1956, the Steinbecks in multiple places were in the news when a B-26 crashed on their Paso Robles property. The B-26 Marauder landed just 200 yards from the family home.

Howie's parents George and Hazel watched the plane hit the ground and explode. They witnessed parachutes coming down so they ran to rescue the men. The captain was brought into the family home and kept alive until medics could attend to him.

One of the Steinbeck’s wines, a red blend, is called The Crash. Pieces of the B-26 are on display in the tasting room as is a detailed display of the story. An American flag flies in the vineyard where the plane went down.

In 1980, the Steinbecks partnered with Gary Eberle to establish Eberle Winery and two years later the Steinbecks planted wine grapes on the family property that today sits in the Geneseo District of the Paso Robles AVA. They planted 50 acres of cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay on the family’s current property.

Cindy Steinbeck returned home after a Continued on page 30

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23

FEATURED BREWERY

Sour beer & lots of atmosphere

By Connor Allen OF VINO MAGAZINE

T

hey say most people come in one of either two categories, you’re either an artist or an engineer.

The engineers of this world like to deal with exact sciences, they like to know that if you add two things together that it will be the same answer every time, they hang their hats on it and build careers around it. And while one deals in exact sciences, the opposite is true of the other, the artist enjoys ambiguity and learns how to make beauty out of the chaos.

This principle has been applied to many things — even beer makers.

“It sounds cheesy,” Libertine Brewing Company General Manager Sean Zurbriggen said. “But we let the barrell tell us when it’s ready, you know, we don’t rush it. It’s not like an IPA.” The Brewery has over 600 barrels in their program. Some use whiskey barrels, some use wine or cordials, you name and they have used it.

Libertine Brewing Company in San Luis Obispo specializes on making beer, but not cut and dry beers like ale’s, pilsners; and IPA’s, they specialize in sour beers which takes time and added steps.

“We are taking younger and newer ones,” Zurbriggen explained. “You know you might have a beer that is not quite ready but has just the right characteristics that it helps another beer taste

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September/October 2018

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Central Coast Edition VINO

better or taste right.” vibe relaxation with a hint of recklessness.

Rather than anchoring around a few cornerstone beers, “Old music is a huge part of what we do,” Zurbriggen told Libertine has gone the opposite route focusing mostly on me. “A lot of our labels are driven from old Stones and Beach single batches and filling their bar with beers from near and Boys albums and stuff like that. We have a beer called Good far.

Vibrations, we did one called Summer Breeze, we’ve done The seemingly endless line of taps is the first thing you see Under My Plum which was a play on ‘Under My Thumb.’” when you enter the restaurant. Trying to count them seemed As for the music that is played, he says it is a hodgepodge foolish, so I did it anyways, and I was of everyone that works there. Several right, it was foolish. Half way through employees bring in records from their my first attempt I began tapping my own collections so to put their own foot and humming along to a nostalgic fingerprints on atmosphere.

It sounds cheesy tune that was flirting with my attention Libertine truly has something for but we let the span. everyone, the actual number of taps barrell tell us “Dunn dunn nu nuhh nu nuh nuh (I was told) they have is 77. Their own when it’s ready, dunn dunn... I can’t get no-” and sour creations usually occupy around you know, we suddenly I forgot about the taps as I 20 taps, that rotate quickly, with wine don’t rush it. It’s began to absorb the ambiance around holding down eight to 10 of their own. not like an IPA. me. The wall that borders Broad Street The remaining 50 taps could literally be in San Luis Obispo was up and single anything from anywhere.

— Sean Zurbriggen beams of sunlight shone into the “If you want to try to get beers restaurant through the trees outside. you’ve never been able to get before The most powerfully majestic of have never seen, this is the place,” painting (or maybe it was a photo, I didn’t analyze it, I just Zurbriggen says. “We have connections with Shelton gazed upon it like a kid looking at his first nudie mag) of Brothers and Lime, who are good distributors from outside Freddy Mercury hangs in the corner over the ramp to the that state that bring stuff from all over that you can’t just get restrooms. It reminded me of that feeling you get when you anywhere.” enter one of your friends grandma’s houses and see a giant On any given day they can have beers from breweries (not Jesus painting hanging over the fireplace, you understand sours) in Colorado, England and everywhere in between that that Tom foolery will not tolerated with the son of God can be enjoyed with your belly up to the bar or in the sun on watching over you, but with Freddy, it seemed to usher in a the patio.

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25

CALENDAR OF EVENTS SATURDAY, SEPT. 8

Caliza & Farmstead Winemaker Dinner

Please join Caliza at 6:30 p.m. as they continue their 10-year anniversary celebration, this time at local favorite Farmstead Kitchen in downtown Paso Robles.

Winemaker Carl Bowker will present a special collection of current and pre-release wines, expertly paired with an amazing four-course dinner prepared by owner and Chef John McDevitt.

Tickets are $130 per person, including tax and gratuity.

Seats are extremely limited. To reserve your tickets, call Farmstead Kitchen at 805-369-2705. Farmstead Kitchen is located at 1344 Park Street in Paso Robles.

Croma Vera two year Anniversary and Grand Reopening Come celebrate with Croma Vera! Join them Saturday, Sept. 8, at their new tasting room where they will celebrate two years of having a tasting room and the grand opening of their new location at the head of the wine trail in San Luis Obispo.

During the party enjoy half off wines by the glass, two wine tasting flights for the price of one. 10 percent off wines by the bottle and delicious appetizers by Fromagerie Sophie.

Please RSVP with the number in your party by Sept.

4 for catering purposes to mindy@cromavera.com.

Croma Vera's New Tasting Room is located at 3592 Broad Street, Ste. 106 in San Luis Obispo.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15 AND SUNDAY, SEPT. 16 Whale Rock Music & Arts Festival

Don't miss two days of wine-loving, peace and jammin' in the vines at Castoro Cellars. Bands, yoga, art, wine, craft beer, kids activities and more. With music by Aloe Blacc, Lake Street Dive, Fruition, Orgone, Con Brio, Rayland Baxter, Joey Dosik and many more. Do not miss out on the premier music event on the Central Coast. For tickets and more information, visit www. whalerockmusicfestival.com.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15

Sangiovese Private Vertical Tasting

Experience a private reserve vertical wine tasting at noon. Vintner Janis Denner, will guide you through an Italian vertical tasting of estate grown Sangiovese from four different vintages, beginning with the exquisite 2014 and ending with an exclusive barrel tasting of 2017. This seated tasting will take place in our private barrel room and is by reservation only. Advanced reservations are required. Seating is limited to 10 people maximum. $45 per person. Pelletiere Estate Vineyard & Winery is located at 3280 Township Road in Paso Robles.

Continuing Tobin James Cellars 30th Anniversary Come celebrate with Tobin James Cellars, as they continue to celebrate their 30th Anniversary from 7 to 11 p.m. This year includes a special concert by Elton (the early years.) Chef Marc will have the pizza oven blazin’ and this years menu includes oysters, tenderloins, Baby Back Ribs and so much more. Tickets are exclusive to Tobin James Cellars Wine Club Members and are

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$139 per person plus tax. For membership questions contact 805-239-2204. Tobin James Cellars is located at 8950 Union Road, 9 miles east of 101 at 46E in Paso Robles.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 16

Wine Seminar: For the Love of Syrah

Cass Winery offers the perfect educational venue to become an advanced taster and wine aficionado. Katie Bay, Certified Specialist of Wine and Level II Sommelier will guide you from 1 to 3 p.m. through a lively, sensory experience that includes analysis, discussion and tasting of wine.

By the end of the session, you too will see how discovering the nuances of wine can be simple and above all fun. These public seminars are offered on a monthly basis, andare limited to 16 guests. Tickets are $35. Cass Winery is located at 7350 Linne Rd. in Paso Robles.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 21

Sip and Craft: Wine and Whiskers Pet Portraits

Broken Earth is excited for their next Sip and Craft event from 6 to 8:30 p.m. , an ongoing craft series held in the Café at the winery. Broken Earth provides the most important part of crafting – the wine.

The event will be hosted by 805 Art Social artist Karen Blaney. She will be walking all crafters through the process of painting their pet.

Each crafter will be provided with a sketch of their pet on canvas to paint the night of the event. We ask that all attendees send three well lit photos of their pet to michelle@brokenearthwinery.com by Aug. 31 so your pet sketch can be ready in time. A glass of wine is included with ticket. *One pet per painting please.

Tickets $50 per wine club member or $55 per person.

Broken Earth Winery and Tasting Room is located at 5625 Highway 46 East in Paso Robles.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 22

Harvest Pig Roast: An Outdoor Dinner Celebration In Niner WIne Estates’ Olive Grove

Niner Wine Estates is throwing the ultimate outdoor BBQ to celebrate the beginning of the 2018 Harvest.

They have partnered with local producer Charter Oak to roast a locally raised pig as the centerpiece of the meal and the Chefs will be up bright and early that morning to bury it in the ground for 14 hours of slow roasting. The pig will be wrapped in the estates own grapes leaves, Jack Creek Farm apples and our Mourvedre grapes and unearthed at the beginning of the evening.

The rest of the meal will be cooked outdoors on our BBQ with Dutch Oven potatoes two ways, a garden greens salad and roasted seasonal vegetables. Niner Wine Estates Winemaking team will be raiding their Library Collection of wines to find rare and seldom poured wines that will complement the meal and give guests a taste of some of their best wines. Event is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person and $125 per Wine Club member. Niner Wine Estates - Olive Grove is located at 2400 Highway 46 West in Paso Robles.

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20th Anniversary Gala at Brochelle Vineyards

Brochelle Vineyards takes great pleasure in announcing this special event, as they embark on a very significant milestone and would be honored if you would be a part of their celebration. They would like to formally invite you to their 20th Anniversary Celebration and Winemakers Dinner on Sept. 22 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. They are hosting this special evening at CaliPaso, a luxurious private Inn nestled in the rolling hills and vineyards of Paso Robles. This is a White Party, so come dressed in white to commemorate this special evening.

Dine and dance under the stars – it is sure to be a memorable evening.

The evening will be highlighted by a four-course gourmet extravaganza prepared by French-trained Chef Chris Krotke. Brochelle wines will be expertly paired with each course. Tickets are $169 and are limited, so reserve early. CaliPaso Inn is located at 4230 Buena Vista Drive in Paso Robles.

Sunset Soiree for Piedras Blancas Light Station

The Pacific Coast Wine Trail will host an intimate Sunset Soiree at the Light Station in San Simeon from 4 to 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the newly renovated Fog Signal Building. Guests will be treated to fine wine from six wineries, wood fired pizzas by Bear & The Wren, live music by Marcus DiMaggio and a spectacular sunset over the Pacific. Proceeds from ticket sales and silent auction will be used for restoration projects and educational outreach at the Light Station. Tickets are $85 per person. Limited ticket availability. Piedras Blancas Light Station is located at 15950 Cabrillo HWY in San Simeon.

Members annual blending party at Gelfand Vineyards Each year, Gelfand Vineyards wine club members join in and help concoct the perfect blend for two of their wines – our Menage a Bunch and SFR. This event is open to all club members at no cost and their guests at $35 per person. A catered lunch is provided for all. Gelfand Vineyards kindly request that children and pets be left with friends and relatives during this blending party.

Gelfand Vineyards is located at 5530 Dresser Ranch Place in Paso Robles.

Derby Vineyard End of Summer Party

Save the date! Derby Wine Estates will be hosting their annual End of Summer Party at the Derby Vineyard on the 46 West at 5 p.m. Join them for New Releases, a dinner catered by Derby Smokehouse, and dessert from Lynn’s Bakery of Cambria. Derby Vineyard is located at 525 Riverside Ave. in Paso Robles. For more information call 805-238-6300 or email christina@ derbywineestates.com.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 29 Templeton Oktoberfest

Join us for SLO County's best Oktoberfest. North County will be the place to be Sept. 29, as they roll out the mugs for this beer event.

Central Coast Edition VINO

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Don your lederhosen and dirndl and enter in the bestdressed contests. Also now is the time to practice your stein holding and beer chugging skills so you will be ready to win some great prizes.

Leave the kids at home as the inflatables are for the adults to bounce on this time. Corn hole, check. Giant beer pong, check. The Central Coast's best Oktoberfest band Trio Internationale will be kicking up the tunes.

Your ticket will include access to all the great music and fun, and mini mug with unlimited tastings. For the ultimate fun fork out a couple more bucks and get the one-liter mug (required for some contests). One liter mugs will be available for upgrade at the event if not sold out. These are real glass and a great addition to your home as well. Authentic German food items available for purchase from Beda's Biergarten.

Sorry kids, 21 and over for admission to this one. No refunds. This event is rain or shine. More information at www.templetonoktoberfest.com.

SUNDAY, OCT 7

1 pm – 3 pm Wine Seminar: The King of GrapesCabernet

Cass Winery offers the perfect educational venue to become an advanced taster and wine aficionado. Katie Bay, Certified Specialist of Wine and Level II Sommelier will guide you through a lively, sensory experience that includes analysis, discussion and tasting of wine from 1

to 3 p.m.

By the end of the session, you too will see how discovering the nuances of wine can be simple and above all fun.

Seminar is $35 per person. Cass Winery is located at 7350 Linne Rd in Paso Robles. For more information call 805-239-1730 or email events@casswines.com.

SATURDAY, OCT 13 6 pm – 10 pm 7th Annual Harvest Concert and Party

7th annual Harvest Concert and Party featuring Canadian folk duo Kacy & Clayton all the way from Saskatchewan. Kacy & Clayton recently released their third album, The Siren’s Song produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and recorded at the band’s Chicago studio (The Loft). Rolling Stone calls them a “Rootsy Duo” in this article. Join us on the patio to see this up and coming international touring group.

Doors open at 6 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m. and the event goes until 10 p.m. Delicious dinner buffet, fantastic music and Vine on the Maycrest (VOTM) wine.

Tickets are $75 and $60 for members. Vines on the Marycrest is located at 5076 Mustard Creek Road in Paso Robles. For more information call 805-237-0378 or email jennifer@vinesonthemarycrest.com.

Cioppino & Vino

FRI, OCT. 19 – SUN. 21 Harvest Wine Weekend

Come join 100+ wineries celebrate their vintages.

Harvest is the time to visit Paso Robles Wine Country.

Try your hand at harvest (including stomping a few grapes), take in the beautiful fall foliage, and enjoy live music, barbeques, barrel samples, and more. Let’s harvest happiness. At various Paso Robles locations visit pasowine.com/events/harvest-wine-weekend/ for more details.

Cioppino and Vino is a food and wine event that benefits

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the Paso Robles Children’s Museum. The proceeds help support the Museum’s programs and daily operating expenses. Some of the area's top chefs and wineries will be there to share their delicious Cioppino creations paired with amazing wines from the region. There will also be cheese tastings, a silent and live auction, and and a live jazz band that promises to bring the house down. The chefs will be vying the coveted Judges’ award and the People’s Choice award. This is an annual event that’s not to be missed. Tickets are $65 for general admission and $650 for a Reserved Table for eight. The event is located at the Paso Robles Inn Grand Ballroom, 1103 Spring Street in Paso Robles and goes from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information 805-238-7432 or email jennifer@pasokids.org.

(805) 237 – 2861

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27

Photo by Brian Williams

Cass wins Winery of the Year at CCWC Paso Robles winery won the Best Overall Red, three Best in Class awards, a Double Gold Medal and six Gold Medals for their wines

Staff Report Silver Medals and a Bronze Medal from the panel of 18 The Central Coast Wine Competition announced Paso expert judges during the blind-tasting competition, held Robles’ Cass Vineyard and Winery is the 2018 Winery of June 20-21. the Year. This is the second Winery of the Year award for Cass’s Gold Medal-winning 2016 Mourvèdre won Cass Winery, which took home the same honor in 2015.

Best of Class in the Mourvèdre category, then went on The award was presented on Friday, July 20, at the to win the competition’s overall Best Red. The Cass 2017 Wine Industry Awards and Gold Medal Tasting in Marsanne won a Double Gold and went on to win Best Mission Square during the California Mid-State Fair. of Class in the Other White Rhones category. The Gold “We couldn’t be more humbled to win this award from Medal-winning Cass 2015 GSM went on to win Best of this terrific competition that takes place right here in the Paso Robles community,” said Steve Cass, co-owner of Class in the Grenache-Based Blends category.

Cass Vineyard and Winery. “After we won in 2015, our “We’re also especially excited our Mourvèdre was named Best Red,” said Cass Winemaker Sterling team was determined to stay the course and continue focusing on producing the best wines from our 145-acre Kragten. “We, along others in the Central Coast, have vineyard in the Geneseo AVA. This win reinforces our been working with that grape for years, so it’s nice to ongoing goals and commitment to quality.” see it beginning to get the mainstream recognition it All 14 wines Cass entered received medals. Cass was deserves. That’s a win for all the Rhone wineries and awarded a Double Gold Medal, six Gold Medals, six farmers in the region.”

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Continued from page 7

Based on the weighted points given to each medal along with a Best overall red, Best of Class win and the high number of gold medals Cass was the clear winner in a very competitive field of wineries big and small, noted CCWC returning Chief Judge Tim McDonald, president of Wine Spoken Here.

The 18 judges this year included Matt Kettmann of Wine Enthusiast magazine, Bill Hayes, Wine Category Manager for Bev Mo!, and Mark Chandler, Chief Judge of the California State Fair Wine Competition.

The two-day competition took place at Estrella Hall at the California Mid-State Fair. On the first day, the judges blind-tasted more than 700 wines, rating and then voting on which to award a Gold Medal and Best in Class honor. The following day, the Best in Class wines were blind tasted again and awarded best Red, White, Rosé, Sparkling and Dessert. Insert Best of Show details.

Only after the awards finalized were the producers revealed.

Best in Show went to Alara Cellars’ 2017 Grenache Blanc, sourced from San Benito County. The honor came after judges awarded it a Double Gold Medal and deemed it both Best in Class (Grenache Blanc) and overall Best White Wine.

Best Pink Wine went to Opolo Vineyards 2017 Rosé.

The Rosé from the Paso Robles winery also won a Gold Medal and was awarded Best in Class for the - Any Rosé Blends - category.

Best Sparkling Wine was awarded to Laetitia Vineyard & Winery’s 2015 Brut Rosé. The same bubbles from the Arroyo Grande winery also claimed a Gold Medal and were awarded Best in Class in the Méthode Champenoise category.

Best Dessert Wine was awarded to Glunz Family Winery’s Mission Angelica. The wine from the Paso Robles winery also won a Gold Medal and was awarded Best in Class in the Fortified Wine category. This is the second year in a row that the Mission Angelica has been awarded Best Dessert Wine.

Of the more than 700 wine entries – a record number – nearly 150 Gold Medals were awarded to wineries located in the Central Coast counties of Alameda, San Mateo, Contra Costa, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

The complete list of all the results for 2018, and prior years, is available on CentralCoastWineComp.com.

“I’m pleased to say that this, the 16th Annual CCWC has been the best yet, in both our judging panel and the quality of the submissions,” said Michael Bradley, CEO of the California Mid-State Fair. “As we in the Central Coast know, some of the world’s best wines are being grown and produced right here in our backyard. Our goal is to celebrate and shine a global spotlight on these agricultural artisans. We can’t wait to see what the next 16 years brings to this competition.”

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winemaking style is also rather unique, and probably for anywhere (not just Paso). We make our wines in very small lots, typically barrel and half-barrel size, and then we intentionally make them all differently. Some barrels are fermented warmer, some cooler. Some use native yeast, some use various cultured yeasts. In some cases, we clarify the juice before going to barrel; in others the juice goes straight from the press to the barrel. And so on…. The goal is to expand the range of flavors and textures available for blending, and then selectively layer them back together to produce wines that are more layered, interesting and complex than if we had used conventional techniques. To borrow a reference from the field of music, it’s a little like a “Wall of Sound” approach to winemaking.

Q: You’re material talks a lot about your complex methods being key, what aren’t we thinking about when picking out a white wine?

A: Many people think of white wines as being crisp and refreshing, but generally not very complex or interesting. I suppose that is understandable given that many white wines are made that way. However, we are on a bit of a mission to stand against that assumption, and demonstrate that white wines can be as complex, interesting and flavorful as reds. A key component of our approach is that we try to put as much care, effort, and passion into our white wines as most Paso producers put into their best reds.

Q: Your bio mentions stealth aircraft design and orthopedic surgery specialization. What’s the common thread leading you to a winemaking program?

A: I love learning new things, trying out new ideas, being creative, and not just doing things that other people are already doing. I think those attitudes definitely show up in our winemaking. I also like to think you’re never too old (or too young) to reinvent yourself and do something totally different, as long as you have a passion for it and are willing to put in the work required to learn a new field.

Q: A bit more generic for the Q&A but what film or television program would you say defines your winemaking style?

A: I’d say music is a better analogy for the way we make Monochrome wines. For an example of the layering and complexity we aim for in our wines, check out Wall of Sound classics such as the Ronnettes’ “Be My Baby” or George Harrison’s “If Not For You”, and listen for the layering and background complexity.

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Continued from page 23

Continued from page 19

career in family life ministry to help the family vineyard in 1997 and her son Ryan Newkirk, also started working for the family business. Cindy Steinbeck is also an accomplished author, having published three books.

Education and sustainability are important to the Steinbecks.

Cindy Steinbeck started Crash Courses, educational vineyard tours, in 2003. The wine education in the vineyard tours has three modules — sustainable farming, sustainable family legacy and sustainable life, which features a scripture tour of the vineyard using Christ’s words, “I am the Vine.”

“Our tours are really popular,” Cindy Steinbeck says. “We jump in the jeep and take them out in the vineyard so they can see what we are talking about.”

Not long after the tours got rolling, the Steinbeck family hired Steve Glossner as its winemaker and launched the family wine label in 2006. Cindy Steinbeck was a driving force behind the wine label and 6,500 square foot winery production facility that followed in 2017. Three other wine brands use the facility along with Steinbeck. The Steinbecks produce 1,250 cases per year.

“That was more my impetus through which to communicate our magnificent story,” Cindy Steinbeck says of the wine label.

Four years after the debut of Steinbeck wines, an old blacksmith shop on the property was turned into a tasting room.

“Rustic elegance, home to our museum of artifacts and stories,” Cindy Steinbeck says of the tasting room.

Ryan Newkirk had always wanted to farm grapes alongside his grandfather Howie.

“Growing up Ryan always knew his dream was to work sideby-side with his Grandpa, Howie, to continue the family legacy,” Cindy Steinbeck says.

In 2014, Ryan Newkirk launched “hunt Steinbeck,” exclusive blacktail deer hunts on the ranch.

The Steinbecks opened a three-bedroom vacation rental in the heart of the vineyard.

With an eye on the future, son-in-law Bryan Widstrand was named winemaker apprentice and director of sales, after moving to from Tasmania, Australia to Paso Robles. The Widstrands, Bryan and Stacy, Cindy’s daughter, both worked in the wine industry in Australia.

Howie and Bev Steinbeck were founding members of Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and were named wine industry persons of the year 2006.

The Steinbecks have chronicled their past, happily made it available for all to see and are diversifying as they move forward — from cattle and grain to grapes, to agri-tourism, to the wine brand, to the deer hunts and the guest house.

“I believe it is about our story and wine and stories go beautifully together,” Cindy Steinbeck says. “In a sense when people walk through our doors they are walking through our past toward what I feel is an important part of our future. Customers become part of who we are when they visit us.”

The Steinbeck legacy continues today at 5940 Union Rd., Paso Robles. The tasting room is open 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily.

Jeep tours are available by appointment. For more information, call 805-238-1854 or email Cindy Steinbeck at cindy@ steinbeckwines.com.

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September/October 2018

Photo by Brittany App

Photo by SLOtography Photos

Photo by SLOtography Photos

original building was put to use in the new plan that is built to the latest building and safety codes, Darnell says.

The bricks, for example, used in the walls were hand-fired onsite by the York family in the 1906. It took them a year to do the four walls back then and each wall was five bricks deep.

“It was like a house of cards. We carefully disassembled with the intention to reassemble,” Darnell says. “We literally had a team out here with a hammer and chisel, chiseling off the old mortar and palleting the bricks in a way that we knew roughly what area they came from.”

The pillars and beams are from the first pier in Cayucos that was dismantled and transported by the Yorks to the winery.

“This is another very special piece for us that we carefully took down and put back up where they were,” Darnell says.

The old winery’s barrel room is a working barrel room, but only a small amount of Epoch’s wines are aged within its walls. The eastern wall of the barrel room is stone and, like the bricks, each piece of the wall was removed and numbered. A mason rebuilt the rock wall using the numbers to put each back into its original spot.

Darnell goes on to point out that the bar top in the main tasting room is redwood from vats and fermenters used in the York Mountain days.

While looking at the ceiling, Darnell points to the wooden press used by the York brothers to crush grapes and send the juice to the main floor by gravity. It is mounted on steel rails overhead where it was originally used by the Yorks.

That’s only some of the stories, Darnell says.

“There’s fun historic stories,” Darnell says. “There’s current things that are happening every day. And there’s fun things that we are all looking forward to with anticipation. We have a lot of stories to tell.”

The stories continue each day at Epoch Estate Wines and their York Mountain Tasting Room, 7505 York Mountain Rd., Templeton. Appointments can be made by calling 805-2377575, by email tastingroom@epochwines.com or online at www. epochwines.com.

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