Paso Robles Wine: History and Innovation. Sponsored by #PasoRoblesWine & #TravelPaso

What are you waiting for? You still have a chance to fall in love with a young, vibrant, vivacious and intoxicating wine region.  Paso Robles is Napa's kid sister: She's pretty, she's welcoming, and well, she just tries harder...  she can be pretty boozy too (YOU try tasting a series of six Zinfandels at 10am! - but that's a story for another post....) - When you taste wines from Paso Robles, you are in for some amazing surprises.

I was thrilled to be a part of a pre #WBC14 trip as a guest of PasoRoblesWineCountry and Travel Paso Robles Alliance.
My first taste of Paso Robles was at a seminar hosted by Niner Wine Estates in their beautiful LEED Certified Production Facility. Located in the heart of Paso Robles, Niner was a breathtaking place to start our tasting adventure.

To my surprise, the first wine I tasted was a Pinot Grigio/Grenache Blanc/Falanghina Castoro Cellars' Whale Rock Estate 2013 Balena White Blend (right) was a light, delicious, refreshing blend that on first taste
made me want to take the glass and run out into the lavender field and savor it in the sunshine. Yes, to get to the Niner Winer Estates production room, we had to walk past rosemary hedges and a lavender field. (I now dream about rosemary hedges and lavender fields)


Where else but Paso Robles could I taste Giornata Wines' Luna Matta Vinyard Nebbiolo`11 a complex native fermentation wine, made by a husband and wife team from grapes that leaf out on Valentines's day.  This new world Nebbiolo, dubbed "love in a bottle" is sold in Italy, the ancestral home of Nebbiolo, where is on restaurant wine lists in Milan. (Not bad for a 48 case production year!)

Cantina del Taburno Falanghina `09 DOC $14.00 ****

Unique, interesting, delicious.  Long finish.  Fruity, yet dry.  Crisp, with the ghost of effervescence that tingles the sides of my tongue.  I'm loving it.

This was my second venture into the world of Falanghina, and so far both have been great wines.

JPH bought this Cantina del Taburno Falanghina at Greenvale Grapes to go along with a sword fish/bluefish riff on a classic zuppe de pesce Marcella Hazan recipe that he cooked for dinner (I made the saffron rice). It was great in the dish and in our glasses.

As we talked about the wine and compared tasting notes, S. reminisced about Naples, I got hung up on Vesuvius, and JPH pondered Benevento.  For one meal, via the sense of taste, we were transported to Southern Italy - even though we were in suburban NY on a cold, wet Fall evening.

For over 15 years a little white dog was there,
watching dinner being cooked, hoping for leftovers.

Nell was a companion, a critic, a calamity and
a reluctant comedienne. 
Countless times after a few glasses of wine,

we would "talk" for her in funny voices.
When we gave her voice, she sounded goofy but loving.
When she protectively barked in her own voice,
she could be intimidating (many a FedEx Man kept clear).
Nell sacrificed a few wine bottles
when digging under the wine rack to get at the cat's food.
(No chardonnay would go unbroken
in the pursuit of Queenie's Fancy Feast )
She haunts this blog as a recurring character in so many posts.
We miss you little white dog. 
R.I.P

 

Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Sannio `09 $13.99 (not TJ's) ***

My first comment:  "pretty".  I smelled the glass and it was fragrant.  Flowery. Delicate.  Pretty.  Then I sipped the wine and it was full of fruity goodness.  Apples and pineapple.  Not too tropical, and there was a distinct minerality that gave the wine a finish.  It wasn't sweet, but it wasn't dry.  It was in two words.... Just. Right.

But the truth is, the label had me at Vesuvius.  There is something about those Italians. So much history tied to food and drink. I was drinking a wine made from a varietal (Falanghina) that has been around since the Romans (the toga wearing, multi-deity worshiping kind, not the vespa riding, coffee drinkers of today). I think that it was fitting that JPH made Marcella Hazan's Zuppa di Pesce, it went perfectly with the rich spicy seafood stew. This wine not only cut through the spice, but it heightened the fish (shrimp, cod and calamari). I liked it.

Feudi di San Gregorio is the producer, Sannio is the region (the hilly region of Napoli) and Falanghina is the ancient grape that has historically produced good white wine; from the Romans right up the time-line to me, right here on the North Shore of Long Island. It is great to drink outside the box.  Trying a "new to me" varietal that not only tickled my palate but give me a history lesson as well. I say step outside the Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay rut every once in a while.  Expanding my horizons is fun!

Now, back to Vesuvius.
Pompeii is one of those places that has always intrigued me.

There is something about that ancient event that froze a city in time.  

It is on my list of places to see.  

Until then, I will leave you with a picture of relics from a Pompeii wine shop.  

Frozen in time in 79AD.