Winemaker Notes
Paragon is a single vineyard in the north part of Edna Valley. It is exposed to the cool Pacific Ocean air like Tatomer’s vineyards in Santa Barbara. However, the soil in Edna Valley is quite different – it is volcanic in nature, specifically marl, quartz and limestone. The Paragon Vineyard always shows more of the green/herbal flavors of the grape generally associated with wines of Kamptal.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Honeyed aromas of wax and lemon candy show on the nose of this bottling. Apple-flesh and squeezed citrus flavors come through on the fresh and zippy palate.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States.
California’s coolest wine growing area, Edna Valley excels in the production of high quality Central Coast wines like Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Rhône Blends and aromatic white wines. It has a cool Mediterranean climate and an incredibly long growing season, giving late-ripening varieties plenty of opportunity to develop great phenolic complexity.
Its northwest to southeast orientation creates a direct path for cool Pacific air and fog to penetrate the valley from the Los Osos and Morro Bay area inwards. Low hillsides of both calcareous and volcanic soils are home to much of the vineyard acreage of the Edna Valley.