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Adam Montiel
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- Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine PodcastHost· podcast
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- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 188 Featuring Wine Enthusiast Person of the Year Gretchen Roddick
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 Preroll content brought to you by Cork & Cruise and their Nov 2027 cruise featuring Epoch, LXV, and Adam Montiel From a part-time tasting room job in Paso Robles to helping lead the entire California wine industry, Gretchen Roddick has built quite a career. And 2026 has turned into one heck of a year. This week, Adam Montiel welcomes Gretchen, Executive Vice President of Hope Family Wines, newly elected Board Chair of the Wine Institute, and Wine Enthusiast’s 2026 Person of the Year. Recorded at SLOCAL Studios just days after the national announcement, it’s a candid conversation about nearly three decades of hard work, taking chances, building relationships, and helping put Paso Robles on the world wine map. Gretchen shares how a young woman from San Jose found her way to Cal Poly, into the wine business, and eventually into a partnership with Austin Hope that helped grow Hope Family Wines from roughly 1,000 cases a year to nearly a millio
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 187 Getting to Know the Geneseo District – Featuring Misty Oaks | Dresser Winery
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 Preroll content brought to you by Cork & Cruise and their Nov 2027 cruise featuring Epoch, LXV, and Adam Montiel Eleven nested AVAs, each with its own personality, history, and people helping shape Paso Robles Wine Country. This week, Adam Montiel continues his exploration of the region with two separate conversations from the Geneseo District , an area with agricultural roots stretching back to the 1880s and a long history of growing grapes that find their way into wines throughout Paso Robles. First, Adam welcomes Tim Stevens, founder of Misty Oaks Vineyards, and winemaker Ryker Wall . Tim never intended to start a winery when he purchased his property to be closer to family. But a distinctive microclimate, morning fog, and a growing curiosity about wine changed that. Together, Tim and Ryker are exploring the possibilities of their estate vineyard, including Petit Verdot and an exciting new Sangiovese planting inspired by traditional, wi
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 186 Who Gets Wine’s Attention? What Paso Can Teach Us – Featuring Wine Enthusiast’s Emily Saladino
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 This week, Adam sits down with Emily Saladino, wine and food writer, editor, recipe developer, wine columnist for The Washington Post, and writer-at-large for Wine Enthusiast. The conversation starts with Emily’s Wine Enthusiast piece asking why Gen X a generation with serious spending power and years of wine experience, so often disappears from the industry conversation. From there, Adam and Emily take the question through a Paso Robles lens: What happens when wineries get so focused on finding the next customer that they stop noticing the loyal one who has been showing up for twenty years? They also get into wine education, expertise without intimidation, trusting your own palate, the current slowdown in wine, language that welcomes people instead of shutting them out, and Emily’s wonderfully sharp description of wine as “beautifully inefficient.” The conversation ultimately becomes less about one generation and more about attention: who
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 185 A Dream Written Down: San Miguel District – Featuring Kahal Family Vineyards
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 What happens when you actually follow through on the crazy thing you wrote down years ago? This week, Adam sits down with Dave and Shawn Kahal of Kahal Family Vineyards , whose path to wine country included Orange County, Connecticut, basement winemaking, some memorably bad early wine, and eventually a vineyard in Indian Valley with a San Miguel address. Their story is a good reminder that the finished bottle is usually the least complicated part. The conversation gets into Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, learning the realities of farming, the challenges facing growers in today’s wine market, and what it means to build a winery around experiences and relationships rather than simply making more wine. It’s also the latest stop in our exploration of Paso Robles’ 11 nested AVAs, with a closer look at the history and geography of the San Miguel District . Our Travel Paso Spotlight heads to From the Heart Animal Sanctuary on Fat Goat Farm in Pas
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 185 A Dream Written Down: The San Miguel Nested AVA – Featuring Kahal Family Vineyards
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 What happens when you actually follow through on the crazy thing you wrote down years ago? This week, Adam sits down with Dave and Shawn Kahal of Kahal Family Vineyards , whose path to wine country included Orange County, Connecticut, basement winemaking, some memorably bad early wine, and eventually a vineyard in Indian Valley with a San Miguel address. Their story is a good reminder that the finished bottle is usually the least complicated part. The conversation gets into Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, learning the realities of farming, the challenges facing growers in today’s wine market, and what it means to build a winery around experiences and relationships rather than simply making more wine. It’s also the latest stop in our exploration of Paso Robles’ 11 nested AVAs, with a closer look at the history and geography of the San Miguel District . Our Travel Paso Spotlight heads to From the Heart Animal Sanctuary on Fat Goat Farm in Pas
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 184 What Wine Country Makes Possible – Corey Jordan of AMSTRDM & LIBRETTO
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 It’s harvest in Paso Robles, which means winemakers are moving fast, sleep is negotiable, and sitting still is not exactly the seasonal specialty. So this week, Adam follows the ripple effect of wine country in a different direction with Corey Jordan , Paso Robles native, musician, entrepreneur, and co-founder with his wife, Kate Jordan , of a growing collection of businesses helping shape what happens around the wine. Corey and Adam get into AMSTRDM Coffee House , Paso Robles Coffee Co. , LIBRETTO , the LIBRETTO Conservatory , and the Paso Robles Jazz Fest , along with the larger idea connecting them all: Paso’s wine industry created an audience, a hospitality culture, and an expectation for quality that opened the door for entirely new kinds of businesses. Corey talks about growing up in Paso, leaving and coming home, opening AMSTRDM during the pandemic, roasting coffee with the same obsessive attention people bring to wine, collecting S
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 184 What Wine Country Makes Possible – Corey Jordan of AMSTRDM & LIBRETTO
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 It’s harvest in Paso Robles, which means winemakers are moving fast, sleep is negotiable, and sitting still is not exactly the seasonal specialty. So this week, Adam follows the ripple effect of wine country in a different direction with Corey Jordan , Paso Robles native, musician, entrepreneur, and co-founder with his wife, Kate Jordan , of a growing collection of businesses helping shape what happens around the wine. Corey and Adam get into AMSTRDM Coffee House , Paso Robles Coffee Co. , LIBRETTO , the LIBRETTO Conservatory , and the Paso Robles Jazz Fest , along with the larger idea connecting them all: Paso’s wine industry created an audience, a hospitality culture, and an expectation for quality that opened the door for entirely new kinds of businesses. Corey talks about growing up in Paso, leaving and coming home, opening AMSTRDM during the pandemic, roasting coffee with the same obsessive attention people bring to wine, collecting S
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 183 Building Small, Thinking Big: New Chapters – Featuring Landsby Wines | Villa San Juliette
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 Harvest is moving quickly in Paso Robles, after two brutally hot days, calendars are becoming suggestions, and this week we’re making room for two very different conversations about what happens when you finally get the chance to shape something for yourself. First up is Oliver Mikkelsen , owner and winemaker of Landsby Wines , the small family project he created with his wife, Natalie. “Landsby” means “village” in Danish, and that idea runs straight through the brand. Oliver talks about building a label of his own while working as winemaker and ranch manager for Villa Creek and MAHA Estate, the farmers and mentors who make a tiny wine project possible, and why his approach starts in the vineyard. We also get into organic and dry-farmed fruit, Bailey Vineyard, Chenin Blanc, native fermentation, and what happens when Adam once again declares somebody’s Chenin the best Chenin Blanc. Then Roxan Kragten , General Manager of Villa San Juliette
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 182 Pull Up a Chair: Paso Wineries with Restaurants – Featuring CASS Winery | Bianchi Winery
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 What happens when the tasting room decides you should probably stay for lunch? This week on Where Wine Takes You , we’re digging into a side of Paso Robles wine country that has been evolving for decades: wineries with real restaurants, real kitchens, and chefs who are thinking about what’s on the plate with the same intention that goes into what’s in the glass. And Paso has some history here. JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery was putting real money and intention behind winery dining decades ago with Deborah’s Room , an early fine-dining experience at the estate that eventually became The Restaurant at JUSTIN , today a MICHELIN-starred restaurant. That early commitment helped establish the idea that a Paso winery could be a destination for dinner, not simply a tasting stop. That tradition keeps getting stronger. In 2026, Wine Enthusiast included Niner Wine Estates Restaurant on its list of the Best Winery Restaurants in the World , giving Paso som
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 182 Pull Up a Chair: Paso Wineries with Restaurants – Featuring CASS Wine | Bianchi Winery
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 What happens when the tasting room decides you should probably stay for lunch? This week on Where Wine Takes You , we’re digging into a side of Paso Robles wine country that has been evolving for decades: wineries with real restaurants, real kitchens, and chefs who are thinking about what’s on the plate with the same intention that goes into what’s in the glass. And Paso has some history here. JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery was putting real money and intention behind winery dining decades ago with Deborah’s Room , an early fine-dining experience at the estate that eventually became The Restaurant at JUSTIN , today a MICHELIN-starred restaurant. That early commitment helped establish the idea that a Paso winery could be a destination for dinner, not simply a tasting stop. That tradition keeps getting stronger. In 2026, Wine Enthusiast included Niner Wine Estates Restaurant on its list of the Best Winery Restaurants in the World , giving Paso som
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 181 And Then There Was One: Santa Margarita Ranch Nestled AVA – Featuring Ancient Peaks
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 Adam may be recording this episode from a lake house on Bear Pond in Hartford, Maine, but we’re headed straight back to Paso Robles wine country for another look at the region’s nested AVAs. This time, we’re going south, to the Santa Margarita Ranch AVA and one remarkable piece of land with a lot of stories buried in it. Adam sits down at SLO CAL Studios with Doug Filipponi , co-owner of Ancient Peaks Winery and Margarita Vineyard , and Mike Sinor , founding winemaker at Ancient Peaks. Doug grew up about a mile from Santa Margarita Ranch, later drilled water wells on the property, and eventually became one of its owners. Mike came to Cal Poly thinking he might become a teacher, found wine instead, and has spent decades learning how to translate the character of Margarita Vineyard into the glass. The conversation digs into the history of Santa Margarita Ranch, its wildly varied geology, the cooler growing conditions of the southernmost Paso
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 180: Wine Trends & Truth | Featuring WarRoom Cellars + Les Petites Canailles
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 Who actually decides what’s next in wine? This episode puts that question in front of two people who see the consumer from very different sides of the table. Alex Wolfe , General Manager at Les Petites Canailles , lives in the moment where a guest actually has to choose a bottle. Andrew Nelson , President and Co-Founder of WarRoom Cellars , is looking at that same consumer from the brand side, acquiring and revitalizing legacy names and figuring out what people still love about them. The conversation gets into the difference between a trend and a fad, orange wine, chilled reds, Riesling, large-format bottles, alternative packaging, value, restaurant wine lists, and the strange alchemy of taking a wine brand with real history and giving it a second act. Andrew also takes us inside WarRoom’s approach to brands like Bonny Doon Vineyard and its newly acquired Pacific Rim , while Alex talks about being the conduit between the enormous world of
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 179 Built by Hand, Blown by the Gap – Featuring Victor Hugo Winery | 915 Lincoln Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 This week, we continue our journey through the eleven sub-AVAs of Paso Robles with a stop in the Templeton Gap District , where the Pacific gets a vote, the wind rarely takes the day off, and Paso’s natural power finds a little extra freshness, perfume, and lift. Joining Adam at SLO CAL Studios are two winemakers operating on very different timelines. Vic Roberts, owner, estate grower, and winemaker at Victor Hugo Winery , arrived in Paso Robles in 1982. A UC Davis enology graduate, Vic helped with the original Paso Robles AVA effort, participated in the early growth of the Paso Robles Wine Festival, and planted his Templeton property one section at a time with his wife, Leslie. Sitting beside him is Scott Mathews, owner and winemaker at 915 Lincoln Wines . Scott’s wine journey began when he announced plans to make wine from a kit, and a friend immediately told him absolutely not. Real grapes were picked, an obsession was born, and the pro
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 179 Built by Hand, Blown by the Gap – Featuring Victor Hugo Winery | 915 Lincoln Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode Highlights 🍷 This week, we continue our journey through the eleven sub-AVAs of Paso Robles with a stop in the Templeton Gap District , where the Pacific gets a vote, the wind rarely takes the day off, and Paso’s natural power finds a little extra freshness, perfume, and lift. Joining Adam at SLO CAL Studios are two winemakers operating on very different timelines. Vic Roberts, owner, estate grower, and winemaker at Victor Hugo Winery , arrived in Paso Robles in 1982. A UC Davis enology graduate, Vic helped with the original Paso Robles AVA effort, participated in the early growth of the Paso Robles Wine Festival, and planted his Templeton property one section at a time with his wife, Leslie. Sitting beside him is Scott Mathews, owner and winemaker at 915 Lincoln Wines . Scott’s wine journey began when he announced plans to make wine from a kit, and a friend immediately told him absolutely not. Real grapes were picked, an obsession was born, and the pro
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 178 – 2026 Winemaker & Wine Grape Grower of the Year – Featuring J Dusi Wines | Martinez Farming
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam sits down with two people who represent both sides of the bottle: Janell Dusi , owner and winemaker of J Dusi Wines , and Octavio “Tavo” García Martínez , founder of Martínez Farming . Recorded at SLO CAL Studios , the conversation celebrates Janell being named the 2026 Winemaker of the Year and Tavo being named the 2026 Wine Grape Grower of the Year . The honors recognize two very different journeys. One is rooted in a century of Paso family history. The other was built through decades of vineyard work, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Janell grew up in the Dante Dusi Vineyard , where grapevines surrounded her childhood home and her grandfather Dante taught her old-world Italian winemaking. After making her first Zinfandel as a kid, she launched J Dusi Wines in 2006 and built a winery that carries her family’s legacy forward with her own perspective. This appearance is also a full-circle mo
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 178 2026 Winemaker & Wine Grape Grower of the Year – Featuring J. Dusi Wines | Martinez Farming
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam sits down with two people who represent both sides of the bottle: Janell Dusi , owner and winemaker of J Dusi Wines , and Octavio “Tavo” García Martínez , founder of Martínez Farming . Recorded at SLO CAL Studios , the conversation celebrates Janell being named the 2026 Winemaker of the Year and Tavo being named the 2026 Wine Grape Grower of the Year . The honors recognize two very different journeys. One is rooted in a century of Paso family history. The other was built through decades of vineyard work, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Janell grew up in the Dante Dusi Vineyard , where grapevines surrounded her childhood home and her grandfather Dante taught her old-world Italian winemaking. After making her first Zinfandel as a kid, she launched J Dusi Wines in 2006 and built a winery that carries her family’s legacy forward with her own perspective. This appearance is also a full-circle mo
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 177 The Space Between Paychecks & Passion: Featuring IIWII Wines | Cutbow Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You: Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with Phil Lamontagne, owner and winemaker of IIWII Wines , and Taylor Mathiesen, owner and winemaker of Cutbow Wines , for a conversation about the space between paychecks and passion. Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, the episode brings together two emerging Paso Robles brands from what Phil calls the “good draft class of ’22.” Both launched in 2022. Both are earning serious respect. And both are still being built around full-time jobs, long cellar days, supportive partners, hard-earned relationships, and the belief that a small brand can grow into something much bigger. For Phil, IIWII, pronounced “ee-wee”, grew from his years working with Jennifer and Terry Hoage at TH Estate Wines. When the Hoages retired, Phil and longtime coworker Cyril Pujadas found themselves pushed from the nest. Instead of walking away from what they had built, they created IIWII: short for “It Is What It Is.” Bu
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 177 The Space Between Paychecks & Passion: Featuring IIWII Wines | Cutbow Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You: Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with Phil Lamontagne, owner and winemaker of IIWII Wines , and Taylor Mathiesen, owner and winemaker of Cutbow Wines , for a conversation about the space between paychecks and passion. Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, the episode brings together two emerging Paso Robles brands from what Phil calls the “good draft class of ’22.” Both launched in 2022. Both are earning serious respect. And both are still being built around full-time jobs, long cellar days, supportive partners, hard-earned relationships, and the belief that a small brand can grow into something much bigger. For Phil, IIWII, pronounced “ee-wee”, grew from his years working with Jennifer and Terry Hoage at TH Estate Wines. When the Hoages retired, Phil and longtime coworker Cyril Pujadas found themselves pushed from the nest. Instead of walking away from what they had built, they created IIWII: short for “It Is What It Is.” Bu
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 176 Names We Carry & Stories We Bottle – Featuring Pelletiere Estate | Hubba Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You: Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with Janis Pelletiere, owner and founder of Pelletiere Estate Vineyard & Winery; Riley Roddick, founder, owner, and winemaker of Hubba Wines; and Morgan Stepp of Pelletiere Estate for a conversation about family names, inheritance, independence, and what we choose to make permanent. Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, the conversation brings together two very different approaches to building a wine legacy. For Janis, that legacy is rooted in place. She took her family name, Italian heritage, and decades of entrepreneurial experience and turned them into Pelletiere Estate, a mother-daughter-owned winery and vineyard in Paso Robles’ Willow Creek District. Janis and Morgan share how they restored the property, built the winery from different sides of the Pacific, and created an intimate estate experience centered on Italian varieties, hospitality, and family. For Riley, family shows up right on
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 176 Names We Carry & Stories We Bottle – Featuring Pelletiere Vineyard | Hubba Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You: Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with Janis Pelletiere, owner and founder of Pelletiere Estate Vineyard & Winery; Riley Roddick, founder, owner, and winemaker of Hubba Wines; and Morgan Stepp of Pelletiere Estate for a conversation about family names, inheritance, independence, and what we choose to make permanent. Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, the conversation brings together two very different approaches to building a wine legacy. For Janis, that legacy is rooted in place. She took her family name, Italian heritage, and decades of entrepreneurial experience and turned them into Pelletiere Estate, a mother-daughter-owned winery and vineyard in Paso Robles’ Willow Creek District. Janis and Morgan share how they restored the property, built the winery from different sides of the Pacific, and created an intimate estate experience centered on Italian varieties, hospitality, and family. For Riley, family shows up right on
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 175 Legacy and Lift-Off: OGs & New Blood – Featuring Still Waters Vineyard | Truss Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode 175 Highlights 🍷 Legacy and Lift-Off: OGs & New Blood In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam brings two generations of Paso Robles wine together for a conversation about roots, risk, reinvention, and what it takes to keep building when the business gets complicated. Paul Hoover , owner and winemaker at Still Waters Vineyards , brings the long view. Paul is a Cal Poly agriculture guy, farmer, former hospitality executive, longtime business leader, home-winemaker-turned-estate-winemaker, fisherman, and one of the most approachable voices in Paso wine. His stories stretch from a formative wine education fueled by an employer’s monthly bottle allowance to buying the vineyard that became Still Waters during an earlier downturn in the grape market. Paul also breaks down the current wine-business correction with refreshing honesty. The COVID years created extraordinary direct-to-consumer demand, wineries increased production to meet it, and then the m
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 175 Legacy and Lift-Off: OGs & New Blood – Featuring Stillwaters Vineyard | Truss Wines
🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode 175 Highlights 🍷 Legacy and Lift-Off: OGs & New Blood In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam brings two generations of Paso Robles wine together for a conversation about roots, risk, reinvention, and what it takes to keep building when the business gets complicated. Paul Hoover , owner and winemaker at Still Waters Vineyards , brings the long view. Paul is a Cal Poly agriculture guy, farmer, former hospitality executive, longtime business leader, home-winemaker-turned-estate-winemaker, fisherman, and one of the most approachable voices in Paso wine. His stories stretch from a formative wine education fueled by an employer’s monthly bottle allowance to buying the vineyard that became Still Waters during an earlier downturn in the grape market. Paul also breaks down the current wine-business correction with refreshing honesty. The COVID years created extraordinary direct-to-consumer demand, wineries increased production to meet it, and then the m
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 174 Small Rooms, Big Souls – Featuring Diablo Paso | Indiginé Cellars
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam heads downtown, not just to taste wine, but to dig into the people helping shape the downtown Paso Robles tasting room experience. Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, this episode brings together two winemakers and brand owners with very different stories and a beautifully shared hustle: Ray Smith of Indigené Cellars and Enrique Torres of Diablo Paso. Enrique’s journey starts in Guerrero, Mexico, and continues in Paso Robles, where he arrived in 2001 and began working at the former Martin & Weyrich winery. He worked his way up from cellar rat to cellar master to assistant winemaker, eventually creating Diablo Paso, his personal love letter to Spanish varieties, old world style, hard work, and family balance. In this conversation, Enrique also drops some big news: Diablo Paso was named Winery of the Year at the Central Coast Wine Competition, with his El Nico taking Best Red, Double Gold, Best of Cla
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Ep 173 The Highlands District: Featuring Willow Creek Wine Co. | French Camp Vineyard
🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE 173: THE HIGHLANDS DISTRICT 🍷 Everybody knows Willow Creek. Everybody knows Adelaida. But venture east into Paso Robles and you’ll find one of the region’s most fascinating, and least understood, wine-growing areas: the Highlands District . In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with two people uniquely positioned to tell the story of Paso’s highest-elevation sub-AVA. Natalie Brown , owner and winemaker of Rococo Wines and Willow Creek Wine Co., shares her passion for old-vine Chenin Blanc and the remarkable Highlands District vineyard that continues to produce some of California’s most distinctive expressions of the grape. What began as an obsession with forgotten Chenin Blanc vineyards has grown into one of the most compelling Chenin-focused projects in the state. Joining her is Nicholas Miller , fifth-generation California farmer and Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Miller Family Wine Company . Nicholas helps steward the leg
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Ep 173 The Highlands District: Featuring Rococo Wines | French Camp Vineyard’s Miller Family Wine
🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE 173: THE HIGHLANDS DISTRICT 🍷 Everybody knows Willow Creek. Everybody knows Adelaida. But venture east into Paso Robles and you’ll find one of the region’s most fascinating, and least understood, wine-growing areas: the Highlands District . In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with two people uniquely positioned to tell the story of Paso’s highest-elevation sub-AVA. Natalie Brown , owner and winemaker of Rococo Wines and Willow Creek Wine Co., shares her passion for old-vine Chenin Blanc and the remarkable Highlands District vineyard that continues to produce some of California’s most distinctive expressions of the grape. What began as an obsession with forgotten Chenin Blanc vineyards has grown into one of the most compelling Chenin-focused projects in the state. Joining her is Nicholas Miller , fifth-generation California farmer and Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Miller Family Wine Company . Nicholas helps steward the leg
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 172 Tin City Then & Now: The Builder, The Makers, & The Future
🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam explores one of Paso Robles’ most unique success stories: Tin City . What began as a collection of industrial buildings on the edge of town has evolved into one of California wine country’s most creative destinations—home to winemakers, distillers, brewers, chefs, artists, and entrepreneurs who continue to shape Paso’s culture one idea at a time. First, Adam sits down with Patrick Brooks, founder of Tin City Distillery , and Vailia From, founder and winemaker of Desparada Wines . Together they reflect on the early days of Tin City, the evolution of the district, the people who helped build it, and the unique spirit of collaboration that continues to define the neighborhood today. Then the conversation shifts from the makers to the builder. Brooke English joins the show to share the story of her father, Mike English, whose vision, creativity, and willingness to invest in people helped create th
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 172 Tin City Then & Now: The Builder, The Makers, & The Future
🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam explores one of Paso Robles’ most unique success stories: Tin City . What began as a collection of industrial buildings on the edge of town has evolved into one of California wine country’s most creative destinations—home to winemakers, distillers, brewers, chefs, artists, and entrepreneurs who continue to shape Paso’s culture one idea at a time. First, Adam sits down with Patrick Brooks, founder of Tin City Distillery , and Vailia From, founder and winemaker of Desparada Wines . Together they reflect on the early days of Tin City, the evolution of the district, the people who helped build it, and the unique spirit of collaboration that continues to define the neighborhood today. Then the conversation shifts from the makers to the builder. Brooke English joins the show to share the story of her father, Mike English, whose vision, creativity, and willingness to invest in people helped create th
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 171: Paso Wine Fest & White Wine Obsession
🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 🍷 This episode of Where Wine Takes You comes to you LIVE from Paso Wine Fest 2026 , the biggest celebration of Paso Robles wine country and one of the fastest-growing food and wine events in America. Adam hangs out inside the madness of Wine Fest with a lineup that perfectly captures the spirit of Paso: collaboration, creativity, hospitality, and a little beautiful chaos. First up, Chef Rachel Ponce of Pair With Chef Rachel talks food pairings, palate balance, and why the wrong bite can completely wreck a great wine. She also shares details on her upcoming restaurant project, The Staviary , opening this summer with chef’s counter dinners, beer pairings, and immersive culinary experiences. Adam also catches up with Joel Peterson , CEO of Paso Wine , about the continued evolution of Paso Wine Fest, now drawing visitors from across the country for a world-class wine, food, and lifestyle experience. Then there’s the story of Chris Lamoreaux and
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Ep 170 Listening to the Land: The Soul of the Soil – Featuring Avanales Ranch | HMR Vineyard
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam heads deep into the heart of Paso Robles agriculture with two guys who live the rhythm of the land every single day: Daniel Sinton of Avanales Ranch and Sinton & Sons , alongside Chad Taber , ranch manager for HMR and Viking Vineyards in the Adelaida District. This conversation goes far beyond wine. Adam and the guys dive into the realities of farming in Paso Robles: early budbreak, frost scares, heat spikes, vineyard stress, resilience, and the emotional weight of living at the mercy of nature. From old-vine Chenin Blanc planted in the early ‘70s to the historic limestone vineyards of Hoffman Mountain Ranch, this episode captures the soul of farming on the Central Coast. Daniel shares stories about his family’s deep ranching roots in San Luis Obispo County, how mentorship from respected viticulturist Hilary Graves helped save their old-vine Chenin Blanc program, and how that fruit has gone o
- podcast· Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast
Ep 170 Listening to the Land: The Soul of the Soil – Featuring Avanales Ranch | HMR & Viking Vineyards
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷 In this episode of Where Wine Takes You , Adam heads deep into the heart of Paso Robles agriculture with two guys who live the rhythm of the land every single day: Daniel Sinton of Avanales Ranch and Sinton & Sons , alongside Chad Taber , ranch manager for HMR and Viking Vineyards in the Adelaida District. This conversation goes far beyond wine. Adam and the guys dive into the realities of farming in Paso Robles: early budbreak, frost scares, heat spikes, vineyard stress, resilience, and the emotional weight of living at the mercy of nature. From old-vine Chenin Blanc planted in the early ‘70s to the historic limestone vineyards of Hoffman Mountain Ranch, this episode captures the soul of farming on the Central Coast. Daniel shares stories about his family’s deep ranching roots in San Luis Obispo County, how mentorship from respected viticulturist Hilary Graves helped save their old-vine Chenin Blanc program, and how that fruit has gone o