Grand Tasting – Grand Opportunity

Wine Speak Paso Robles is a collaboration between wine experts and local wineries that first came to be in 2017, co-founded by Amanda Wittstrom Higgins of Ancient Peaks Winery. Seminars and tasting events were held between January 7th and 10th this year, involving some big names in the industry.

I was very lucky to be gifted a ticket to the Grand Tasting Event at the Pavilion on the Lake, Atascadero on January 8th, giving me access to wines from almost 40 local producers. What a fantastic opportunity!

After tasting a few wines, making notes as I went, it was pretty clear that I wouldn’t have time to taste everything there, but I did try 21 wines from a total of 12 wineries.

Tasting Highlights

This event was clear confirmation that Paso Robles is producing some excellent wines with a very diverse range of varietals. Of the wines I tasted though, there were a few that stood out for me.

Allegretto Wines – Cabernet Sauvignon 2014: Fruit from Willow Creek. Very pleasant fruit and butter-biscuit nose. Long finish.

Alta Colina – Old 900 Syrah: Dry, with aromas of smoked meat, blackberries and coffee.

Anarchy Wine Co. – The Devil Inside: Bold, unconventional and interesting. Great label.

Anarchy Wine Co. – Anarchy: A long-term favourite of mine. Aromatic, rich and smooth.

Clesi Winery – Nero D’Avola 2017: Ripe red fruit and chocolate aroma. Medium+ body and smooth. Yay for Nero D’Avola!

Hope Family Wines – Quest: Bordeaux varietal blend aged in American oak. Ripe fruit and vanilla. Great value.

ONX – Level 22: Northern Rhone blend. Interesting, earthy nose. Full-bodied with a long finish.

Tablas Creek – Esprit de Tablas: Highly regarded Rhone blend. Excellent aromas of ripe fruit and buttered toast. Plentiful, rounded tannin.

So, What Did We Learn?

Well, for a start, two hours isn’t long enough to properly taste anywhere near everything there. Perhaps next time I’ll invest in the early access ‘VIP’ ticket, giving me an extra hour…

Paso Robles is clearly making some world-class wines – some conventional in style, and some breaking the mould. More people need to visit this region and sample its wines, and I am sure that will happen with great events such as this. There’s a great sense of camaraderie between the wineries here, with friendly people gladly sharing knowledge.

For more wine events around Paso Robles, have a look at PasoWine.com

To shop for Paso Robles wine from Wine.com, just click here. 

To see more of my wine reviews just click here to go to my main blog page.

Want to know what my favourite Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is so far? I reviewed it here.

Darren.