The Tasting Panel magazine

July 2015

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22  /  the tasting panel  /  july 2015 WHAT WE'RE DRINKING A lthough Paso Robles wine country has just started to achieve great recognition and high status in some journalists and wine buyers' opinions, there are some wineries that have reached recent success even though they have been around for decades. The Parrish family's vineyards were in the works almost 90 years ago. "My grandfather farmed 540 acres of Alicanté Bouschet, Charbono, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel in 1927 in Atascadero, just south of Paso," explains David Parrish, winemaker and proprietor for Parrish Family Vineyard, "with the help of mules and horses." Parrish and his wife Lynn started their own busi- ness in 1976, when he was just 24 years old. A&P Ag Structure is a vineyard trellising company out of Visalia, in Central California, but their business runs up and down the state when it comes to grape farm- ing. "We were pulling out Chenin Blanc vines in Napa in 1980," he recalls. It wasn't until 2004 that Parrish started producing his own wines under the Parrish Family Vineyard label, using grapes sourced from throughout the Paso Robles AVA. Additionally, the family named one of their labels "P.O. Box 1" in memory of their grandfa- ther, who rented the first P.O. box in Atascadero. Parrish, his daughter Cecily (who is the GM for the winery) and his son-in-law Ethan Ray (Assistant Winemaker and Vineyard Manager) met with The SOMM Journal and our wine pro guests for a dinner at one of Paso Robles's most celebrated restaurants, Thomas Hill Organics. Chef Christopher Manning presided over a toothsome menu specially prepared to pair with Parrish Family Vineyard wines. Ethan Ray, Parrish Family Vineyard's Assistant Winemaker/Vineyard Manager; David Parrish, winemaker/ proprietor; Paul Coker, Wine Director at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point, CA; Mike Madrigale, Wine Director at Boulud Sud and Bar Boulud, New York City; and Cecily Parrish-Ray, General Manager, Parrish Family Vineyard. Drinking and Dining in Paso Robles PARRISH FAMILY VINEYARD INVITES SOME HIGH-PROFILE WINE BUYERS TO PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY by Meridith May / photos by Doug Young Jared Hooper, Wine Director of Faith & Flower in Downtown Los Angeles, was one of many top somms who came to Paso Robles to taste and talk about the region's stellar wines. Thomas Hill Organics, the first farm-to-table restaurant in Paso Robles, features star chef Christopher Manning. Manning was formerly working in Napa Valley as Executive Chef at Peju Winery and acclaimed (and now closed) Étoile restaurant at Domaine Chandon. Parrish Family Vineyard "P.O. Box 1" Petite Sirah ($35) sings about violets, with dark chocolate, chalky tannins as the chorus. There's an underlying creaminess—melted chocolate– topped with cranberry and strawberry. The blue fruit surges up, staging and securing its position at the finish. 94 —M. M. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

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