Arthur Dent: “If you’re a researcher on this book thing and you were on Earth, you must have been gathering material on it.”
Ford Prefect: “Well, I was able to extend the original entry a bit, yes.”
“Let me see what it says in this edition, then. I’ve got to see it… What? Harmless! Is that all it’s got to say? Harmless! One word! … Well, for God’s sake I hope you managed to rectify that a bit.”
“Oh yes, well I managed to transmit a new entry off to the editor. He had to trim it a bit, but it’s still an improvement.”
“And what does it say now?” asked Arthur.
“Mostly harmless,” admitted Ford with a slightly embarrassed cough.
So to gain a broader perspective on the topic: What is the significance of Paso Robles compared to other major wine regions?
Is it among Bordeaux, Rhone, Burgundy, Napa, Tuscany, Piemonte and so on - or is it among a different class of wine regions? Assuming such a differentiation really exists.
David it depends on what the intent of book is. Sotheby’s seems to more than an Atlas.
If the intent is to educate that is one thing, if the intent is to promote wine regions one prefers that is another. If it is to be a fluff piece for coffee tables that is still another.
That’s not likely to yield you any allies, but here are some of his comments for context:
“There is no question that a decade from now, the top viticultural areas of Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills, and the limestone hillsides west of Paso Robles will be as well-known as the glamorous vineyards of Napa Valley”.
“Paso Robles remains a work in progress, but I believe the region already shows some of the most striking potential in all of California.”
On specific wineries:
L’Aventure: “Former St-émilion resident and winemaker Stephan Asseo gave up Bordeaux and moved to the hillsides outside of Paso Robles. And in just a few years, he has become a superstar, producing remarkable Cabernet Sauvignon that seems to have more in common with a great vintage of Mouton Rothschild from Pauillac than any other Cabernet I have tasted from California. This is the single best Paso Robles Cabernet and competes with the best Napa Valley Cabernets.”
Saxum: “Saxum is one of the finest wineries in California, and with a total production of only about 3,000 cases a year, its wines are some of the hardest to find. Proprietor Justin Smith works with fruit from pure old-limestone vineyards that are truly of grand cru quality. In fact, if California ever developed a vineyard rating system, certainly Saxum’s famed James Berry Vineyard would be classified as one of the best.”
Parker is much maligned here and in many cases it’s well justified. However, I think it would be wrong to dismiss his perspective on the region.
Really? Maybe in California, but the entire world? I love Paso Robles and think they produce terrific wines there, but bargains in California are very rare - especially compared to the world scale - regions like Toro and Rueda in Spain are exploding in most of the major civilized countries in the World - Roussillon is another monster - as are the southern regions of Italy, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc from Chile is another fast rising category - and people are talking about them ALL OVER THE WORLD. People are talking about Paso Robles here, on this site… and that’s about it.
And for the people that think that California wines are bargains; what does $10 buy you in Paso Robles?
Compare that to what $10 gets you in the South of France, Italy, Northern Spain, South America…
As an emerging wine region, right now? Absolutely. This is not a disrespect to other regions, but simply speaks to the quality and potential of the area. I don’t think Parker is wrong when he states that Paso Robles and other Central Coast areas will be mentioned along with Napa Valley. There is an immense amount of wine knowledge within the Paso Robles area, but wine makers and viticulturists are just scratching the surface of the area’s potential. There’s a new generation within Paso Robles that will be seeking expressions of terroir with more moderate alcohol and balanced character. Even within the last 5 years the region has made a lot of progress.
Micro-climes within Paso Robles are still being explored and new varietals being explored (Tablas has planted/will be planting Tannat, Picpoul, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Terret Noir etc.). The land itself is phenomenal with rolling hills of varied exposures and crests/valleys with varying temperatures. The diurnal temperature swing is incredibly dramatic due to the marine influence and the western temperatures/rainfall can be extreme. (10" of rainfall annually, frost and 15+ degree variance from east to west). It may surprise many here, but there are blocks in Tablas’ vineyards that struggle to ripen. Also, keep in mind, the cool evenings often mean low morning temps and rapidly cooling night temperatures. Extreme temperatures in west-side Paso don’t seem to hold for more than a few hours per day.
The sheer amount of limestone in the soil is incredible as well from the fossilization of ancient marine life. This calcareous soil has proven very important to retaining acidity in the grapes despite the warmer temperature (Tablas Creek Vineyard Blog: Why Limestone Matters for Wine Grape Growing). All-in-all, the region has all the elements to be among the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world. I truly believe that. I think time and experience will bear that true.
I think that when Paso gets its 11 AVAs it will be covered more than it currently is. After all, it is just one region right now. One region in a state with 115 (approx) recognized regions. That state is one state in a country with 100 more regions (approx) in other states. That country is one country on a continent with other countries with wine regions. S. America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia are all continents with many, political entities and wine regions (I don’t know of any vineyards in Antarctica (yet)).
Our entire country (U.S.A.) has fewer producers than Bordeaux. People do know there is a lot more to French wine than just Bordeaux and there is more than French wine in Europe… So why is there an expectation that Paso should be covered like Bordeaux or even Napa? Doug Wilder had a great response to Steve’s post. Paso is akin to Jura when it comes to it’s place in the wine world. Why is no one here complaining that Jura doesn’t get more coverage?
Does anyone else find it ironic that an online wine forum where people can express their enthusiasm for wine shits a brick when someone says Virginia makes world-class wine. But when book that tries to cover the entire world gives a small wine region small coverage bricks are again shat that respect was not given?
For what it’s worth, in American Wine by JR and Linda Murphy, SLO is given 9 pages (or about 7% of the CA coverage) of the 250 or so pages devoted to regions.
Kyle no way should Paso and Bordeaux have the same coverage. I agree wholeheartedly. If any of the well known wine raters have any I insights then SLO, including Paso, is a uniquely high end region. Probably warrants way more than two paragraphs and without even a mention of Saxum.
Perhaps the text could use an update with Saxum added. Nevertheless, a few paragraphs on Paso seems about right to me in the context mapping the world’s wine regions.
But shouldn’t Colorado receive at least two paragraphs when it has the two highest elevation wine regions in the US??
It would certainly help if somebody could go to a book shop and take a picture of those couple of paragraphs, so that we know exactly what we’re talking about. Saxum might be mentioned, after all.
It’s two paragraphs. If you’re shocked by that you’re either a “homer”, don’t understand the nature of an atlas, or have never seen the book in question. If the latter please note that it’s only funny when the Hosemaster reviews books unread (or in this case unexamined).
Saxum is mentioned by the way, proof to follow.
“A map of French vineyards is basically a map of France…”
Just to mention that is your weakest argument. You can substitute Italy for France in that statement and you’d not be wrong–you’d probably be closer to the truth.
In any case, Jancis Robinson visited the Finger Lakes a little while back. How many pages did we get?
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