In California’s world of wine there are two competing camps sprouting up from Temecula to Paso Robles to Napa. The first camp of wineries are estates, places where you can repose sipping savory samples of wine while overlooking golden rolling hills dotted with grape vine rows.
The second camp of wineries is the up-and-coming winemakers who buy their grape from the first camp of wineries, the estates. These up-and-coming winemakers take a hip stance and often cluster their tasting rooms in industrial areas like Paso’s Tin City or Lompoc’s Wine Ghetto.
Field Recordings Winery in Paso’s Tin City is one of the up-and-comers. They create 36 labels ranging from Muscat Blanc, Orange Wine to Nebbiolo. It’s all very hip and experimental. Winemaker Andrew Jones started in the industry as a vine nursery fieldman and claims to have stepped in almost every vineyard in the central coast. With those farm relationships and knowledge of juicy gems waiting to be harvested he buys grape from 22 different vineyards, creating a spirited list of wine with avant-garde vibes.
His mission creating wine is, ”It’s all about flavor, with none of the pretensions.“
We visited Field Recordings with wine host Alex on a Friday before the crowds invaded Paso Robles. The tasting room is industrial, hip and new age. So is Alex.
What did we taste?
2022 Posie Muscat Blanc $20 ✰+
2022 Nolan Xarelido $39 ✰+
2022 Skins (white blend with red skins, stems & seeds) $22 ✰+
2021 Domo Aregato (Pinot Grigio w/ stems & seeds) $25 ✰+
2022 Shirts Chardonnay $22 ✰+
2022 Shell Creek Valdigrie $39 ✰
2021 Fiction (red blend) $22 ✰+
2021 Alta Gaviota Nebbiolo $49 ✰
2021 Syrah $49 ✰+
This isn’t your classic wine taste out in the country absorbing the vibe of the vine. It’s about exploring New World wine pushed to the limit. We’re sure these folks creating new wines will continue to push the boundaries.
Who knows where they go from here. You owe it to yourself to visit. It may be a stretch for your palate but sometimes you need to explore.
Some notes on our wine ranking system.
Bill & Erin Hodge write about California Wine, the estates & winemakers producing them and educational information about Vino. Living in California Wine Country provides a front row seat to the places you want to visit the most here in the Golden State.
– -✰ means -What’s next on your list of wines
-✰ means -Not liking it too much
✰ means -We’ll drink this wine, especially if it’s hosted!
✰+ means -You’ve got our attention and we might buy this wine.
✰+ + means -We’re hooked and we’re going to buy this wine.
When you see -✰/✰+ with a slash, it means we disagree.
Categories
Chardonnay, GSM, Paso Robles AVA, Petit Sirah, The Pleasures of Tasting Wine, Zinfandel