Winery For The Wise Ones!

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Paso Robles was named for its local oak trees, El Paso de Robles: The Pass of the Oaks. The name was shortened to Paso Robles when California gained its independence from Mexico in the mid 1800s.

Today, Paso Robles is home to more than 100 wineries and 26,000 vineyard acres focusing on premium wine production. The distinct micro-climates and diverse soils, combined with warm days and cool nights, make growing conditions ideal for producing more than 40 wine varieties from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, to Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne, to Zinfandel, the area’s heritage wine variety.
Early Years
Paso Robles has a rich history of winemaking and grape growing beginning in 1797 when the first wine grapes were introduced to Paso Robles by the Franciscan missionaries at the historic Mission San Miguel Arcangel, where Father Junipero Serra planted more than a thousand vines. The Padres produced wine for sacramental purposes and made brandy for export.
After Mexico secularized the California missions in the 1840s the vineyards were abandoned until European immigrant farmers started to arrive in the 1860s, following California’s independence in 1850. The first was a Frenchman, Pierre Hippolyte Dallidet, who purchased the mission’s suffering vines and started new ventures. More Europeans showed up in the 1870s starting with Englishman Henry Ditmas who started the area’s first vineyard importing Zinfandel and Muscat grapes from France and Spain for his 560 acre Rancho Saucelito.
1880s to 1920s
Commercial winemaking was introduced in 1882 when Indiana rancher Andrew York began planting vineyards on his 240-acre homestead. Within a few years, he found that the vines were yielding more than he could market, prompting him to establish Ascension Winery, known today as York Mountain Winery. The family planted some of the area’s earliest Zinfandel vines, making Paso Robles famous for this variety. York initially sold his wines mostly in San Luis Obispo and eventually as far away as San Francisco. Today, York Mountain Winery remains the oldest winery in continuous operation in the county.
Following York’s early success in the wine business, immigrant farming families settled in the area. In 1884 the Ernst family arrived from Geneseo, Illinois, and over the next 20 years planted 25 varieties of wine grapes made into wines receiving wide acclaim. In 1886, Gerd Klintworth planted a vineyard in the Geneseo/Linne area and produced the first white wine in the region. In 1890, Frenchman Adolf Siot planted Zinfandel west of Templeton. In the 1920’s, Italian families starting vineyards included Dusi, Martinelli, Vosti and Bianchi – many of which are still being farmed today by third and fourth generations of their families.
The Casteel vineyards in the Willow Creek area were planted just prior to 1908. Casteel wines were stored and aged in a cave cellar. Cuttings from the old vines provided the start for other vineyards still producing in the area today.
As the popularity of wines began to grow, so did the Paso Robles wine region. Lorenzo Nerelli purchased a vineyard at the foot of York Mountain in 1917. His Templeton Winery was the area’s first to be bonded following the repeal of Prohibition.

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Wine n dine! Wish Of Winery

The West Side Story
The Paso Robles appellation is now emerging from the shadows of Napa and Sonoma as Paso Robles' quality is no longer a well-kept secret. Wine enthusiasts are now learning and talking about the quality of Paso Robles appellation wines and buying them in record amounts.

To the west of Paso Robles, located high in the chalky Santa Lucia coastal hills and directly inland from Hearst Castle is the West Side, or Adelaida region, named for an old 1800s farming community. The West Side enjoys unique soils and climate, and has a larger diurnal swing than any other appellation in California. The result is an unusually wide range of microclimates in vineyard sites.

The calcareous, chalky, rock soils of the West Side are unusual to California. High pH chalk soils are highly prized in Europe for premium vineyards because of the reduced vigor of vines grown on chalk. As in Europe, the result on the West Side is low grape yield, with most vineyards harvesting two tons of grapes or less per acre. Rainfall on the West Side is heavy during the winter, with yearly totals ranging between 25 to 50 inches. Historically, and despite the difficulty of the steep, rocky terrain, the early farms in the Paso Robles area were located on the West Side to take advantage of the rainfall. Many of the West Side vineyards also take advantage of the good rains by "dry farming," using no irrigation.

It is this unique combination of unusual chalky soils, abundant rainfall, and rough and rocky high elevation vineyard sites that challenges the vines into producing small berry clusters of marvelously concentrated grapes. Coupled with the wide spectrum of micro-climates, the flavors and character from vineyard site to vineyard site vary remarkably, and provide the winemaker with a broad palate of wine components from which to blend deep complexity. It takes many years to really prove a new vineyard, but there is now enough history to make an accurate prediction about quality. West Side wines are superb, and improving at a rapid rate as the viticultural practices are tailored to the locale, and as the processing styles of the winemakers bring out the full expression of the grape.

Francois and Jean-Pierre Perrin, owners of world-renowned Chateau du Beaucastel from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape area near Orange, France gave a significant vote of confidence to the West Side a few years ago. Together with Robert Haas, internationally known importer and marketer of fine wines, they purchased land in the Adelaida area on the West Side. Their acquisition came after years of an extensive soil and climate evaluation search, which took them throughout the grape growing regions of the world. With full confidence that they would produce superior wines from West Side grapes, they invested heavily in a specialized nursery for their imported pedigreed varieties of French root stock and selected quality clones of fruiting wood. Ignacio Paderewski, a famous turn-of-the-century concert pianist, founding member of the League of Nations, and later the Premier of Poland was an early West Side enthusiast. He came to the Paso Robles area for the curative thermal baths and was so pleased by the beauty of the area that he ended up purchasing a large West Side ranch on which he planted a highly praised vineyard.

In the 1960s, Dr. Stanley Hoffman bought property next to the former Paderewski ranch, and hired the late Andre Tchelistcheff to advise him on the vineyard potential of his acreage. Tchelistcheff, often called the dean of California wines, was astounded by the chalky soils, and enthusiastically recommended the planting of a vineyard. The former Hoffman vineyards continue to produce excellent wine grapes, which are highly sought after by ultra-premium wineries.

Meanwhile, the East Side of the Paso Robles area has many of the same climatic advantages as the West Side, but also benefits from an abundance of ground water for higher production, and level to gently rolling land which is easier to cultivate than the rough rocky hills of the West Side. Major investors, such as Wine World (a Nestle company which owns several important wineries including Meridian and Beringer) and J. Lohr, have planted and built wineries for large scale premium wine production on the East Side. Other visionaries and wine enthusiast also began populating the area so that what had been only three wineries with limited production in the 1950's has grown to over 120 wineries today.

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Paso Robles Wine Country-

What and where is Paso Robles Wine Country?
Paso Robles, California is located half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Paso Robles Wine Country is one of the fastest growing premium vineyard and winery regions in California. Adelaida Cellars is situated 15 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, literally halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It sits in the heart of the Central Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area, as defined by the BATF) which extends from Santa Barbara to the South to Monterey to the North.
Hot days are contrasted with coastal breezes, which flow over the Santa Lucia Mountain range to cool the vineyards in the evenings. Many different varieties of winegrapes are grown in Paso Robles, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Zinfandel representing 80% of the planted acreage and some forty other varieties making up the remainder. The wineries are among the major recipients of awards in prominent national wine competitions. Yet fame has not detracted from a friendly and inviting atmosphere where it is not uncommon to meet the families and winemakers who actually own and operate the wineries.
History of Paso Robles Wine Country
In 1797 Spanish Conquistadors and Franciscan missionaries introduced the first wine grapes to Paso Robles. The first grape growers in the area were the padres of the Mission San Miguel, which is eight miles north of the city of Paso Robles and still displays artifacts of the region's long wine growing history. As the popularity of wines began to grow, so did the Paso Robles wine region. Lorenzo and Rena Nerelli purchased their vineyard at the foot of York Mountain in 1917. Their Templeton Winery was the area's first to be bonded following the repeal of Prohibition. Pesenti Winery is still in operation today.
There was a flurry of viticultural activity in the early 1920s when several families immigrated to the area to establish family vineyards and wineries. A few of the vineyards established at that time are still in production today.
The Paso Robles wine region gained more notoriety when Ignace Paderewski, the famous Polish statesman and concert pianist visited Paso Robles, became enchanted with the area, and purchased 2,000 acres. In the early 1920s he planted Petite Sirah and Zinfandel on his Rancho San Ignacio Vineyard in the Adelaide area.
Of any variety, Zinfandel has had possibly the strongest influence on the early growth and development of the wine industry in Paso Robles. In fact, a tribute to this varietal is hosted the third weekend of every year, creatively called the Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a new generation of vineyard pioneers in the Paso Robles area. Dr. Stanley Hoffman, under the guidance of noted wine master and viticulturist Andre Tchelistcheff planted some of the region's first Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay in the hills of Adelaide. His HMR Winery was the first large-scale modern facility in the area.
By 1983 the Paso Robles Viticultural Appellation was established, and the area's vintners and growers had produced the first annual Paso Robles Wine Festival, now one of the largest outdoor winetasting events in California, attracting 15,000 visitors annually.
As of 2008, Paso Robles is home to 170 wineries and 26,000 vineyard acres.

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Acacia-Ace In The Winery

Winery is a perfect place for rejuvenating. Acacia also offers the same in an exotic manner.Acacia is looking forward for the fall rush to entertain guests to the fullest.Acacia wants to welcome you and see you enjoying nature besing the closest to it! Barbecuing the food,good wine tasting and the scenic beauty..... what else one can wish more than this? If you are tired of routine work,come and enjoy here. One has to experience in life time!

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