Visiting Paso Robles - Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery

When we arrived to the expansive property, winemaker Kevin Willenborg was there to meet and greet in the tasting room and offer up a welcoming glass of the 2016 Vina Robles White4. This crisp white wine is an unusual blend of Viognier, Vermentino, Verdelho and Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh, crisp and round with fruity aromas of peach, pear and grapefruit, it was the perfect refresher before the tour and it makes a great anytime white with an SRP of $16.

In addition to the vineyards and the winery, Vina Robles also boasts an outdoor concert venue with a full schedule of premium acts like the Doobie Brothers and Chicago throughout the season. Guests at the amphitheater get to enjoy local wine and beer along with freshly prepared food at the shows. concert schedule prior to your trip.
If you are planning a trip to taste in Paso Robles and you are a music lover, you may want to check the

It is easy to make food part of your experience at Vina Robles as they offer a few gourmet pairing options from the savory to the sweet. They also have a full lunch menu offered on Thursday - Sunday or if you just want a snack, they offer a variety of tapas to enjoy with your wine tasting as well. Executive Chef Randy Torres oversees the various menus, reservations are recommended for the wine and food pairing experiences.

Hans Nef, the owner, is from Switzerland. He wanted to incorporate his European heritage and the opportunities he has found in California into Vina Robles. You find this on the lunch menu with the Älplermagronen, a mac-n-cheese made with Swiss cheeses and served with local apple sauce. You also find this philosophy in some of the wine blends.

The 2016 Vina Robles Red4 is a blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Willenborg feels the addition of the Petite Sirah adds more backbone to the easy-drinking Rhône style blend. Medium body, moderate tannins with cherry, leather and a light tobacco note in the smooth finish. A great anytime red with an SRP of $17 and paired here with the Swiss style mac-n-cheese.

Other wines from the Tasting Lunch:

Vina Robles Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2016 - Sourced from the estate Jardine Vineyard, this crisp dry
white has tropical fruit aromas with grapefruit and lemongrass with a clean citrus finish. It was served at the winery with tartufo salad. SRP $16

Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2014 - Sweet cherry/berry aromas with tobacco and licorice; dry, with a full body, velvety tannins and a long juicy finish paired with grilled mushroom and cheese sandwich on local sourdough bread. SRP $26

Vina Robles Estate Petite Sirah 2013 - Full bodied, big and chewy with effusive boysenberry, cocoa and nutmeg characters in a long rich finish served with Paso tri-tip on ciabatta with house made truffle potato chips. SRP $29

Vina Robles Suendero 2013 - From their Cuvée Collection, this wine is sourced from a vineyard that sits at 1,770 feet on calcareous soils just twelve miles from the Pacific Ocean. Blackberry, raspberry and light floral aromas elegantly mix with the full body and chewy tannins, trailing off slowly in a mineral-laced finish served alongside a raspberry sorbet made with the Red4 wine. SRP $56

The Visiting Paso Robles series continues, check back here every Monday and Saturday all month long.

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

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