Paso Robles comes to San Diego

So, I have totally been slacking with the blog, and not for lack of material - there are a ton of great wine-related things happening in San Diego. However, I was inspired to get cracking again after an event I went to yesterday.

About 40 winemakers from the Paso Robles area came to San Diego this week as part of the Grand Tasting Tour, a series of tastings, winemaker dinners, and seminars designed to connect Paso winemakers with San Diego residents. I went to the trade tasting event in Point Loma to interview reps from some wineries that I am going to be profiling as part of my new gig as a freelance reporter for a local San Diego newspaper group (another reason I have been a blog-slacker).

For some of theses wineries, San Diego is the largest restaurant account for several of the wineries I talked to, which means there is huge demand for Paso wines in America's Finest City. Here are some of the highlights from the people I talked to:

• I asked the sales rep from Adelaida Cellars to pour me the one white and one red wine that best represented the winery. He gave me the 2008 HMR Estate Chardonnay and the 2007 HMR Estate Pinor Noir, and I appreciated his reasoning: Paso Robles is known as a warmer growing region, but Adelaida's terroir makes it an ideal locale for growing these cooler-climate grapes. the result? A balanced Chardonnay with no oak-y aftertaste and a spicy Pinot. I don't usually like white wines, but that Chardonnay got my vote.

• Clautiere Vineyards is better known for its' Alice in Wonderland-themed tasting room than its wine, but their rep Ron Wannagat said that in 2008 San Diego was one of their biggest markets. After losing their distributor and seven area sales reps in 2009, their San Diego marketshare suffered, but Ron's goal for 2010 is to focus on our area. When they get here, be sure to try the Mon Beau Rouge, a unique blend of Counoise, Mourvedre, Grenache, and Syrah.

• Minassian-Young Vineyards is owned and operated by David and Amparo Young; David grew up in San Diego and went to Cal Poly SLO, my alma mater. David and Amparo are committed to dry farming, which means that they don't have any installed irrigation and thus rely only on rainfall to water their vines. They also source grapes from organic vineyards in San Diego. Their 2007 Black St. Peter is an insane blend of Zin, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Carignon, and Viognier.

The Paso event ends tonight with another tasting event, but if you are bummed that you missed the festivities, I would recommend checking out the Wine Vault website; the restaurant frequently hosts winemaker dinners with Paso wineries.