Tasting Tin City - Paso Robles

Located in a small industrial warehouse district, 3 miles south of downtown Paso Robles, is an easily walkable zone of contemporary industrial-style tin buildings called Tin City which is home to an innovative beverage scene.

Tin City has several small-production wineries such as Anarchy Wine Co., Benom, Cordant Winery, and Giornata along with somewhat larger producers like Field Recordings. It is not unusual to be greeted by the winemakers in these modern tasting rooms and find them ready to share both their wines and their stories with their guests.

Superfly Zinfandel blended with Cabernet and Petite Sirah

At Anarchy Wine Co, expect to find a wide range of wines which includes a Bordeaux-Style Blend, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, a Red Rhône-Style Blend, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Zinfandel all deliciously served with a rebel yell in a rock and roll environment.

Les Deux Freres means The Two Brothers and is unique blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo.

Benom Winery pays homage to the Fabre family’s legacy in both the Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux regions. Benom, which is the phonetic translation of the French word binôme means “a project together." This concept comes from two French brothers from a multi-generational farming and winemaking family who are set on showcasing the quality of what their new home in the central coast of California has to offer with some added French flair.

Cordant offers premium wines from the Central Coast.

Cordant Winery focuses on vineyard-designated wine and wines that are a blend of multiple sustainably-farmed premium vineyard sites throughout California’s central coast. Grapes are sourced from multiple AVAs including Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. Cordant specializes in wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rhone varieties, of particular note is their highly rated ENZ Old Vine Mourvèdre.

Brian and Stephanie Terrizzi work together to bring la bella vita to Tin City.

Brian and Stephanie Terrizzi are the proprietors of Giornata, he’s the winemaker and she is a vineyard manager and, also, a consultant. Their passion is all things Italian, particularly wine made from California grown Italian grapes like Aglianico, Barbera, and Sangiovese made in an old world style. They regularly travel to Italy to study Italian winemaking and viticultural practices, their knowledge and experience can be tasted in each glass.

The Chef at ETTO Pasta Bar checking on the table.

This unique area not only attracts avant-garde winemakers but also breweries, distilleries, shops, and eateries like ETTO Pasta Bar and ETTO Pastificio, a small pasta factory and store, the brainchild of the aforementioned Terrizzi family and Negranti Dairy & Creamery which serves up rich and creamy sheep milk ice cream.

Find both wine and beer at Field Recordings to enjoy inside their tasting room or outside on the patio.

Parking is available for those who taste responsibly. Another option is to Uber to Tin City and more fully indulge in all the tasting options the area has to offer, it is an easy place to wile away time. If you want an upgraded experience in both Tin City and Paso Robles wine country, consider hiring a tour company, like Toast Tours, who provide safe transportation and lead groups on tastings both through Tin City and to more traditional estate wineries for the full Paso Robles immersion.

Take a seat in the Anarchy tasting room.

On your next visit to Paso Robles, plan to sip and stroll through laid back Tin City and enjoy a relaxed afternoon in this casual but hip tasting environment where you should expect to find unique and delicious gems just waiting to be discovered.

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

Wine Life - Houston

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