After attending the incredible 3 day Hospice du Rhone Wine Festival I have a new knowledge of Rhone Varietal Wines (think Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre….) as well as the incredible Rhone varietals found in Paso Robles as well as France’s Rhone region.

After attending 4 fabulous wine tasting panels and two days of tastings with 200+ wineries below is my Top 10 Top 10 California Rhone Wines list. I will be sharing a Top 10 French Wine list seperately. 

Me and some of my Wine Tasting friends including Niner Winemaker Patrick Muran, Chris Sawyer of Sommelier Sawyer, Allison Levine, Fred Swan (my wine teacher from the San Francisco Wine School) and me!

Jennifer Porter, The Director of Paso Robles Wine Country Association. Her and her team kindly invited me to a press trip to Paso Robles in the Fall of 2015 introducing me to this incredible Rhone Varietals region. Read my Top 10 Paso Robles Winery list here or see some of my favorites from this event below!

1. Melville Winery – This family owned winery makes incredible wines. I first tasted their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay during a visit to the Winery so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy their Syrah’s at this event.

2. Tablas Creek Vineyard – You can read more about them on my Paso Robles Top 10 Winery list.

Me and Jason Haas, the son of Tablas Creek founder Robert Haas. They are both incredible and make some very delicious Rhone varietals with vines from The Rhone region having partnered early on with The Château de Beaucastel Winery (found in my Top 10 Hospice Du Rhone French List).

3. Derby Wine Estates – Another Paso Robles Winery I discovered at Hospice that I really really enjoyed!

4. Bien Nacido Estate – Winemaker Trey Fletcher and colleague. Read more about Bien Nacido Vineyards & Estate here.

5. Qupe & Ethan Wines – I had heard about Qupe from a friend that knows incredible wines, so I could not have been more excited to meet Bob Lindquist first hand and taste his unbelievable wines.  It was my lucky day as I later realized we were at the same Winemaker Dinner together so I got to spend even more time with Bob. What a talented, humble incredible man. I love all of his wines and can’t wait to experience more in the future!!

Ethan is a label by Bob’s son Ethan which is also incredible. Like father like son!

6. Denner Vineyards – I had never experienced Denner prior to this event and I was very impressed by their wines. They will be a Winery I visit in the future and further get to know!

7. Tercero Wines – Tercero is made by Winemaker Larry Schaffer (who also makes some killer breads) which he serves as his table sometimes during events (I know because I experienced them and fell in love). The wines are also great. I tried a bunch and really liked them!

8. Copia Vineyard – This was another label I enjoyed discovering at the event. The wines are very flavorful and balanced.

9. Halter Ranch Vineyard – I realized at this event that Halter Ranch was the first Winery I visited in Paso Robles on a Road Trip to Hearst Castle. They have a great assortment of Rhone varietals which are very lovely.

10. Kukkula Winery – This was a Winery I had never heard of until the event which I thought was very exciting. It’s always fun to enjoy a new wine and be pleasantly surprised by another high quality wine.

Thanks to the Hospice du Rhone Team for an incredible event and hosting me as press. I loved my first Hospice du Rhone experience and look forward to attending in the future.