Show 184, August 13, 2016: Erick Allen, Winemaker and Proprietor, Ascension Cellars, Paso Robles

Erick AllenAscension Cellars is a premium, boutique winery specializing in barrel-select, handcrafted Rhône and Bordeaux-style wines from the central coast of California.

Ascension Cellars began when friends were enjoying a glass of wine together one summer day. “You know, this is good,” they said, “but there is something missing.” And so, the quest for something better began. They wanted wines with elegance, body, and grace that stimulated the senses. They wanted wines that they would be proud to offer to their family and friends.

What followed was good fortune by the barrel. Vast support and inspiration came not only from knowledgeable mentors in Lake Arrowhead, who have been making wine together for decades, but also from Paso Robles winemakers who gave so generously of their time and expertise.

“We source our grapes and make our wine at Cass Vineyard. We are inspired by their focus on low yield, premium quality fruit as well as the impeccable care of their vineyards. Together, we share a love of the environment and promote sustainability of nature’s resources.”

“Our love of French Rhône and Bordeaux wines influence every wine we craft. We believe in a limited, light-handed approach to winemaking, allowing the true typicity of each varietal and the terroir of the vineyard to shine through as the star of each vintage, preserving the wine’s link to its place of origin. This allows us to create wines that are distinctive and hypnotic with personality, charm, balance and grace.”

“We embrace the use of stainless steel, cold core fermentation for our white wines, showcasing the floral tropical notes, fruit flavors, bright minerality and acidity of each varietal. Once our white wines are blended, we preserve these qualities by aging the wines in neutral, French oak barrels with limited contact to oxygen prior to bottling.”

“We barrel age our red wines for two years in French and American Appalachian Oak barrels where the use of new oak is done sparingly. We blend our Rhône and Bordeaux varietals to produce wines that are more complex, better balanced, and richer than single, varietal wines.”

Winemaker & Proprietor Erick Allen is our guest.

Show 31, June 15, 2013: David Walker, co-founder of Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing CompanyBack in 1996 David and Adam Firestone had this crazy idea to ferment ale in 60 gallon oak barrels reviving a style of brewing ales in England from some 150 years ago. Their first effort was the now popular Double Barrel Ale, the signature of the brewery. The brewery is now located in Paso Robles.

In making the reference to wine David suggests Ales compare to the red varietals. They are bolder in character and full bodied. Lagers are lighter in character and compare to the while varietals.

On Father’s Day, Firestone-Walker Brewing in concert with Food GPS is hosting a Father’s Day Collabrewtive Brunch at Lot 613 in Downtown Los Angeles from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. In addition to the craft beer sampling six food stations will be there featuring the creations of top local chefs including Daniel Mattern and Roxanna Jullapat of Cooks County.

Coffee-infused beers will be on the menu, too, specially created for the event by the brewmasters working with master coffee roasters. Firestone-Walker is matched with Intelligentsia Coffee.