Winery’s off the Beatin Track, Part 2

December 22, 2011 Posted by Michael Renken Napa, CA, Wine Makers, Wine Tasting, Wine Travel No Comments

Another Wine Maker not to miss while visiting Paso Robles. On our last day this trip in Paso Robles we stopped at:

Carol at Vina Robles suggested we stop here. She said they have great wines and not enough people get by their tasting room. The tasting room, while small was Beautiful! Terry Hoage played football for GA Bulldogs and then the Eagles, as a safety. His College GPA was stellar and he is a brilliant man. He and his wife settled her to raise their family. They have chickens in the vineyard eating the bugs and a lake. The wines here are lite bodied, but full of flavor, nuance, texture and depth. Evan in the tasting room was warm and knowledgable and filled us with great information on the wines and vineyard! A guy in the tasting room (lawyer) suggested Evernote as a great application for taking wine notes. Michael will check it out. It allows you to take label photos.

Evan was the pourer, and very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their wines. This was a passion not just a job, was encouraging, because we had been at a couple of previous stops where the winery just hired a body, who had no real knowledge except how to pour the wine. We tried 2008 Tranche Cuvee $48, 2008 The Pick, Granche Cuvee $48, 2007 The 46, Grenache Syrah based on the 46 defense of Buddy Ryan, 2008 5 Blocks, Syrah Cuvee $48, all Very good complex wines that had body, structure, taste, and subtle nuances. A great find we never would have tried or put on our list without a recommendation.