Bordeaux’s weather is finicky. 2017 brought a spring frost on the left bank, hail wreaked havoc on the right bank in 2020, and that’s just to name a few.
This is why wine critics will obsess over vintage variations and their resulting taste in the bottle. But what if you could take the same grapes, and plant them in a place where the climate is a bit more predictable?
This is a bet that California winemakers have made, and while you can notice the inspiration from the old world, the result is quite unique.
California winemaking
Of course, when California does anything, it does it big.
The bulk of the wine volume production happens in the Central Valley (Lodi is the epicentre of bulk wine production there). The weather is hot, and irrigation is the norm. Grapes grow fast and it’s ideal for bulk production.
On the other hand, higher-end wines benefit from a longer, slower growth period, and in California, this happens near the coast, where the Pacific ocean provides a moderating effect on the climate. Napa and Sonoma undoubtedly have the largest mindshare of the high-end wine market. Their proximity to San Francisco is a factor, but the geography is what creates a unique climate: mountain ranges are parallel to the coast and run North to South, so they block the oceanic precipitations, yet allow the cool air to seep into the valleys through the San Francisco Bay.
But away from the spotlight, the Central Coast (near Santa Barbara, between San Francisco and Los Angeles) has seen an impressive development of its wine industry over the last 30 years.
Paso Robles
Paso Robles is a city in San Luis Obispo County, and its AVA (American Viticultural Area) was established in 1983. The area had a long history of growing Mission, then Zinfandel, but has also been a centre of experimentation with many varieties.
One reason is that like in Northern California, the interaction between the ocean and the mountains provides a wide range of climates that are better suited to growing different grapes. To reflect this variety, the main Paso Robles AVA was further sub-divided into smaller AVAs. The western part, especially in the Adelaida District AVA is the coolest and benefits from the cool ocean breeze coming in through canyons, while the eastern part is much hotter as most of the wind and precipitations are blocked by the mountain ranges.
Cooler climates are ideally suited for Pinot Noir (planted at the bottom of the mountain), but also Rhône varieties like Syrah and Viognier. The so-called ‘Rhône Rangers’ movement in the US was born there.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Back to Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc create the backbone of red wines there. They had been planted in California for a long time, but in the 1970s and 1980s, a few winemakers decided to plant those varieties in Paso Robles, hoping to replicate the growing conditions in Bordeaux without as much risk of frost and hail.
One of the most notorious stories is that of Justin Baldwin. He had made a career as a banker and had an epiphany in Bordeaux when he tasted Château Margaux. He went on to found Justin Winery in Paso Robles and created Isosceles, his homage to this Bordeaux flagship made with those 3 grapes.
Today, Paso Robles Cabs make a category of their own. They tend to be richer and riper than Left bank Bordeaux (even St Julien AOC), and you will typically not find the green, vegetal notes that plague poor vintages Bordeaux.
Many wineries use a small amount of Petit Verdot, another grape native from Bordeaux that enriches the blend. Ironically, Petit Verdot has trouble ripening many years in Bordeaux, and when it does, the wines usually don’t need its contribution. But since it does so well in Paso Robles, it gives depth, colour and tannins which makes them even more age-worthy.
And of course French oak is de rigueur for the best wines produced there.
These are robust wines, and if you are a red lover you can certainly sip them in front of the fireplace. But they shine with hearty stews in the winter as with grilled meat or barbecue in the summer. And they are a great alternative to the sometimes overpriced Napa and Sonoma cabernets.
Until next week, happy drinking !