Paso Robles is home to more than 170 wineries and 26,000 vineyard acres focusing on premium wine production. The distinct microclimates and diverse soils, combined with warm days and cool nights, make growing conditions ideal for wine production. Rabbit Ridge is one of the premier wineries in Paso Robles. It made the move from Sonoma to Paso Robles beginning in 1996 and now produces all of its wine there.
Rabbit Ridge has approximately 700 acres (450 planted) in Paso Robles making it one of the largest in the area. Its newly built, Mediterranean style, state-of-the-art winery is stunningly beautiful set against the gorgeous landscape of the area. The winery features a high-tech, gravity flow design that uses the sloping hillsides to transfer wine. Through this design, the grapes are crushed at the top of the hill and gravity, which is gentle on the grapes, moves them down 22 feet to be pressed and eventually bottled. If you have the chance to visit the winery, the tasting room is open Wednesday through Sunday and for a small fee ($5.00 which includes a Rabbit Ridge logo glass or $10.00 for a stemless Riedel glass for you to keep), you may taste all of the wines (several) that are open that day.
The Wines
2006 Rabbit Ridge Estate Zinfandel – $14.99
This estate grown zin from Paso Robles is an attractive dark garnet in color (perhaps due to the addition of petite sirah). It has both the aroma and taste of ripe blackberries. It is less spicy than many zins but does have that characteristic jammyness. This is a big, full-bodied red, coming in at 14.9% alcohol. Stay warm with this wine during the cold winter months.
2005 Rabbit Ridge Chardonnay – $7.99
This chard has the aroma of fresh pears. The taste of pear and apple is balanced nicely with a crisp freshness. The wine has just the right touch of vanilla. A nice effort at a reasonable price.
2005 Rabbit Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon – $7.99
Nice nose of cherry. The taste is blackberries and cherries with a slightly toasty oak finish. This wine is really smooth with very soft tannins for a cabernet. Alcohol level of 14.6% is high but does not taste overly alcoholic. Very drinkable and well worth $8.00.
More information on Rabbit Ridge, including their wine club, newsletter, and directions to the winery, can be found at www.rabbitridgewinery.com. Known for producing dependable, reasonably priced wines, as well as higher end wines of distinction, we recommend giving Rabbit Ridge a try. If you can’t make it out to the winery, check out the Rabbit Ridge wine selection at Trader Joe’s.
Rabbit Olive Oil?
In addition to grapevines, Rabbit Ridge planted their first olive trees in Paso Robles in 1999. The first two harvests were in 2004 and 2005 and were fairly small. However, the last two years the trees have produced a mature crop which has been pressed into the fourth release of Rabbit Olive Oil. While most California produced olive oil is from Spanish olive varieties, Rabbit Ridge olive oil is produced only from Italian Tuscan varieties. It is green in color and sold freshly pressed and unfiltered. It is much stronger in flavor and more peppery than settled or filtered olive oil.
Zinfandel Festival
If you are lucky enough to visit the area in mid-March, more than 90 wineries will host an array of special events during the annual Zinfandel Festival weekend. Winemaker dinners, food pairings, seminars, open houses, and special tastings are just a few of the activities planned.