Hidden Gems: Family-Run Wineries in Paso Robles
Day One in Paso Robles, we hit the ground running. For all of our planning, there was one hiccup: we shorted our AirBnB by one day, meaning we had to travel to Paso Robles and go straight to our first tasting. Coming from Reno, we took the opportunity to visit family in Folsom and spent the night before picking up early the next day. Traveling from our kick off point, we drove four hours to Paso Robles and arrived just in time for our first tasting at Austin Hope. Under the umbrella of Hope Family Wines, Austin Hope is one of a number of brands, including: Treana, Liberty School, Quest, Troublemaker and Austin, most of which my store represents. Being very familiar with their Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon, their self-proclaimed quintessential Paso Robles wine, I was so excited to see the extended list of wines they also produce. With explosive Syrahs, an effervescent Blanc de Blanc, and unusual varieties like Graciano, Hope Family Wines was an incredible introduction to the land of oaks.
Our host, Holly, was cheeful and intelligent, and made us feel like this was the absolute best place we could have started this journey. I'm inclined to agree. She was kind enough to furnish us with two maps of the region, one from Wine Folly, and another from Paso Robles Wine Country, both with handwritten notes in the margins of other places to hit up next time. It was her insight that truly opened my heart to the possibilities of Paso Robles. In this beautiful Mediterranean climate, 65 different varieties are being produced, creating a huge market diversity for vintners and consumers alike. As with Napa, it seems that cabernet is the thing that pays the bills and acts as the gateway to get people in the door. But it's the other varieties that fuel the creative environment at the heart of this land.
That became very clear at our next stop: Desperada. Led by the badass and game-changing Vailia From, this boutique winery is for people who want to be surprised. Different from many mainstream wineries who impose their creative vision and taste on a wine, at Desperada the grapes and terroir take center stage. In a world where most consumers are fed wines with little vintage variation and are produced in a consistent style, the wines Desperada creates are refreshing in comparison. Even wines made with the same grapes in the same style may end up being wildly different from one year to the next. Often aged in clay amphorae, concrete eggs or acacia wood barrels, the end product is unlike anything you've likely tasted before. My partner and I sat down to taste at their long conference table, green velvet curtains limiting some of the harsh light from streaming in. Our host, Charlotte, talked us through what made them unique rather than hitting the tasting notes most guides touched on. A novice winemaker herself, she expertly wove back and forth between how the wine was made, and what was in our glass. She created a story of creation itself, transforming earth and nature into something tangible that we could drink, and more importantly buy to bring home with us. My favorite part of the tasting was getting to experience the Dressmaker, a solera made Cabernet Sauvignon. Because of the way it's made, it's bottled in "versions" rather than "vintages." It's a collection of various years continuously combined like sherry; however, without the fortification. Unique and unlike anything else made on the market here in the United States, I wish I had pockets deep enough to collect it.
While being in the wine industry is a great privilege that allows me to experience more than the average consumer or collector would, at times it feels like a very expensive hobby. I love being part of an industry that cares so deeply about educating and training its members for any number of experiences. The borders of this world are ever expanding, making room for more varieties, styles, laws, processes, labels, it's dizzying. But, there are times when, like any other consumer, I'm faced with the reality that there are monetary limits to what I can achieve by myself. But, then again, in an industry founded on the priciples of hospitality, there are times when you need only ask.
At our last stop of the day, my partner and I took a trip to the other half of the family operation: Herman Story. Founded by Russell From, it was his cellar where he and his future wife, Vailia were able to meet and spend time working on their independent projects. Prior to the development of Tin City, it was in Herman Story's winery where Desperada got its start. Although, with differing views on winemaking itself, it was easier for this couple to share their love with each other, rather than the cellar space.
The style produced by Herman Story is one I thoroughly enjoy: ready to drink now or age for the future, wines rich with flavor and labels lacking the pomp and formality endemic to the industry. We walked in, no reservation required, bellied up to the bar, and started enjoying ourselves. My partner quickly noticed a certain acrid smell in the air, and our host Crosby let us know that it was the scent of the hot wax. Rather than use foil caps, Herman Story dips their bottle tops in wax, which as she let us know, is both cheaper and more environmentally friendly. She smiled and gestured for us to follow her through the back cellar room where barrels were stocked to the second story high ceiling, into the packing room.
A line had been assembled of cases being filled, bottles being dipped, the sound of Spanish music blaring cheerfully. Harvest hands, out of picking work with the shifting seasons, assembled the spring release orders. I'm ashamed to say I never gave thought to the question: what happens to the people who work seasonally in the liminal time before and after harvest? Generally at the retail end of things, I know the price of a bottle doesn't denote quality, but rather how many hands have touched that product before it arrived to the store to sit on a shelf and wait for somebody to buy it. "Cheap" bottles are affordable because of the mechanization vintners employ to help produce their wine: picking machines, pneumatic presses, even gyropalates to rotate giant palates of bubbles instead of a riddler to do it by hand. "Expensive" wines are usually more a labor to produce, and thus typically but not always command a higher price. You have to pay the people who wake up at 2 AM to pick grapes by hand before dawn and rain and smoke affects them. All those hands are not ignored, but they're certainly not paid much thought on my end of the equation by consumers, or often myself. Standing there, struggling to piece together in Spanish how to ask the laborers if I could take a video of them dipping the bottles cut deep to my core. It was a humbling reminder that they too had bills to pay. My job isn’t just to meet quotas or push overstock products, but to be a voice advocating for their work in spheres where they have none.
Back in the tasting room, we worked our way through the flight, our host relaxing with us as the day wrapped up and we were the last guests remaining. I walked over to the wall of merchandise, and picked out a shirt, something I could wear back at my own tasting room. My partner packed up the two bottles of wine we wanted and we headed out, happy we made the stop and got to deepen our understanding of this world a little bit more. One tasting at a time, a person’s choices can change the world.
Resources
Hope Family Wines
Located 1585 Live Oak Road Paso Robles, CA 93446
Open Daily 10 AM - 5 PM
Starts at $25 per flight for parties of 1-6 people
Reservations recommended, walk-ins subject to availability
Outside food allowed on patio, food available for purchase, dogs on leash welcome
Desperada
Located 3060 Limestone Way Paso Robles, CA 93446
Open Thurs - Mon 10 AM - 4 PM
Starts at $20 per flight for parties of 1-6 people
Reservations required
Outside food allowed on patio, well-behaved dogs welcome
Herman Story
Located 1227 Paso Robles Street, Paso Robles, CA 93446
Open Daily 11 AM - 5 PM
Starts at $25 per flight, waived with a two bottle purchase
Reservations not necessary, walk-ins encouraged
Food allowed outdoors, well-behaved dogs welcome