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Paso Robles—A Region in Flux
Hmm, my second article in as many months about a Paso
Robles winery. What’s the deal - am I in the pay of the Paso Robles
Chamber of Commerce? A secret agent for a covert Paso grape-growing
cabal? Nothing so sinister, I assure you. Paso happens to be one of the
most dynamic, fastest-growing fine wine growing regions in California.
And the fact that it’s within a couple of hours drive from my home in
Long Beach makes it an easy weekend visit. And at the moment, Paso is
facing a crossroads of sorts, and dealing with issues that could affect
its very identity for years to come.
The Paso Robles AVA is one of the largest in California, with a
total of 665,000 acres. For years many have felt
that the AVA was ripe for subdivision to reflect the differences in
microclimates and soils in various parts of the region. For years, many
have identified Paso wineries and vineyards as being from either
the “Westside” or the “Eastside”, with the Salinas River (which roughly
parallels Highway 101, the main north-south freeway in the area) acting
as the de facto dividing line. The Westside is mostly mountainous with
higher elevations, steep hillsides, and somewhat cooler daytime
temperatures. The Eastside, by contrast, is mostly flat with some
rolling hills, little rainfall, and is considerably hotter. There are
also differences in soils, although the differences are not so
clear-cut. As a result, some (mostly Westside) wineries have petitioned
the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to divide the current Paso Robles
AVA into two sub-AVA’s, Paso Robles–Westside, and Paso
Robles–Eastside, with the Salinas River as the dividing line.
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This proposal was immediately steeped in controversy,
as many growers and wineries, especially those on the Eastside, felt
that the division was both inappropriate on scientific grounds (soil,
climate, etc.), and a disaster from a marketing standpoint. This was
because for years many “in the know” wine folks spoke of Westside as the
quality region of Paso, while Eastside was thought of as more generic.
And it was easy to understand why this distinction took hold. Most of
the “hot” wineries in the Paso area are on the Westside: Saxum,
Linne Calodo, Tablas Creek, Justin, L’Aventure,
etc. And while there are some excellent eastside wineries and vineyards,
the area is dominated by larger, mass-market players like Meridian
and J. Lohr. Wine lovers looking for the latest and greatest
finds in the Paso area got off Highway 101 - and immediately headed west.
New Paso AVA’s—Divide and Conquer?
But recently a new proposal for subdividing Paso Robles has been
submitted and appears to have a reasonably good chance of being adopted.
Rather than making an arbitrary division of Paso between east and west,
this proposal would subdivide the region into no fewer than 11 new sub-AVA’s.
To avoid confusion in the market, it has also been proposed that
wineries could list the new AVA’s along with the larger, regional Paso
Robles Appellation, much like is now permitted in Napa. So in the
future, we may see wines labeled “Paso Robles AVA, Adelaida District”,
or “Paso Robles AVA, Creston District”.
Unlike the proposal to divide simply east and west, the new proposal is
backed by serious scientific studies by a soil geologist and
climatologists. The clear hope of those promoting this proposal is to
help consumers recognize and celebrate the variety of different
micro-climates and soils which the areas winemakers have at their
disposal in the broader Paso Robles AVA, without seeming to promote one
sub-region (Westside) over another (Eastside). Whether this will succeed
remains to be seen, but at least the proposal has some science behind
it, unlike the proposal to divide simply east vs. west. Both proposals
are now being considered by the TTB.
Most of what would have been “Westside” Paso Robles
will fall into one of three AVA’s if this new proposal is adopted:
Adelaida, and Willow Creek on the western edge of the old
Paso AVA, and Templeton Gap, which straddles the Salinas River
and thus includes some of both west- and eastside Paso. The largest of
these is the Adelaida District, which runs due west from the north end
of the City of Paso Robles. Included in this proposed AVA are such
noteworthy wineries as Tablas Creek, Justin, Halter
Ranch, and the region’s namesake, Adelaida.
Adelaida - The Winery
Interestingly, Adelaida is the only proposed AVA in the region that has
a namesake winery. Named for an old 1800’s farming community, grapes
were introduced into the region by Franciscan missionaries in 1797. The
current Adelaida Cellars was
founded in 1981, and purchased by the current owners, the
Van Steenwyk family, in 1991. For years Adelaida was known
for producing very large-scaled ripe wines, rather rustic, inconsistent,
and not always well-balanced. But as the region matures and the name
“Adelaida” is on the verge of gaining new prominence, I thought it was a
good time to revisit Adelaida’s (the winery’s) bread-and-butter
offerings to see what progress has been made, if any, in creating
something interesting out of what had been
too-often overripe and monolithic wines.
Adelaida makes four distinct lines of wines. The “Reserve Label”
wines are the best barrels culled from their estate production. The “White
Label” is their workhorse lineup of estate wines that they claim
“represent the best of the non-reserve barrels.” Barrels that don’t work
stylistically as part of the White Label wines go into the SLO Label
wines. Grapes that are “declassified” are combined with non-estate
grapes to create the Schoolhouse Label wines. It is anticipated
that the Schoolhouse line will be combined with, and replace, the SLO
Label in the near future.
Adelaida is a very popular winery in Southern California. A recent
tasting of 5 of their most popular wines (4 White Label and 1
Schoolhouse) drew over 100 people to a casual Thursday afternoon tasting
at The Wine Country, a wine store near Long Beach. I took the
opportunity to taste through the wines and, for the most part, was quite
pleased with what I tried. As can be seen from the alcohol and pH
levels, these are not the “over-the-top” style of flabby, ultra-ripe
Paso wines (a style which Adelaida was guilty of perpetuating for many
years). Instead, they are pretty-well balanced wines of moderate
ripeness, good acidity and early drinkability. All of the red wines
below can be recommended for the price.
 2005
Adelaida Chardonnay “HMR” Estate, 13.7% alc., 3.54pH, $22.99. All of
the fruit came from the famous HMR Estate, one of the oldest vineyards
in the entire Paso Robles region, a substantial portion of which was
acquired by Adelaida in 1994. Originally called Hoffman Mountain Ranch,
the vineyard was planted to pinot noir in 1963, with chardonnay being
added in 1973. The nose featured clean, “big chard” flavors or ripe
fruits, touch of oak, lemon and cream. The palate is very ripe, heavy
and a bit raisined with peach and some oak. Seems too low in acid for
its weight, yet leaves a bit of a sour impression as well, a bit
disjointed. Too top-heavy for my taste, although lovers of big, ripe,
thick chardonnays will like it more than I did. Find this wine
 2005
Adelaida Schoolhouse “Recess Red”, 15.9% alc., 3.45pH, $12.99. A real kitchen
sink of a wine, this blend includes no less than 8 different varieties,
including 3 rarely seen Portuguese grapes: Barbera 29%, Cabernet
Sauvignon 25%, Zinfandel 21%, Syrah 8%, Touriga Nacional 7%, Tinto Cão
5%, Mourvèdre 3%, and Souzao 2%. Whatever, it’s tasty. Bright,
high-toned nose shows a bit of heat but also great spiciness and clean
fruit. Berries and crunchy fruit palate, medium body, not overripe or
raisined at all, very good acidity keeps everything in balance. Despite
the high alcohol, the wine is not hot. No particular varietal character
stands out, although I can taste a bit of both the zin and the cabernet
in there. Despite the mélange of grape varieties, this is not a
particularly complex wine, but a delicious gluggable red for the BBQ. Find this wine
 2003
Adelaida Zinfandel, 14.9% alc., 3.6pH, $22.99. A blend of grapes from 5
vineyards, aged for 23 months in 100% French oak, 25% new. Classic, deep
Paso zin nose of ripe plums, blackberry, but very fresh and not
raisined. Quite rich but not thick on the palate, with excellent acid to
balance the ripe (but not overripe) fruit. By Paso standards this is
almost elegant, with great zinberry fruit that tastes like Dry Creek
with a Paso accent. Not at all in the old ponderous Adelaida style. Very
good. Find this wine
2003 Adelaida Syrah, 14.6% alc., 3.5pH, $23.99. Similar
in ripeness and weight to the zinfandel, this features good typical
syrah flavors in the nose and palate that avoid the raisined character
of too many Paso-area wines. Medium body has good richness, with a
smokey flavor that is also a bit spicy and rich. Excellent acidity again
supports the rich but not over-the-top fruit. Even brighter and better
balanced than the zin and with more depth, this wine demonstrates why so
many growers in Paso are planting Rhone varietals as fast as they can.
Find this wine
 2003
Adelaida Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.1% alc., 3.42pH, $29.99.
I approached this
wine with some trepidation, as I generally am not fond of Paso Robles
cabernets. In my experience, most of them taste too much like zinfandel
and lack the structure and fruit-quality of what I think of as a good
cabernet. The alcohol listed on the label suggested that this would be
yet another raisiny, zin-like Paso cab. Yet this wine shows good
cabernet character on the nose, with only a bit of the zinny fruit
quality that dominates most of the region’s cabernets. The wine is
well-structured, with smooth tannins and good acidity. The alcohol is
not apparent (thankfully), and the berry fruit has a bit of the
blackberry and cassis quality I like in a cabernet. Although obviously a
warm-climate cabernet from its ripe fruit, it does not stray into
raisined flavors or excessive softness in its structure. This is quite
drinkable now, and if no match for a top cab from Napa or Sonoma in
terms of depth or complexity, it makes a pretty good case for giving
cabs from Paso a chance. Especially for the very fair price (which is
also no match for Napa or Sonoma, but in a good way). Find this wine
Bennett Traub
Reporting From The Left Coast
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