Scott & Bob Fraser - winejudging.com |
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One of my most pleasurable past times is visiting America’s wine country regions. I always will make an effort to visit the many wineries that enter the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. I am always so amazed of the warm hospitality that wineries offer to their visitors and am always so proud to be associated with this fantastic industry.
Paso Robles AVA of Central California
This month, the Paso Robles American
Viticulture Area. The picture here shows our
wine travel group: (left to right), Ed and
Ginny Barnett form Grover Beach, Cary and I,
Kelly Klaver from Elk Grove, and Manuel and
Mary Gomez from Fresno.
Our first stop was Pear Valley Vineyard located on the east side of the Paso Robles AVA. Owner Tom Mass, shown here with Manual and myself, was a great host for our visit. The winery facility sits on approximately 113 acres of vineyard acres specializing in Bordeaux and chardonnay varietals. I was impressed with the Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux blend called Distraction, and their delicious Muscat Canelli.
The next winery Ginny suggested to visit was the Chateau Margene tasting room on the West Side of Paso Robles. Although the vineyards and winery is in Creston, the owners have recently built a tasting room on Peachy Canyon Road. A beautiful country side location for a fantastic picnic lunch on the patio. They were gracious in letting us enjoy their wonderful wines including the bordeaux blend Beau Melange. Ginny put out a lavish lunch for us to enjoy.
Ginny's next stop on our itinerary was to Denner Vineyards. The 126 acre winery/vineyard operation specializes in Rhone, Bordeaux, and Zinfandel wines. We were most impressed with the Syrah and a wine called Ditch Digger - a Rhone Blend. Ginny arranged for me to visit Ron, the Denner Vineyards owner, and the winemaker, Cal Poly grad Anthoney Yount. It was a lot of fun...
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