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.

Winemaker, Andrés Sánchez of Alcance

I was invited to a media and trade tasting lunch at Backstreet Cafe with Andrés Sánchez, the winemaker for Alcance, a Jackson Family winery. As guests arrived, we were greeted with a glass of lightly chilled Alcance Chardonnay 2016, a perfect start for a hot summer day in Houston. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is grown on granitic soils in a coastal mountain vineyard in the Valle de Itata. Despite my multiple wine classes, this was a growing area with which I was not familiar. This vineyard is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles from the coast which as Sánchez pointed out adds a nice sea influence to the wine. The Chardonnay was pleasantly fresh with light citrus notes and a touch of butterscotch with a distinct saline mineralty throughout the slightly creamy finish. A mixed appetizer platter with Gulf Coast Beignets, duck spring rolss, asparagus and zuchini flatbread, and lump crab cakes on red pepper beurre blanc were br...

Darioush Wine Tasting at Pappas Grill

I went to a Darioush wine tasting last Friday. What a delight! I found every bottle we tasted to be exceptional. Darioush is well-known for their Bordeaux styled wines so I was already familiar with both the Darioush "Signature" and the Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. They are both highly rated and consistently good. The Caravan is the lower priced of the two and is something that I keep in stock at home. The wines in the line up for the evening were all from Napa Valley and included: 2008 Signature Viognier, 2005 Signature Chardonnay, 2005 Signature Merlot, 2007 Signature Shiraz, 2007 Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, and both the 2006 & 2007 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 was opened by mistake which was a bonus to all who were present. The Viognier varietal has been hit and miss for me at tastings in the past but this offering was an absolute stand out. It was very fragrant with floral notes of jasmine and or...

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog