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Vines need water to produce grapes. While too much water can impact the health of the vine and growing cycle, too little wine can actually be better for the finished product! In this session, we address how grape vines perform better under stress, including limited access to available water; How “dry farming” is done in different parts of the world; How the practice influences the quality and yield of grapes harvested; And how finished wines from dry-farmed vines taste remarkably focused and concentrated. We also taste through nine different dry-farmed wines to demonstrate their vibrancy and purity.

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.

Spanning three different valleys in the southern part of the State -- Umpqua, Rogue, and Applegate -- the Southern Oregon AVA is home to hundreds of vineyards and wineries that get little attention to the north. Unique soil types, combined with moderate Pacific Ocean airflow and less precipitation create a Mediterranean microclimate perfect for growing wine grapes traditionally found in warmer European sites, like Portugal, Spain, and southern France. And yet, with the addition of some steeper, high-elevation, North-facing vineyards, so too are cooler climate grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay cultivated. We taste through nine different wines from Southern Oregon that you will want to add to your home wine cellar!