Welcome To

3 Derby Wine Estates PASO ROBLES Ray and Pam Derby, founders of their eponymous winery, have created an ambitious wine estate. Three vineyards in three Paso Robles growing regions planted to 25 different wine grapes ranging from Bordeaux and Rhône to Burgundian and Spanish varieties causes the affable Ray Derby to remark that their varieties planted range "from Albariño to Zinfandel." Ray, a former manufacturer of automobile parts in Southern California and his wife Pam moved to the coastal hamlet of Cambria along the Central Coast in the 1990s. With the intention of retiring, they purchased their San Simeon ranch in a cool windswept region near the famed Hearst Castle. They named it Derbyshire. The ocean view hilltop property where the Derbys planted Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris vineyards was part of the Hearst Ranch that William Randolph Hearst's father, Senator George Hearst, purchased from Ira Van Gordon and later sold it in the late 1930s to a cattleman from Arroyo Grande. After a couple of different owners, the Derbys acquired the rugged terrain of 632 acres in 1998. San Simeon itself is not an AVA (American Viticultural Area) but rather lies adjacent to the Paso Robles AVA. The wind swept Derbyshire vineyard is the closest commercial vineyard to the Pacific Ocean and comes with its own set of challenges such as fierce winds that can damage the fruit. The Derbys consulted with a number of vineyard experts but most of them were dubious. The concern was about fruit ripening. FACING PAGE: The entrance to the Derby Wine Estates' winery is a restored 1922 almond processing plant. Photograph by Matthew Anderson TOP LEFT: Derby Wine Estates offers wines from three different vineyards located in three unique growing regions of San Luis Obispo County. Photograph by Brandon Stier, Oak & Barrel Photography TOP RIGHT: Ray and Pam Derby, the proud proprietors of Derby Wine Estates. Photograph by Chris Leschinsky

• Cover