Value Juice from Paso Robles on the Lido Deck

I tasted with Certfied Specialist of Wine, Zina Maikinkova, the Marketing Manager for the Le Vigne Winery from Paso Robles, California. The company sells their Sylvester wines to Princess Cruise Lines, so if you have sailed the Love Boat chances are you have had Le Vigne wines. We tasted a range of quality wines they produce including the Sylvester Wines, and the Kiara wines. The Sylvester wines were named for the family patriarch, Sylvester Feichtinger, who purchased Rancho Robles in 1960. That was the same year that Sylvester's daughter, Sylvia was born. She watched her father go from hay farming and cattle raising to a true pioneer in helping to set up the Paso Robles AVA. In 1980, Sylvester started planting grapes, and in 1995, he broke group on his state-of-the-art wine making facilities. Mr. Feichtinger retired in 2001, and Sylvia, and her husband, Walter Filippini took over operations of the vineyard and the winery. I was blown away by the Kiara California Sparkling Wine, made with French Colombard. It was a lovely rustic green apple crisp gem that would be an amazing aperitif wine to accompany Melon with Parma Ham, Thai dishes, or salads. This wine reminds me of the tremendous value sparkling wine from Bordeaux, Veuve de Vernay, which is made from Colombard and Sauvignon Blanc. Both are lively, fresh, and fruity and very quaffable! The wine I am anxious to taste is the Le Vigne di Domenico Tannat, which will be available at the tasting room. Tannat is another workhorse grape from Southwest France capable of incredible firm tannins, but the modern New World Tannats emphasize the soft fruit nuances. I think the future of Le Vigne looks bright with these unique wine brands. In addition to making great wines, Le Vigne Tasting Room has a World Class Cheese shop and bar. It's a natural as the parent company Peacock Cheese Distributing which is based in LA. That provides Zina the opportunity to ply her other trade as the artisanal fromagère in Paso Robles. The next time I am in the area, I am making a special trip to the winery tasting room to have her prepare a plate of strong mature cheese with my Le Vigne Tannat.