Mourvedre

Mourvedre

Lavender Ridge Vineyard

October Colors in the vineyard

Rich and Siri Gilpin are the owners and operators of Lavender Ridge Vineyard. Rich has a BS degree in Enology from the University of Davis, CA. He has 25 years of experience in the wine industry and comes from a background of making wine for reputable wineries in Healdsburg, Napa, and the Sierra Foothill regions of California. Rich and Siri both have a passion for organic farming and the use of herbs in the culinary arts, including the use of lavender in special dishes they have created. You'll have to visit them at their tasting room to find out more details.

Old 44 Cellars

cluster of grapes

Old 44 Cellars

Here is a boutique winery in the Shasta Cascade area in Palo Cedro just a few minutes east of Redding, CA. Old 44 grows just under 4 acres of estate fruit for their wines. WInner of several awards produced and Grown in Shasta County. "Family Owned, Sustainable Estate Winery. Monthly events by appointment for wine club members and members of our mailing list."

Mahogany Mountain Vineyards & Winery

winery's logo - Mahogany

Mahogany Mountain Vineyard and Winery is a small, family-owned and operated winery specializing in limited production of handcrafted fine wines from our estate-grown Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvedre, Muscat Canelli, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Zinfandel. Our vineyards are located on 43 acres in a picturesque and sunny high valley (1,500 ft. elevation) in Ramona, California surrounded by mountains. The microclimate is perfect for growing red wine grapes and dry-farming: hot long summer days and cool nights produce beautifully ripe fruits with deep intense flavors.

Cendre Wines

Painting by Agata Zaborowski woman enjoying wine

Kevin, who owns Cendre is personable, knowledgeable, and welcoming. The intimate atmosphere means a high level of attention. To learn directly from Kevin about his unique wine-making techniques was fantastic. Fell in love with his Grenache, but enjoyed every one of his wines. A must-stop in Paso Robles!

Denner Vineyards & Winery

Corks and glass - Pixabay

The Denner Winery was completed in time for the 2005 harvest. Ron and John believe that great architecture blends with the environment. Denner Winery, therefore is designed to fit into the rolling hills and is complementary to the geography and culture of the Central Coast and the wines they produce.

Villacana Winery

grape cluster - ai generated - Pixabay

As of April 2002, a familiar Paso Robles wine label has a place on the map—literally. After nearly a decade of learning the art of winegrowing and winemaking, Alex and Monica Villicana opened their Westside Paso Robles tasting room, providing a home for their handcrafted, award-winning wines and a destination for fans of the label.

The Villicana label owes its existence to an unsuccessful culinary school endeavor. After college, Alex decided to pursue his interest in food and wine by enrolling in a culinary program. When the school failed to open, he shifted his focus to winemaking, taking a job working the harvest at a local Paso Robles winery in 1990 and enrolling in viticulture and enology classes at U.C. Davis.

In 1992, Alex was offered the chance to hand-harvest some Gamay grapes leftover from a mechanical harvest at a local vineyard. He eagerly accepted and made his first wine, catching the winemaking bug. In 1993, he was in the right place at the right time when he was offered three tons of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from the renowned Tchelistcheff vineyard in the Adelaida hills. Fortunate enough to secure fruit from that vineyard again in 1994, Alex became captivated by Paso Robles—not only for its high-quality fruit but also for the cooperative spirit and energy of the local winemakers.

Lodi Wine & Visitor Center

picnic table and wine glass

What makes Lodi wine so unique is that it is actually grown and made in seven different AVA’s; each one boasting its own distinct character, soil conditions and micro-climate. In fact, conditions here make it possible to grow more kinds of varietals from around the world than anywhere else in California. Anywhere else, period. The results of which you’ll discover as you navigate your way around these parts. Enjoy.
 

Carica Wines

small bites and wine tasting - Pixabay

The name "Carica" and the fig leaf featured on the label are inspired by the fig trees (Ficus carica) that still thrive on the hillsides of premier northern California vineyards. Historically, both the grapevine and fig tree have symbolized a life of peace and prosperity.

About the Winemaker

Carica Wines was founded in 2005 by Charlie Dollbaum, who serves as both the original winemaker and owner. As a hands-on winemaker, Dollbaum meticulously oversees the grapes throughout the summer, obsessively monitoring ripeness and sugar content as harvest approaches. He is present before dawn during hand-harvesting and personally handles every step of the winemaking process, from crushing and fermentation to barrel selection and aging program design.

With a PhD in microbiology and over a decade of private winemaking experience, Dollbaum established Carica Wines with a commitment to producing wines of the highest quality. His approach focuses on ensuring that each wine authentically represents its varietal characteristics and achieves a perfect balance of flavor and acidity.

Making Wine in an Urban Environment

In 2009, Carica Wines relocated from Sonoma County to San Francisco’s East Bay. Now situated in a newly restored WWII structure in Richmond's historic Shipyards District, the winery and its scenic tasting room benefit from an ideal location. This urban setting provides close proximity to California’s premier wine grape-growing regions, a temperate climate well-suited for winemaking, and a vibrant community of food and wine enthusiasts.

Vineyards

Over the past 15 years, Carica Wines has curated premium northern California vineyards to create small-lot wines of exceptional character. By not being limited to a single estate, Carica Wines has the freedom to source outstanding fruit from various locations, fulfilling the winemaker’s vision of working with the best available resources.

Tablas Creek

glasses of white wine - Pixabay

Robert Haas was a prominent figure in the American wine industry for over fifty years. Starting in the 1950s as a buyer for his family's New York retailer, M. Lehman, Haas traveled through the cellars of France, building a formidable reputation as a wine taster and forming lasting relationships with top wine producers.

In the mid-1960s, Haas ventured out on his own to import fine estate wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Loire, Alsace, and the Rhône Valley. It was during this time that he met the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel and persuaded patriarch Jacques Perrin to appoint him as the exclusive American importer for the estate. Through his importing business, Vineyard Brands, Haas collaborated closely with Jacques' sons, Jean-Pierre and François Perrin, helping establish Beaucastel as a leading estate in the international wine community.

As Haas and the Perrins traveled across the United States for two decades to promote their French wines, they became close friends and came to believe that Rhône grape varieties, which thrived in the sunny south of France, would also flourish in California's Mediterranean climate. In 1985, the families began searching for suitable property.

Robert Haas was honored by the Paso Robles Wine Community as the 2007 Wine Industry Person of the Year and received a lifetime achievement award from the Rhone Rangers in 2014 for his contributions to the American Rhône movement. Haas passed away in March 2018, and his remarkable career was celebrated in publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The New York Times. His son, Jason, who has managed the estate since the mid-2000s, was recognized by his peers as the 2015 Paso Robles Wine Country Wine Industry Person of the Year and the 2017 San Luis Obispo County Wine Industry Person of the Year. In 2022, Jason was named a Food & Wine Drinks Innovator of the Year.

The Perrin family has also garnered numerous international accolades, including the prestigious 2018 Meininger Award for Wine Family of the Year. Additionally, Jean-Pierre and François Perrin were named Men of the Year by Decanter Magazine in 2014.

Sextant Wines

wine and cheese

When you see the sign that says you have arrived at Old Edna, you are at Sextant's tasting room. A two-story tin building made to look old, they have charming grounds that are as fun for the kids as it is for the adults. Outside there is a pen of bantering goats, a fearless hen, old wood shanties, a tree house, picket fences, picnic tables, grass, and plenty of shade to sit and eat. They offer a limited menu of simple food inside and, of course, wine and a few other bottled beverages. The old time charm and novelty is certainly a draw. The tasting room is quite inviting and set up for countertop tastings or more casual small group seatings for eating and drinking, indoors and out.

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