Paso Robles Wine Festival

It was a huge success! Thank you! Over 2000 folks tasted at the park and here at the winery! We hope to see you at the 20^th Anniversary Festival Next Year: May 18-19, 2002!

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East meets West for the Pipestone Vineyards Grand Opening

On the auspicious day of Saturday April 21^st, we introduced our new winery and Rhône-style wines while the Cal Poly Chinese Lion Dancers and Drum Troupe clamored through the vineyard and winery boisterously leaping, flying, and dancing to scare away ill-spirits and welcome in good luck!!!

We are happy to report that we have had good luck and have not seen a single evil spirit!

Combining Eastern and Western traditions, Jeff Pipes and Florence Wong strive to manage Pipestone Vineyards’ estate vineyard and winery in a sustainable way. Pipestone Vineyards may be the only vineyard and winery in California managed and built according to the traditional Chinese principals of feng shui (wind and water).

Jeff’s background as an environmental engineer and attorney pushed him into wanting to farm sustainably and to treat the land gently. Florence’s background growing up in Hong Kong carries over

into the practices of feng shui, which is basically interpreting how various Earth energies (chi) co-exist and interplay at a specific location. Both philosophies (East and West) come together in our understanding of how each decision one makes regarding the land has an effect on many other natural systems.

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In the Rhône Zone

We specialize in full-bodied Syrah, Viognier, and Grenache Noir based Rhône-style wines grown in our own sun-drenched Estate Vineyard. The vineyard and winery are tucked into a secluded valley in the coast ranges just west of Paso Robles where it is truly quiet and peaceful. We encourage visitors to relax and enjoy the quiet surroundings.

Why did we plant Rhône varieties in Paso Robles?

Because the Rhône Valley enjoys a sunny Mediterranean climate just like central California. The Rhône Valley runs through Eastern France and empties into the Mediterranean at Marseilles. Grapes grown there include Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier. We believe that these grape grow best here too, making for some spectacular wines. Go to the Rhône in the summer and it is hot and sunny, never rains, and the grapes get fully ripe. Meanwhile, Burgundy and Bordeaux get rain all summer and rarely exceed 85 degrees! Definitely, these grape varieties were made for this climate and terroir!

Results of the Wine Festival Contest are In

The contest was won by Jessica Franklin of Huntington Beach, who knew 8 of the 13 (actually 14 grape varieties that are permitted in the Rhône - Châteauneuf du Pape A.O.C. in France. This was a hard and unfair question! I had to look them up my self! Here they are: for the reds – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarèse, and Terret Noir; for the whites – Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Bouroulenc, Picpoul, and Picardin. Whew! I highlighted the ones that are the most common and that are grown in California.

What Makes a Wine Great?

I am always asked something like: ‘out of the millions of wines made each year, why are some considered the best or most prestigious in the world?’ Hard to explain, but here is a shot. Great wine has five basic attributes:

True-to-itself-character: If you bought a Granny Smith apple and it tasted like a pear, you would be disappointed. A distinct true-to-itself character is a good thing when it comes to food. The more Granny Smithish the Granny Smith apple, the better. So it is with wine. Syrahs or Cabernets should taste powerful, not meek; Sauvignon Blancs should taste dramatically of green herbs, green fruits, and smoke. Try our own Viognier; it doesn’t taste like Chardonnay!

Integration: Which means the components in wine (acid, tannin, and alcohol) are in bal1ance. These can stand out like sore thumbs in a wine that's not integrated.

Expressiveness: Great wines are not introverted they beam out their personalities with clarity and focus. By comparison, wines without expressiveness can seem dull and diffused. An expressive wine is like color TV, an unexpressive; one more like a black-and-white set. To get a great sense of expressiveness, try a top dry German Riesling, or good Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Complexity is the phenomenon of finding new flavors every time you take a sip. A complex wine keeps changing in the glass and keeps you constantly intrigued because each time you go back, you discover something new.

Connectedness: This is the hardest attribute of a top-notch wine to describe. In the most basic terms, connectedness is the sense you have that the wine could not have been made just anywhere, but instead reflects the place and culture where it was made. A great example is a top Rhône wine such as Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage or Vieux Telegraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape. These wines have the unmistakable imprint of their place, which, as it happens, is a savage, black, fruit-and smoke flavor. The top Rhône wines embody the land they came from.

When you happen upon a wine that has all five of these characteristics, it is indeed a rare and special treat (and usually an expensive one). It is not meant for drinking every night, just once in a while. Great wine, after all, is one of the few affordable luxuries

C Please Recycle!

Current Releases

(Discounts: 5% on ½ case; 15% full case; 20% wineclub. Mixed cases are okay.)

2000 Viognier:

Barrel fermented sur lie in seasoned French Oak. Only ½ ton per acre from the vineyard, concentrating the vines energy into the berries. It is intensely perfumed with exotic tropical fruit, and aromas of honeysuckle, jasmine, wildflowers, tangerine peel and fresh pear. $19.00

2000 Grenache Rosé:

This dry, French style Rosé has a deep red color and is full flavored. It has a balanced crispness and fruitiness, a touch of spiciness, and aromas of ripe strawberries, peaches, and raspberries. Serve it chilled with a summer BBQ or anything spicy. This is not your mother’s Rosé! $12.00

1999 Mélange:

A classic southern Rhône-style blend. It exudes all the forward brilliant flavors forged by our warm and sunny Mediterranean California climate. Dark ruby with aromas of black cherries, black currants, blueberries, classic provençal herbs and smooth tannins. With our apologies, one bottle limit. $17.00

1999 Syrah:

Rich and full-bodied. Aged in new and seasoned French and American Oak barrels, this wine surprises with its saturated deep purple color and the intensity and purity of its red and black berry fruit aromas, coupled with a velvety and polished tannic impression. A fantastic value by the case! $18.00

1999 Syrah Reserve:

Hand harvested by family members from the Estate Vineyard which produced only one-ton of fruit from three acres of vineyard. The wine is an intense purple black with aromas of blackberry, pepper, and smoke with strongly structured tannins and a supporting acidity. With our apologies, two bottle limit. Nearly sold out. $32.00

Shipping to: CA, CO, ID, IL, IA, MN, MO, NE, NM, OR, WA, and WI.

Call for details – we will take a buck off your order to help pay for the call!

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Winery Events

We are open Thursday – Monday

Stop in and say hi!

Home Wine-making Class: October 20th (Saturday). We will harvest, crush, press and ferment grapes into wine. Discussion will focus on Home-scale wine-making, including lab needs, equipment, and grape selection. Lunch provided. Space is limited. Call for details.

Winemaker Dinners: Call for Details.

Atascadero Zoo Benefit: June 22-23

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Next Issue

· In the vineyard.

· Sustainable Farming.

· More about the Rhône Grapes.

· Holiday Food &Wine parings

Wine Club

Shipment is in June.

Join Now to receive your shipment at a 20% discount!

805-227-6385

Web Site is Up!

Well, it is still under construction, but there is more information there on the wines, special events, wine making, sustainable agriculture, Feng Shui, Joining the wine club and case discounts!