Wine 101: Wines of Paso Robles

In the lower half of California, there is a passageway of Oak trees — from which Paso Robles got its name — located in a high-elevation, hot weather set of valleys and peaks just east of the Pacific Ocean.

With cool mornings brought by foggy Pacific air and higher elevations, hot afternoons baking in the southern California sun, silty, well-draining soil, Paso Robles is a literal hotbed for distinct wines of focus, intensity, and opulence. In this session, we taste nine different Paso Robles white and red wines, including minimal intervention, dry-farmed, neutral-oaked, and even cement-aged wines that will make you reconsider this oft-overlooked winegrowing region.