Page 85 - SLO Visitors Guide Summer/Fall 2020

Wine Tasting
Enjoy unrivaled hospitality at Eberle Winery
Have a glass of wine with a true legend, Gary Eberle
Although for many years he’s hesitated to acknowledge his title as “The Godfather of Paso Robles”, winemaker and winery owner Gary Eberle just might be ready to take the term to heart.
“It’s certainly not a title I came up with,” he said. “I’d tell people not to call me that but it didn’t work and, now, I’ve been referred to this for
so long that maybe I shouldn’t fight it. Hey, maybe after 50 years I have earned this special position in Paso! But, I am not really that special – it’s the people that work for me that are truly special.”
Next year marks Eberle’s 50th year in the wine industry. As a wine- maker, he established and worked at his family’s Estrella River Winery & Vineyards for 10 years before start- ing Eberle Winery. He is a co-creator of the Paso Robles Appellation, and his first Eberle wine, a cabernet saugivnon, was released in 1979.
Raised by his mom in a small Pennsylvania steel town, Eberle attended Penn State College on a football scholarship and earned his biology degree. He studied cellular genetics at Louisiana State Uni- versity, and received his enology degree from U.C. Davis.
Winemaker
Chris Eberle – no
relation to Gary – garnered degrees in agricultural business and viticul- ture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and an enology degree from Wash- ington State University.
After time as a “cellar rat” at
Eberle, he became the assistant winemaker before spending fifteen vintages honing his winemaking skills in South Africa, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and France. In 2015, Eberle Winery was sud- denly in need of a head winemaker
and reached out to Chris. “Chris is here as long as he
wants to be,” Gary says. “He is a spectacular young wine-
maker and has an excellent
palate. I have never met a winemaker, including myself,
who is quite so meticulous; he’s really sharp. I don’t care which of our wines you try, you will never be
disappointed with the wine Chris Eberle makes.”
And just what is the secret to delivering award-winning wines year after year?
“It’s really no secret,” Gary says. “To make great wine, you have to
slovisitorsguide.com
SUMMER / FALL 2020 85
Exclusively Pinot Noir
CELEBRATING OVER 25 YEARS IN PASO ROBLES Artisan Cheese Pairing & Charcuterie Avail
B
Picnic Area, Bocce Ball, Dog Friendly
Open Daily • 10:30am-5:00pm
Westside / Templeton Gap • 1380 Live Oak Rd., Paso Robles • (805) 239-2565
windwardvineyard.com