Paso Robles Willow Creek District - Wine Region of the Day

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Paso Robles Willow Creek District

Just west of the City of Paso Robles and located between the Adelaida District and the Templeton Gap District is the Paso Robles Willow Creek District.  Marine breezes are a strong force in the district with substantial rainfall (24-30 inches per year) and fog commonly found in the area.  The temperatures in the region are cooler than the majority of the main viticultural area, averaging 2,900 growing degree days.  The coolness of the area, slows down the speed at which the fruit ripens allowing the maximum of flavors and sugars to develop.  The Willow Creek District is located around three tributary creeks of the Paso Robles Creek.  These creeks have helped erode and blend the shales, mudstones and sandstones of the Monterey Formation with the coarse sands and gravels of the Paso Robles Formation.  This alluvial mix is slightly alkaline with low water holding potential and of moderate nutrient value.   

Bordeaux and Rhone grape varietals are the most commonly grown in the Paso Robles Willow Creek District.

Los Olivos District - Wine Region of the Day

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Los Olivos

The Los Olivos District is located in Santa Barbara County of California within the townships of Ballard, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang.  The general formation of the district is the wide alluvial plain formed by the Santa Ynez river that slopes gently southward.  The climate is moderate with little marine influence.  Grapes grown in the region are from Bordeaux and Rhone.

May 18th - This Date in Wine History

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Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

  • Omar Khayyam, the Persian poet and polymath was born in 1048.  The is responsible for the verse: 
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
 A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou,
Beside me singing in the Wilderness,
 And oh, Wilderness is Paradise enow
  • The marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England in 1152 brought good cheap Bordeaux wine to the people of England.
  • The Minnesota Dairy and Food Department reports that Ole Olson plead guilty to selling Blackberry Brandy that had been adulterated with coal-tar dye in 1908.  He was fined $40.

Adelaida District - Wine Region of the Day

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Adelaida District

One of the eleven sub-appellations of the Paso Robles AVA, the Adelaida District is located in the northwestern portion of its parent.  Famously farmed by Polish musician and statesman, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Adelaida experienced its post-prohibition rebirth in the 1960s.  Largely mountainous, this geography has helped create a unique location by protecting the district from cool ocean breezes and allowing cool evening air to slide down the slopes.  These protection gave Adelaida a consistent daytime temperature while preventing overnight frosts.  Tectonics introduced a portion of limestone from the coast to be mixed into the sandstones, mudstones and slates to create colluvial soils that allowed good drainage that could hold sufficient moisture to encourage growth. Temperatures are similar to those of Bordeaux and the Rhone and grapes from those regions thrive here.

Inwood Valley - Wine Region of the Day

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Inwood Valley is located in Shasta County in Northern California in the shadow of Mount Lassen which is approximately 15 miles to the east.  The closest major city is Redding and the closest town is Shingletown.  Given its proximity to an active volcano, it is no surprise that igneous rocks are prominent in the area.  Mt. Lassen, the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range, last erupted over the period 1915-1917 and that ejecta flowed to the east.  However, the geology of Inwood Valley includes lava and pyroclastic materials from earlier eruptions that have since become to be known as the Tuscan Formation which overlays older, Cretaceous rocks referred to as the Chico Formation.  The valley runs east-west with elevations around 2,000 ft above sea level and are part of transitional zone between the valley floor such as in Redding and the higher mountains to the west.  The Inwood Valley is located between 1,000 - 3,000 feet above sea level where the the slopes are gentler for easier cultivation. 

Geography also effects the climate allowing the flow of cool breezes down the mountainsides and niches where the sun does not overheat slowly maturing grapes.  The area is considered to have a Mediterranean climate, suitable for Bordeaux and Rhône varietals.  The climbing elevation in the region also assures increased precipitation, with the majority falling during the cool season and the geology of the region allows for ground water to be readily accessed.  

 Modern viticulture began in the area began in the late 1970s.  Well before Prohibition, Agoston Hraszathy, in his 1862 book, Grape Culture, Wines and Wine-making with Notes Upon Agriculture and Horticulture indicates that wine grapes were being produced all over California from “San Diego up to Shasta, have given magnificent results”.   One of those early settlers in the Inwood Valley, Elijah Boots planted the first vineyards in 1864. While Mission grapes were initially cultivated, the local wineries now grow Chardonnay, Merlot and Viognier.

Ascension Cellars 2013 Testament Bordeaux Blend - Wine of the Day

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Ascension Cellars 2013 Testament Bordeaux Blend

$86

Our bold, fathomless, Bordeaux-inspired blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Cab Franc is the collective soul of the vineyard. Barrel fermented and hand-racked for thirty months in French oak barrels. Testament has an inky dark hue and it’s intense nose heralds black and red currant, lavender, cola and black cherry followed by mocha-laced layered flavors of dark chocolate, cassis and baking spice in every glass.

Testament compliments medium to sharp cheddar cheeses, braised short ribs, grilled steaks, prime rib, filet mignon, beef bourguignon, lamb and hearty stews.

2012 Oak Cliff Cellars 'La Belle Endormie' (Sleeping Beauty) Bordeaux Blend - Wine of the Day

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2012 Oak Cliff Cellars 'La Belle Endormie' (Sleeping Beauty) Bordeaux Blend

$55

This traditional Bordeaux style red blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc is still a young, but already complex wine: raspberry, cranberry, a little blackberry, minerals, pencil shavings, vanilla, coffee and toffee with great structure, full bodied, very long finish. But like most Bordeaux style wines, waken it gently from its sleep and decant a little while before serving.

These classic Bordeaux grapes come from the Wild Diamond Vineyard in southern Lake County and have been co-fermented in making this premium wine. The Wild Diamond Vineyard is in southern Lake County (just north of Napa Valley) at an elevation of 2,200 ft., meaning warmer, longer growing days with cool Pacific breezes at night and an overall shorter growing season resulting in fully ripe fruit. The red, volcanic soil of this vineyard contributes both to the depth of color and rich flavor profile of grapes from the Wild Diamond Vineyard.

Arroyo Grande Valley - Wine Region of the Day

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Photo of Arroyo Grande Valley by David Toomey for Qorkz.

Located in the southeastern portion of San Luis Obispo county, the Arroyo Grande Valley is a study in opposites.  The land is largely made of marine sediments that are part of the Franciscan formation but is crisscrossed with volcanic intrusions and faults.  The weather is largely warm and dry but marked with a fog line that separates cooler and wetter microclimates from those that are warmer and drier.  Naturally this carries over into their wine making, with part of the valley producing Bordeaux and Mediterranean varietals being produced at the far end of the valley and Pinot Noir,  Chardonnay and Riesling. 

December 19th - This Date in Wine History

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Virginia commemorative quarter showing the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature This Date In Wine History, we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

  • The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery left England in 1606 with colonists who would found Jamestown, Virginia.  Jamestown was underwritten by the Virginia Company that required settlers to provide for their own needs and hence viticulture came to Virginia.
  • In a letter from 1883, Giuseppe del Puente of 5th Ave., New York praises Dr. Angelo Mariani for his fine wine, Vin Mariani. Vin Mariani was made from Bordeaux wine treated with coca leaves.

Paso Robles Estrella District - Wine Region of the Day

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PASO ROBLES ESTRELLA DISTRICT

Photo of the Paso Robles Estrella District by David Toomey for Qorkz

The Paso Robles Estrella District is another of the eleven sub-appellations of the Paso Robles viticultural area.  The AVA is located in the northeastern portion of its parent and surrounds the Estrella River. The topography of the region begins mountainous and elevations decrease and even out into the floor of the river valley.  The elevations in the District range from 745 to 1,819 feet above sea level though the wineries are largely found from 1,000 to 1,600. 

The climate is moderately warm making the region ideal for Rhone varietals.  Marine influences and air flows due to elevation also moderate the temperatures which makes the region good for Bordeaux grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  The rainfall amounts range from 12.5 to 15.5 inches per year but are supplemented by the fogs brought into the region from the ocean air. The soils of the District are also effected by the its topography.  The soils of the region are alluvial and have low fertility but enough drainage to allow the roots of the vines to establish themselves and enough clay to help maintain moisture.