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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
SAN LUIS OBSIPO COUNTY
