My latest segment on The Central Valley was about women winemakers in Paso Robles. It was a pleasure to be able to not only share the stories behind these two amazing women but also talk about how wonderful a region Paso Robles is. It has so much to offer and is so close.
Marin Wolgamatt is the owner/winemaker for Marin’s Vineyard. She grew up on the family vineyard in Lockwood where they planted Viognier because it was more tolerant of the heat in the region. After years of working harvests, she wondered what happened to the grapes that she worked so hard to pick. She decided to explore winemaking. She traveled to Australia and New Zealand to work harvests and returned home to make her first vintage in 2015. The Orange County Fair awarded her Best of Class and 97 points for her 2020 Viognier, which is aged in stainless steel and oak.
Jordan Fiorentini is the winemaker at Epoch Estate Wines. The winery’s name comes from the geological term meaning “A period of time in history or a person’s life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics.” Bill and Liz Armstrong, the owners of Epoch, are both geologists and historofiles. When they learned of the history behind and the ideal soils of, what is now named Paderewski Vineyards, they purchased the vineyard to fulfill their dream.
Jordan fell in love with wine at a young age as her parents enjoyed collecting wine. After graduating with an engineering degree from Dartmouth, she attended UC Davis to obtain a Masters’ Degree in vintner enology. She traveled to Italy for an internship, fell in love, and returned to help her father begin his vineyard and winery. Jordan eventually began working at Chalk Hill and then in 2010 she met Bill and Liz Armstrong and began her career at Epoch. Jordan’s first vintage, the 2017 Estate Blend was named #25 on Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines and last year, she was named Winemaker of the Year at the Wine Industry Awards.
We tasted:
Marin’s Vineyard 2021 Viognier
~Slàinte!
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