PASO ROBLES
ABOVE: The exterior of Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford, California.
FACING PAGE: Foster Road Vineyards.
Photographs by Terrence McCarthy
Tablas Creek Vineyard is the culmination of a decades-long friendship between two of
the international wine community's leading families. Château de Beaucastel, founded in
the 17th century as a retreat for the kings of France and perhaps the Rhône Valley's most
renowned property, was brought to international prominence by five generations of the Perrin
family. Vineyard Brands, the import company founded by Robert Haas in the 1950s, has
earned a longstanding reputation as a home for wines of character and authenticity. In 1987,
Robert partnered with Jean-Pierre and François Perrin to produce California's most celebrated
expression of the Rhône's signature grape varieties.
Robert Haas and the Perrins spent two years searching California for the perfect spot to bring
their vision to fruition. They sought high-calcium soils like those of the Rhône Valley, a long
growing season perfect for late-ripening Rhône varietals, and enough rainfall to farm without
annual irrigation. Two years into their quest, they found a property with rocky limestone soils
nestled on the slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountains, on the western edge of the Paso Robles
Tablas Creek Vineyards
