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Meet Tobin James

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meet Tobin James

This is Tobin James – the man behind the Tobin James winery in Paso Robles

Meet Tobin James

Back in August on the Wine Bloggers pre-conference trip,  Janelle and I met winery owner and winemaker Tobin James out at the Dusi Ranch where he buys many of his grapes for his label, Tobin James Cellars. We would like you to meet Tobin James because he is a character and lover of wine and life. This is all reflected in his tasting room on Highway 46 East, just about eight miles from downtown Paso Robles. The tasting room is a saloon style atmosphere. You almost feel like a real cowboy as you saunter up to the bar. No one takes themselves seriously at Tobin James Cellars; it is all fun and wackiness. Each time we’ve been in the tasting room, the place has been mobbed. It just shows how comfortable people feel in a casual atmosphere. There is absolutely no wine snobbery going on at Tobin James. The Tobin James wine club has a serious following, and many of the wines made by Tobin James go exclusively to the wine club. There are still plenty of different wines available for visitors in the tasting room. Tobin James makes so many different varietals, it is hard to imagine how it is done. However, it is Zinfandel where Tobin James rules. They make several from many different vineyards and in different styles. If you like big, bold, and fruit forward Zinfandel, you are bound to find several to your liking at Tobin James. Here is one Zinfandel label that very much sums up the Zinfandel style, “Fat Boy” Zinfandel. The tasting room is open daily from 10am to 6 pm. Check the Tobin James Website for the latest information and happenings: Tobin James.

Additional information on the Paso Robles wine country

Highway 46 East Wine Route – wineries close to Tobin James
Dining in Paso Robles  – best restaurants in town
Paso Robles wine map  – more wine routes in Paso

Dusi Vineyards Zinfandel

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dusi vineyards

Dusi Vineyards in Paso Robles

About Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel

The Dusi Vineyards  are  among the most sought-after Zinfandel grapes in California. Over the years, Zinfandel wines made from the Dusi grapes have received accolades from the wine world. Our visit to the Dusi Vineyard was part of the wine bloggers Paso Robles  pre-conference. Fifty wine bloggers were bused to the Dusi Ranch just off Highway 101 at the Main Street Exit in Templeton, CA.  The Dusi Zinfandel Vineyards were planted in 1925, plus additional acres in 1945, and today there is a total of 100 acres. All the  Zinfandel vines are head pruned, and interspersed are vines of Alicante Bouchet and Carignane. Each winery that buys grapes from the Dusi family agrees on a block of Zinfandel vines and manages that block, along with help from the Dusi Family. Ninety percent of the these grapes are sold off, and the remaning ten percent are used by  Janell Dusi to make the J Dusi label. Janell is the fourth generation of the Dusi Family and began producing a Zinfandel in 2009.  The Dusi vineyards are subject to extreme diurnal shifts in temperature. During the day temperatures can be in the mid 90’s, but at night the temperatures can dip below 50 degrees. While we were present in the vineyards another climate factor came into play, the winds from the Templeton Gap.  Breezes flow in the afternoon from the Pacific Ocean, cooling the vines from the afternoon sun. We tasted Dusi Vineyards Zinfandel wines from producers Tobin James, Turley, Brochelle, McPrice Meyer, and J Dusi.  The vines produce intense fruit flavors. The wines are bold, but have elegant characteristics.

Paso Robles – Highway 46 East Wineries – Quick Getaway

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Highway 101 divides the Paso Robles wineries from East to West. Many of these wineries are located on spectacular backroad country on both sides of 101, very scenic and peaceful. Those wineries are mostly far off and take a bit of exploring. If you are short on time, try the wineries that parallel Highway 46 East. We paid a visit last Sunday to four wineries on the very busy Highway 46 East.

The first winery we visited was the Broken Earth winery that took over the facilities vacated by the EOS Winery. EOS Winery was purchased a couple of years ago by Foley Family Wines. The group moved the winery operations to another area of Paso Robles. The Broken Earth winery redid the color scheme and the picnic area, and it looks beautiful. The tasting room is spacious. We tasted several of the wines and felt that they were good but none that wowed us enough to purchase any for home. Although the picnic area is beautiful, the traffic noise from Highway 46 is somewhat unsettling.

Picnic area at Broken Earth

Picnic area at Broken Earth

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CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY REGIONS:

Carneros • Livermore • Lodi • Mendocino • Monterey • Napa Valley • Paso Robles • Santa Barbara County • Santa Cruz Mts. • Sierra Foothills • Russian River • Sonoma Valley

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