Winery Spotlight in May
Derby Wine Estates
Newly-renovated historic Paso Robles building now boasts wine tasting room, VIP tower room, and processing & storage facility
Ray and Pam Derby, owners of Derby Wine Estates, were surrounded by wine club members, friends, staff and city dignitaries on Thursday evening during a VIP ribbon cutting ceremony with the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce, on the eve of their grand opening of the newly-renovated space in the former Farmer’s Alliance building.
“I am really proud of this project and how it has turned out; probably just as much, if not more, I am proud of the fact that we are flying the American flag overhead after so many years of it not flying,” Derby said before he turned the program over to Paso Robles Mayor Duance Picanco.
Picanco thanked the Derbys for starting a new business in Paso Robles, read a proclamation and presented the Derbys with a plaque.
PR Chamber of Commerce, Derby Wine
Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce Interim President/CEO Zoe Taylor presents a plaque to the Derbys and offers congratulations and praise for the renovated building.
“It was important that somebody retain this building and its history and you have done an outstanding job,” Picanco said.
As Chamber Interim President/CEO Zoe Taylor presented another plaque to the Derbys, she offered congratulations and praise for the renovated building, saying, “This is absolutely incredible – what a great visual from Highway 101.”
After two years of renovating the historic 1922 building – the Derbys purchased the 11,250 square foot space in 2010 after it had been closed since 1975 and acquired a building permit in 2012 – the former almond processing space is now home to a 750 square foot tasting room and a 1,000 square foot VIP lounge in the tower that overlooks the city. About 10,000 square feet is set aside for processing and storing wines.
“This has turned out even better than I had envisioned,” Derby said as he mingled with guests in the barrel room following the ribbon cutting. “When I first started thinking about turning this building into a winery it was pretty stark and badly-deteriorated – and now, this has really turned out well.”
When asked about reactions from community members, Derby said, “Everyone seems very enthusiastic and pleased that we were able to preserve an icon of the city. The general feeling is that people are proud of what has been accomplished. We hope the public will come in, enjoy the wines and enjoy looking around our new place.”
The Derby Wine Estates tasting room will officially open at 525 Riverside Ave. today, April 11 and will be open daily, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Driver Spotlight
Customer Quote:
“We had such a wonderful experience with Uncorked!!! What a fun responsible way to drink our way through the central coastline! Trudy was fun and very accommodating! We were able to visit 5 wineries at our own pace… She was fun, easy going, and flexible! Lunch was delicious… We all had different boxed lunches and we all loved them! Absolutely recommend the first winery, we sat on the rose surrounded patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather! Tether wine and cheese tasting was amazing! You, Katie, were great to work with! Thanks! Look forward to a trip again!”
Uncorked Wine Tours Customer – Shevonne, April 17, 2014
Trudy
Trudy aka the “Trudster” started driving for Uncorked March of 2014. She is a joyful spirit and an absolute blast to be around. Trudy works as a PE teacher at Atascadero high school and has 3 beautiful daughters. Trudy loves wine and enjoys touring tasters around on the weekends.
FOOD & WINE
Wine and Cheese Pairing
Pair wine and cheese from the same part of the old world. Its no accident that Chianti pairs well with southern Italian food. The wine and the food grew up together. So, we shouldnt be surprised that spicy German Gewrztraminer pairs well with Swiss and Muenster. This works best with wines and cheeses from Western Europe. Pick a cheese from France and then pair it with a wine produced in the same part of the country. The odds are good that youll like the combination.
Another tip for successful wine and cheese pairings is to limit your selection to white wines. The best choices being French Sancerre and Pouilly-Fuiss, California Sauvignon Blanc and unoaked Chardonnay, German Riesling, Italian Pinot Grigio and Spanish Albario. These white wines have two advantages over red wines. They have good acidity that complements most cheeses, and they lack the tannin that some cheese and a lot of people have difficulty with. If you insist on pairing cheese and red wine, youll do better choosing lighter reds such as Pinot Noir and Beaujolais. Lighter reds have less tannin and work well with cheeses like Gruyere, Port Salut, Swiss and Feta. For bigger, more tannic reds, youll want saltier cheeses like cheddar, dry Jack, pecorino and Stilton. The saltiness of these cheeses tends to cancel out the tannins in Cabernets and other big reds.
Recipe of the Month
Roasted Bruessels Sprouts
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
