WHEN: 30th Annual Paso Robles Wine Festival
May 18 – 20, 2012
Paso robles Station California (Photo credit: Loco Steve)
California’s majestic Central Coast is home to the Central Coast AVA American Viticultural Area that runs from Santa Barbara County in the south to the San Francisco Bay Area in the north. This AVA includes: Monterey, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. Paso Robles is in the San Luis Obispo Region of the Central Coast about 156 miles south of Monterey and about 137 miles north of Santa Barbara.
Photo of Hearst Castle outdoor pool (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Paso Robles WIne Festival is one of the largest outdoor wine festivals in Claifornia. It is always held on the 3rd weekend in May in charming downtown City Park. There’s always a Friday night RESERVE Event and a Grand Tasting on Saturday.
If you are going to this wine festival, consider visiting Hearst Castle where newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst created his private retreat on scenic Highway I in San Simeon.
William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper mogul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The project was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947. The Castle is about 2.5 hours from Monterey, but relatively close to Paso Robles.
Owner William Randolph Hearst with architect Julia Morgan in 1926. Photograph by Irvin Willat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA. Nederlands: Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Hearst Corporation donated the property to the state of California and it is a state historic park. Tour the gardens, pools and terraces. Admire the collection of art and antiques. This is one of the world’s greatest historic house museums. For more information visit www.hearstcastle.com
The indoor pool at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. The pool is lit by windows as well as skylights in the floor of the tennis court above. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hearst Castle, "Casa Grande" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In Paso Robles Wine Country “EACH GLASS OF PASO WINE that you hold in your hand is a vibrant romance; a romance characterized by the capricious Mother Nature and the steadfast wine-maker. This raucous relationship begins in the vineyard, is nurtured in the winery and flourishes in the bottle. It is only then that this personification of the wine-maker’s passion finds its way into our homes, families and favorite memories.”
Image via Wikipedia
At the 30th annual Paso Robles Wine Festival, about 80 wineries will converge on the Paso Robles Wine Festival in Downtown City Park. Local chefs will be on hand throughout the weekend highlighting their flavorful cuisine.
Paso Robles is distinct and different for a number of reasons:
Image via Wikipedia
1. The Paso Robles Wine Country is centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The area is located along California’s Central Coast.
2. This is California’s fastest growing wine region and largest geographic appellation. The territory encompasses more than 26,000 vineyard acres and more than 200 wineries.
3. The distinct micro-climates, diverse soils and long growing season, converge to create a unique wine region that is endowed with optimal growing conditions for producing premium and ultra-premium wines.
Image via Wikipedia
4. More than 40 wine grape varieties are grown in Paso Robles, ranging from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne. Zinfandel is the area’s heritage wine varietal.
5. Paso Robles has the greatest diurnal (day to night) temperature swing; typically 40 to 50 degrees during the growing season. This is the widest swing of any appellation in California due to cooling marine air of Pacific Ocean. This extreme temperature swing is responsible for the great balance in acid and tannins found in Paso Robles wines.
Here’s a copy of the festival brochure: http://www.pasowine.com/files/2012FinalWineFestBrochureWeb.pdf
For updates join the event e-mailing list.
Some of the other annual events near Paso Robles Wine Country include:
The Zinfandel Festival in March
The Harvest Wine Festival on the 3rd Weekend in October
Sunset Savor the Central Coast in Santa Margarita in October
The Big Sur WIne and Food Festival in November.
For a treat, book a room at the Just Inn at the Justin Winery. www.justinwine.com
Dr. EveAnn Lovero writes Travel Guides @ www.vino-con-vista.com
Related articles
- The Paso Robles Grand Tasting Tour in Newport Beach California (vinoconvistablog.me)
- Hospice du Rhone 2012: The Biggest Rhone Wine Event on Earth (vinoconvistablog.me)
- 20th Annual Paso Robles Zinfandel Wine Festival 2012 (vinoconvistablog.me)
- 20th Annual Zinfandel Festival Paso Robles, California (centralcoastlive.wordpress.com)
- A tour of Hearst Castle (sfgate.com)
