As wine enthusiasts, deciding which wine region to visit first in France proved far more challenging than expected. Of course, the usual suspects came to mind almost immediately – Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Champagne? Certainly each are more than worthy for consideration and places we absolutely intend to visit, but we ended up choosing the lesser known village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape largely because it has quickly become one of our favourite wine regions. What we also discovered from our sojourn was a charming village that afforded the perfect getaway to immerse ourselves in local French living.
Nestled about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles lies the city of Paso Robles, or more correctly, El Paso de Robles (the Pass of the Oaks). And while most people think of Napa and Sonoma as the hotbed of California wines, Paso is quickly gaining notoriety amongst wine lovers as an area not only for producing great wine but also for providing an unpretentious wine country experience. Cass Winery perfectly embodies this spirit of relaxed yet quality living.
2014 Cass Marsanne
Medium in body, this wine had honey and melon aromas backed up with flavours of apple and a hint of something spicy. With medium acidity and a lovely minerality it is a well balanced wine that was a perfect accompaniment to sitting outside on a warm, sunny afternoon.
Very Good+ (USD $25 at the winery)
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Grape varietals indigenous to the Rhone Valley have been grown elsewhere in the world for years. Notably, Spain has roughly ¾ of the acreage planted to Grenache that France does and Australia has about ¾ of the Syrah that France does. But the USA has been the late entrant to the game, and while it does not have nearly the amount of acres under vine of Rhone varietals, it has certainly become a force to be reckoned with for lovers of Rhone wines.
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