As promised, here is part two of my Q & A with Jason Haas of Tablas Creek Vineyard. A big thank you to Jason for taking the time to answer questions. He also wanted me to let you, the readers, know that if you have any follow up questions for him feel free to ask them in the comment section and he will be happy to answer.
That’s pretty cool in my opinion. Guys like Jason, who have as much going on right now as he does, don’t often offer up more time to answer questions on a blog…goes to show the kind of guy Jason is. My take is that he is passionate about the industry, about Paso Robles, and about the people. For these reasons it is not hard to understand the success he, and Tablas Creek, have had. If you missed it, here’s a link to part one.
And now…part two:
Matt: What are the top 3 issues the wine business/ industry is facing in Paso Robles? Do you see these issues being resolved?
Jason: I’m going to focus on one: Keeping everyone pulling together. A decade ago, everyone in the wine community had clear memories of Paso Robles depressed, with lots of vacancy around the square, limited wine tourism, and little market recognition outside of the Central Coast. In that environment, it was easy to get near-universal participation in work that promoted the area. Now, it’s harder, with more people more successful, and many newcomers who see the current environment as the norm. I think it’s still important that we look outward and realize how far we have to go, and how much more we can do if we all work together. As to whether I think this will be resolved, I think it’s an ongoing fight against an inevitable erosion of unity, as success diminishes the urgency to continue to push. But I think that we can do a lot to slow (or even stop) the practical effects of this fragmentation, and I’m proud of the work that the Wine Country Alliance is doing to expand its efforts and to communicate the importance of the work that’s being done.
Matt: What is your favorite wine event in Paso Robles? Favorite wine event outside Paso Robles?
Jason: In Paso Robles, my favorite event was always Hospice du Rhone, which is sadly no longer an active event here. I know that there’s a group that is working to create a similar opportunity for interaction and information exchange between the Rhone-focused producers of our area and those from other areas in California, in France, and elsewhere around the world, and I think that it’s got a great future. There’s not a component yet that’s open to the public, but I hope there will be in the future. If A7 isn’t on your radar yet, it should be, here’s a link. As for outside Paso Robles, my favorite is the Yosemite Vintners Holidays, which happens at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel every November/December. It’s the one event for which I have a reminder on my calendar to ask to be invited back. The event features 6-8 sessions, each with 4 producers, including a seminar from each winery, a reception where you meet the 200+ guests, and a culminating dinner in the beautiful dining room there where each winery’s wine is paired with one course. We aren’t there this year (we went last year and they rotate producers) but the combination of focus, setting and quality of interaction is pretty great. I wrote a blog post about other events I particularly love.
Matt: What do you think about the east side versus west side conversation in regards to grapes, grape quality, and wine quality?
Jason: I think it’s such a huge oversimplification as to be nearly useless, and I think it’s unnecessarily divisive. There are real differences between different areas in Paso – that’s indisputable – but the differences have as much to do with north-south as east-west, as well as elevation, soils, rainfall, and a lot more. I’m a big believer in the value and importance of the community proposal for the 11 new AVA’s within Paso Robles, based on divisions that were driven by the best science we could assemble, and through inclusion of the broadest cross-section of a community ever to submit an AVA proposal. We’re still waiting on the final publication, but it could come at any time. My thoughts in detail are in the blog piece.
Matt: Where do you see Paso Robles going over the next 5 to 10 years? 20 years?
Jason: I see quality continuing to improve, as more vineyards get older and more winemakers get more experience. I also see a pullback from some of the extremely ripe wines that people associate with the area (in fact, I think this is already happening) as consumer trends move a little more toward elegance and away from sheer power. But I don’t see any paradigm shifts; I think that Paso will remain at the forefront of experimentation with some of the best warm-climate grapes, and I see a region whose reputation is only beginning its ascent.
Matt: This kind of goes with the question above, but what do you think will be the next big thing in the Paso wine industry?
Jason: You’re asking me to speculate? A few things that I think we’ll see are the increased recognition of the uniqueness of the individual regions within Paso Robles (for which the new AVA’s will be an important tool). I see the El Pomar area as particularly benefiting from this focus. I see more experimentation with more new grapes (we’ll provide several just from the imports we’re getting out of quarantine now of the trace Rhone varieties). I see a move toward more dry-farming in areas out west near us where there’s enough rainfall to do it. I see a move away from the trend of extremely close spacing because of the additional stresses this spacing places on groundwater and the higher sugars at maturity that result. I’m not sure any of these things will be the “next big thing” but I think all will have their impacts.
Matt: How do you see harvest 2014 going? Thoughts on the grapes (quality and quantity)?
Jason: It looks great so far. The vineyard is holding up fine despite the drought, and the grapes have both intensity and balance. It is going to be an early harvest, and we might challenge last year’s earliest-ever finish, which here was October 7th. But I think that it bears a lot of resemblance to 2013, which gave us maybe the best raw materials we’ve ever seen. Now let’s hope it starts raining as soon as we’ve gotten the last grapes in the cellar!
Matt: Favorite food and wine pairing?
Jason: Fried chicken and dry rosé!
Hi Jason! I love your Tablas Creek blog as it provides such a wealth of data, but in a way that is very easy for the average wine consumer to understand.
You mentioned during this interview that you area already seeing movement towards more elegance in Paso, with wineries pulling away from extreme ripeness. Could you give some examples of places you see headed in that direction?
Also, I (along with many others, I’m sure) see Tablas Creek as a pioneer that led the way for many of the newer wineries that have developed in the area. Your wines are so mature and developed and demonstrate the potential of Paso. What are some of your favorite new up and coming wineries in the area?
Thanks for the questions, Jenna. They’re both hard to answer. I prefer not to characterize other winemakers’ wines, so the first question is particularly challenging to me. But I think the movement away from wines with extreme ripeness is pretty broad-based across local Rhone producers.
The second is more of a pleasure to answer, because there’s so much exciting new stuff going on in Paso. A few of the younger winemakers whose work I have been enjoying recently are Amy Butler (Ranchero Cellars), Anthony Yount (Kinero/Denner), Mark Adams (Ledge), Ryan Pease (Paix Sur Terre), and Guillaume Fabre (Clos Solene). It’s hard to narrow it down, given the number of people worth highlighting, but it’s a start. Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question, Jason. We’re big fans of Clos Solene, and we’ll be sure to check out some of your other recommendations the next time we’re in Paso visiting Tablas Creek.