NEWSLETTER
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SPRING 2016
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
SPRING 2016
3. . . . . . . . . A Note From Hans Nef 4. . . . . . . . . Featured Wine 5. . . . . . . . . New Release 6. . . . . . . . . Behind The Vine 7. . . . . . . . . From the Cellar 9. . . . . . . . . Wine & Food Pairings 10. . . . . . . . Happenings
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Dear Friends, The season of renewal is upon us, and the skeletal vines of winter are beginning to bud out with the fresh greenery of spring. It seems like just yesterday that we wrapped up the 2015 harvest, yet we are already rushing headlong toward the 2016 vintage. The sense of renewal extends beyond the vineyard. Across our region, the hills are richly decorated with green grass and bright wildflowers, a result of the El Niùo rains that have disrupted the recent drought patterns. We still need more rain, but this year has been an improvement. Spring fever is also abundant around Vina Robles, where we are embarking on several new initiatives. We are planning several new and redesigned events for the summer season and beyond. We are also building upon the momentum from last year’s magnificent concert season at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre. You can expect an exciting schedule spanning an array of music genres, as well as a new event hosted in collaboration with Opera San Luis Obispo. We are also launching our new web site at VinaRobles.com, which brings a suite of fresh improvements, including a responsive design for optimal viewing on any device; personal wine club account management; and a more interactive events calendar. On that note, we hope that you can visit us soon—both online and in person.
Best regards,
Hans Nef Cover: Zinfandel, Pleasant Valley Vineyard
SPRING 2016
FEATURED WINE 2012 SYRÉE Syrée is a blend that exemplifies our winery’s mission to unite European inspiration with California character, as it merges a noble grape originating from France’s Rhône Valley with one that has made its mark here in the Golden State. Indeed, the 2012 vintage is a blend of Syrah (81%) from our estate Huerhuero and Adelaida Springs Ranch vineyards, and Petite Sirah (19%) from our estate Creston Valley Vineyard. The Syrah provides a core of luscious black fruit, while the Petite Sirah brings a complement of bold spiciness and firm structure. After fermentation, each lot was aged separately before being blended in the spring. The wine was then racked back to French oak barrels for an additional year of aging and integration, ultimately notching a full 20 months in the barrel. The result is an unconventional yet seamless blend that achieves powerful elegance.
Tasting Notes The 2012 Syrée features aromas of dark cherries and cola with suggestions of savory spice and caramel. The texture is rich yet soft and silky as the dark cherry notes continue on the palate. Flavors of dark chocolate and fine tobacco emerge on a lengthy, full-bodied finish.
Pairing Recommendations The lively richness of the 2012 Syrée makes an appealing match for beef medallions with mushrooms, herb-crusted rack of lamb, French onion soup, and venison pot roast.
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NEW RELEASE 2013 ZINFANDEL – Estate The 2013 Zinfandel is our first to incorporate fruit from the small vineyard flanking our Hospitality Center, along with grapes from our estate Pleasant Valley Vineyard. The Zinfandel vines at the Hospitality Center are grown in the classic “head-pruned” style without modern trellis wires. As such, it is our salute to Zinfandel as the heritage grape of Paso Robles, dating back to the late 1800s and continuing today as one of the region’s most widely planted varieties. A dash of Petite Sirah from Jardine Vineyard brings firmness to the final blend. The nose is loaded with notes of ripe plum, black raspberry, sandalwood, and black pepper. A mediumbodied palate shows juicy raspberry and plum flavors with hints of crème caramel, all converging into a long, chalky finish with notable evenness.
AGING: 16 MONTHS IN FRENCH AND AMERICAN OAK BARRELS BOTTLING DATE: 06.11.15 RELEASE DATE: 03.18.16 ALCOHOL: 14.2%
SPRING 2016
COVER CROP’S CRUCIAL ROLE Behind The Vine with Viticulturist Sukhy Sran While grapevines get all of the glory when it comes to winegrowing, there is another type of plant that plays a crucial role in the vineyard: the cover crop. A cover crop is a plant or blend of plants that is grown to protect and enrich the soil in an agricultural environment. In our estate vineyards, the cover crop serves two specific functions— it minimizes erosion during periods of heavy rainfall, and it helps condition the soil for the growing season ahead. Erosion is a real concern in Paso Robles. The weather is dry for much of the year, and the soil becomes parched and powdery. So by the time the winter rainstorms arrive, this loose topsoil is prone to flowing downhill in little rivers of mud. The easy and natural solution is to plant a cover crop. At Vina Robles, we use barley grass as our primary cover crop. The roots of the grass bind the soil together and also provide an aboveground barrier, which holds things in place during periods of heavy rain. Our cover crop schedule starts in the fall, after harvest. We purchase two truckloads of barley seed from a local provider called Templeton Feed & Grain. We disc each vineyard row to open up the soil, then we load the barley into what Is known as a “seed drill.” This cylindrical device is hitched to the back of a tractor, and as it rolls along it inserts the seeds into the soil between the vines. With just a little rainfall, the barley begins to sprout, and by winter it forms a carpet of green grass along each vine row, providing the erosion control we are looking for. Then, in March, we mow the grass close to the ground and make another pass to disc the remainder into the soil. At that point, the barley becomes
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a form of compost that returns nutrients to the soil while encouraging a proliferation of beneficial microbial elements that keep the soil aerated and fertile. Around this same time, the vines begin to bud out, and the cover crop is soon gone and forgotten—but not before humbly paving the way for a healthy growing season ahead.
AN ADVENTURESOME VINTAGE From the Cellar with Winemaker Kevin Willenborg When it comes to winegrowing, there is no such thing as a “normal” year, because every growing season is different and ultimately unique. But there are definitely “unusual” years, and 2015 was certainly one of them—and it will make a mark on the 2015 vintage wines to come. “Everyone is still scratching their heads concerning this season along with the lingering effects going into four years of drought,” said Winemaker Kevin Willenborg. “It was a rocky ride. But I won’t complain about the results, because I expect some great wines from 2015.” The growing season started as expected by recent drought standards, with a fairly dry winter that generated an early bud break. “It looked like we might be headed for an early growing season and harvest,” Kevin says. “But that all changed in May.” Indeed, the month of May in Paso Robles was unseasonably cool and, at times, continued page 8...
SPRING 2016
AN ADVENTURESOME VINTAGE cont. damp with light rainfall. This unlikely weather corresponded with the flowering period in the vineyards, whereby the infant clusters self-pollinate to “set” the berries for the upcoming harvest. For the flowering period, you hope for moderately warm, steady conditions without disruption to the pollination process. Needless to say, the May weather in 2015 was anything but ideal. “Cabernet Sauvignon was hit the hardest,” Kevin says. “Yields were down significantly – 50% or more in some cases. The Syrah crop was also just as light. Yet varieties such as Zinfandel and Petite Sirah managed to set just slightly below an average crop.” The month of June passed by quietly, but late July brought another anomaly—a freak rainstorm that was a remnant of Hurricane Dolores. Within a few days, 3.5 inches of rain had fallen in areas of Paso Robles. To put that in perspective, the previous total rainfall record for the entire month of July was .59 inches. From there, things were relatively uneventful through harvest, although a cool September slowed the pace of ripening toward the end. “If you look at the overall growing season, we accumulated an above-average amount of heat degrees—we just got there unevenly,” Kevin says. According to Kevin, the 2015 fruit on average achieved true physiological maturity at lower-than-usual Brix (a measurement of sugar content) levels. Since grape sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation, the result is a lower alcohol profile in most of the 2015 wines. “We employed additional pumpovers and extended skin contact during some of our red wine fermentations to make sure we were getting ample phenolic extraction at these lower alcohol levels,” Kevin says. “These wines are going to be long and elegant on the palate.” In other words, quality should be high, but quantities will be lower, due to the disruptive weather last May. On average, total yields were down around 30 percent overall from the average. As Kevin puts it, “You can expect some very good 2015 Cabernet Sauvignons from Paso Robles—there will just be less of them.”
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WINE & FOOD PAIRINGS
Introducing Our New Wine & Food Pairing Experience With our European heritage at Vina Robles, we have long been proponents of balanced wines that complement food—and we are now taking that commitment to the next level with two new experiences at our Hospitality Center.
Our new Wine & Food Pairing Experience offers a delicious immersion into the
art of perfect pairings. The menu consists of five courses paired with limited-production wines, such as our 2013 Verdelho – Huerhuero accompanied by a Cheese Puddle topped with orange olive oil and crushed red pepper; and our 2011 Ryan Road – Syrah with Bresaola-wrapped Pecorino. The experience is guided by a Hospitality Center host who shares insights into how aromas and flavors can be expertly matched, ultimately empowering you to create your own tantalizing pairings at home.
Meanwhile, our new Tapas Menu also delights the palate with à la carte small
plates to be enjoyed with our estate wines. Among the six offerings are Raclette, a sumptuous traditional Swiss dish of melted cheese, and a charcuterie plate featuring cured meats, cheeses, bread, olives, and Marcona almonds.
The next time you visit Vina Robles,
we invite you to bring your appetite and explore the magic of food and wine pairings with us.
SPRING 2016
HAPPENINGS Four-Legged Fun Comes to Vina Robles Tails will be wagging as we host the 8th annual Paso Robles Dog Jog right here in our estate vineyards on April 16 starting at 9:00 a.m. You and your pup are sure to be entertained as you roam around our picturesque vines along courses of two or four kilometers. The amusements continue after the jog with a dog expo, silent auction, children’s activities, lunch, wine tasting, dog contest, and live music by the Rag Bone Saints. Tickets are $25 through April 8, and $30 after April 8. Proceeds benefit Sherwood Park, the only dog park in Paso Robles. Visit VinaRobles.com for more information.
Get Creative on Mother’s Day Treat your mom to a memorable outing with our Mother’s Day Art & Wine Bar on Sunday, May 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A local artist will be your guide, and we will provide you with all supplies necessary for creating your own works of art. You will also enjoy a glass of sparkling wine and scrumptious charcuterie along the way. Visit VinaRobles.com for tickets and more information.
Celebrate Wine Festival Weekend We will once again rise to the occasion of the Paso Robles Wine Festival Weekend on May 19-22, a signature region-wide event that revolves around a grand tasting featuring more than 80 wineries at the Paso Robles Downtown City Park on Saturday. Meanwhile, we will be celebrating all weekend at our tasting room with a flight of pairings featuring artisan bites matched with exciting new wine releases. We will
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also offer case specials on both days, and host one of our Saturday Live music performances on Saturday afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Visit VinaRobles.com and PasoWine.com for more information.
Visit The New VinaRobles.com The next vintage of VinaRobles.com will soon be released and it is tastier than ever. Indeed, our new web site improves both the form and function of our online experience. Returning customers and Wine Club members can now manage their own personal accounts online and update their information as needed. An expanded calendar offers filters that make it easier to seek out specific types of events. We have also added an improved “where to buy” database that helps you find our wines at nearby retailers. Best of all, the site features responsive technology
that
automatically
optimizes the viewing experience for any tablet, smartphone or monitor size.
SIGNATURE WINE CLUB EVENTS Spring Brings Tasty Pick-Up Weekend Signature Wine Club members are in for a treat as we host our spring pick-up weekend on April 9 and 10, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on both days. Three hors d’oeuvres crafted by Tom Neuhaus, a professor in Cal Poly’s Food Science & Nutrition program, will be paired with our 2015 Albariño - Huerhuero, 2013 Petite Sirah – Estate and 2012 Syrée. The festivities will also resonate with live music by noted local performers, and it all happens on our private Petite Terrace. We look forward to spending the weekend with you.
3700 MILL ROAD, PASO ROBLES, CA OPEN DAILY 10-6 SUMMER / 10-5 WINTER
ABOUT VINA ROBLES We craft wines that represent a stylistic bridge between the Old and New worlds, capturing the finesse associated with European wines while celebrating the bold natural flavors of our estate vineyards in Paso Robles. Here, proprietor Hans Nef and managing partner Hans—R. Michel bring their Swiss heritage to California’s Central Coast, where they aim to unite the best of both experiences. Our wines are available across the United States and overseas, and can be enjoyed at our hospitality center in the heart of the Paso Robles wine country. Please visit us soon to taste the Vina Robles difference.
P.O. Box 699 Paso Robles, CA 93447 tel: 805-227-4812 fax: 805-227-4816
www.VinaRobles.com