Wineries

Derby Wine Estates

525 Riverside Ave., Paso Robles
www.derbywineestates.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners: Ray and Pam Derby

Winemaker: Sean Geoghegan

About: Derby Wine Estate is a boutique, family owned winery with three Estate vineyards across the central coast and a Tasting Room & production facility on the outskirts of downtown Paso Robles. We have a passion for good wine and good company, and strive to share both with everyone who walks through our door.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Cinsault

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? I honestly can’t remember, I have always looked for lesser known grapes and heritage vines to expand my palate.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? The world of flavors and textures that open up when you think (and drink) outside the box.

Dubost

9988 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446
https://www.dubostwine.com

Region: Adelaida District, Paso Robles Region

Owners: Kate & Curt Dubost

Winemaker: Zachary Raines

About: Small lot, handcrafted, award-winning wines, produced in a strawbale winery nestled in the hills of Adelaida.

What is your favorite forgotten grape?  Touriga Nacional

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape?  Negrette. I had no experience with it at all. Our winemaker had an opportunity to purchase some and when it came time to bottle he was going to blend it. It is often used as a blending grape because of its dark color and low tannins. I tasted it and fell in love. We did a single Negrette for many years after that. Sadly, we do not grow it and are no longer producing it.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? My experience with Negrette pushed me to think/taste beyond what I was familiar with in grape varietals. It showed me that there was a world of aromas, textures and flavors out there to be explored. Negrette become my “go to” wine for lamb and I had a special chocolate dish we paired with it in the tasting room. So versatile. AND it introduced us to Chris Kern.

Fuil Wines

1330 Flynn Rd., Unit E, Camarillo, CA 91344
www.fuilwines.com

Region: Camarillo, CA

Owner: Matt and Carolina Espiro Jaeger

Winemaker: Matt Espiro Jaeger

About: Boutique winery using fruit from the Santa Ynez Valley to combine New World flavors with Old World structure.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Viognier

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Not my first, but the revelatory one. I’d largely written off Viognier as flabby and overly sweet in my 20s, then I had a Viognier that was crisp, complex, and still full of fruit and flower from Demetria Estate in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA. That started me on my journey to find and enjoy cool-weather wine in general, and is why Viognier was the first wine I made in my own winery.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? They’re not forgotten! They’re usually part of popular Old World blends, but we in the USA have been so conditioned to look for varietal over place, that people don’t recognize them. As an example: I’ve had people ask me what on earth Mourvèdre is, until I ask if they’ve had a Cotes du Rhone or GSM wine. Then suddenly the light dawns.

Giornata

470 Marquita Ave #A, Paso Robles CA 93446
giornatawines.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners/Winemakers: Brian and Stephy Terrizzi

About: We make authentic, complex and balanced wines in Paso Robles, CA featuring Italian grape varieties.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Teraldego and Frappato

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? I wasn’t sure what to make of Nebbiolo, but I knew I wanted another sip.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Learning their history

Guthrie Family Wines

574 Este Madera Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476
www.guthriefamilywines.com

Region: Sonoma, California

Owner: Blair & Caroline Guthrie

Winemaker: Blair Guthrie

About: Crafting low-intervention wines from responsibly farmed grapes.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Grenache Blanc

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? In Australia, I came across Arneis and was lucky enough to get my hands on it and make it!

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? It’s like walking the forgotten path. I love their history but also their originality in today’s wine world.

JMC Cellars

6800 Greenville Road, Livermore CA 94550
jmccellars.wine

Region: Livermore Valley

Owner/Winemaker: Jessica Carroll

About: Like many that find themselves in this industry, Jessica started her path in a different field: Civil Engineering. She graduated from the University of Portland and worked as a Transportation Engineer in the Bay Area until finding her passion in wine.

After careful thought, she made the leap into wine in 2014. While completing her Certificate of Enology from Las Positas College, she worked full time at a winery in Livermore Valley. The list of reasons Jessica loves the wine industry is long and all of them make it a well matched career path for her.

She was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to open up her own winery in 2023 and jumped at the chance to fulfil that dream.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Teraldego

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? Jessica has been working with obscure varietals for a long time, it is something JMC is very proud of.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? Exposure to new and exciting varietals you cannot find on the grocery store shelf or in most tasting rooms.

L.A. Lepiane Wines

1480 Count Fleet St., Santa Barbara, CA
www.lepianewines.com

Region: Santa Barbara County

Owner/Winemaker: Alison Thomson

About: Founded in 1935 by Luigi A. Lepiane, and re-established by his great-granddaughter in 2013, L.A. Lepiane Wines focuses on small lots of unexpected Italian varieties. Alison Thomson crafts unique wines, using traditional techniques, natural fermentations and lots of time. Her wines reflect true character of the varieties translated in California’s soil and sun.

What is your favorite forgotten grape? Nebbiolo

What was your first experience with a forgotten grape? I worked my first harvest for Ettore Germano in Barolo, Italy.

What do you love most about the forgotten grapes? I love variety and a good story. Introducing consumers to less known grape varieties expands their wine drinking horizons to new regions, flavors, and aromas. Variety is the spice of life.