Preface for Paso Robles: An American Terroir

Writing a book is an interesting, fascinating, and sometimes challenging exercise. We have met many enthusiastic and cooperative folks during book production and have learned that even the wildest dreams can come true.

Paso Robles: An American Terroir
This book is the interwoven story of the human history of the Paso Robles AVA along with its natural history. It is a book written to document the cultural history of many winery owners in the Paso Robles AVA, together with factual writings about the natural environment, including the geology, soils and climatic conditions of this area.

Who are our readers?
We believe that our initial audience will likely be those winery and vineyard owners who have made Paso Robles their home. Another group of readers will be those persons who visit the Paso Robles area for wine touring, are interested in learning more about the environment they experience, and enjoy the winery people that they meet. Internationally, wine connoisseurs who enjoy Paso wines will be able to learn more about this area’s climate, land and people.

Who is our publisher?
After much thought and discussion, we decided to self-publish this first edition. Computers, printers and publishing software available today enable nearly anyone interested in learning the software programs and investing in the computer hardware the same rewarding opportunity.

Book organization and companion CD
We organized this book to give the reader an opportunity to gain an understanding of the Paso Robles AVA natural environment prior to reading the several winery stories. The winery stories are organized into chapters, which were named according to the eleven districts recently proposed by the Paso Robles AVA Committee. Appendices provide a soil survey report case study of a representative vineyard, information about soil properties related to viticulture, a complete directory of the area’s wineries, and useful maps of the Paso Robles AVA. The index will assist the reader in efficiently locating information within the book.

A companion CD, separately available for purchase via this web site, contains a PDF file of the entire book, along with weblinkable URL’s and email addresses for every winery in the Paso Robles AVA. Additional JPEG images of geologic formations, soils, landscapes, vineyards and wineries are also included on the CD, organized by subject matter.

Selection of winery stories and future edition
This first selection of the winery stories was difficult, since many of the Paso Robles AVA wineries share great qualities. There simply was not room for the nearly 200 stories; a line had to be drawn. After four years in earnest production, time was running out. We needed to deliver this book to our readers. We wanted this first edition to be about real people, the folks that brought Paso Robles to the dance, and who both own wineries and have wine tasting rooms. There will be a revised and updated version in the future. Some stories will remain, most will evolve and new ones will be added. In Appendix C, we are as complete and accurate as possible to include all the Paso Robles AVA’s wineries and their contact information.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please contact us if there are errors of omission or factual misstatements. We can be reached via our web site or by email. We hope that you enjoy this book and will build it into your own account of this world-class wine region, the Paso Robles AVA.

Web site: www.pasoterroir.com