Page 108 - SLO Visitors Guide - Fall 2024

108 FALL 2024 slovisitorsguide.com
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tasting experiences and current hours.
6169 Airport Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446
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Warm hospitality, exciting tasting experiences,
and sensational wines.
Wine Tasting
Bruce Hansen: His wine and the wine roadshow
The wine roadshow
helped put Paso Robles
wine on the map
There was a time back in the 1990s
when few people outside of the
area knew about Paso Robles wine.
“So a bunch of us decided to take
our wines on the road and introduce
them to the rest of the country,”
said Bruce Hansen, founder and
winemaker of Hansen Vineyards.
“We picked an area, found someplace
where we could pour wine like a ho-
tel or some event, loaded the wine in
the trunk of the car, and off we’d go.”
The group made three or four
trips a year between 2003 and 2009
to locations in California, Las Vegas,
Phoenix, Dallas, and the East Coast.
“Sometimes we flew, but most of the
time we drove,” Bruce said.
diately to Bruce’s mind when talking
about the wine roadshow.
Rich Hartenberger reports,
“These trips were critical to spread
the word. Paso was virtually un-
known back then, and people were
very open to learning about this new,
exciting wine region!” He adds, “Of
course, Justin Baldwin, Tobin James,
Gary Eberle, and Art Norman,
among many others, led the way for
all of us newcomers.”
Building wineries and creating
wine
Traveling for wine was noth-
ing new to Bruce. Before starting
Hansen Vineyards, he made a living
building winery and vineyard build-
ings. “I must have built around 500
different buildings for wineries from
California up into Oregon,” he said.
“Yes. I built everything here, too,
from our home to the Cab House,
and the rest.”
Bruce Hansen’s personal history
with winemaking goes back to his
childhood in Michigan. “Dad made
wine at home and I helped him,
which didn’t make Mom happy,” he
reports. As an adult, he picked up
winemaking tips and lessons from
the various winemakers he worked
with when constructing their winery
buildings.
The friendships he made during
his construction years helped launch
Hansen Vineyards & Winery. When
the time came for him to make wine
he bought a former almond orchard
in 1992. After ripping out the old
trees, he started planting rootstock,
which has become 30 acres of 10 to
20-year-old vines growing mostly
cabernet sauvignon grapes. Hansen
Vineyards 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
was his first release.
“I had some great mentors,” said
Bruce as he listed off names includ-
ing Gary Eberle, Danny Panico,
winemaker at Dover Canyon, Craig
Reed, now at Castoro Cellars, Alan
Kinne, winemaker at Martin & Wey-
rich, and Christian Roguenant, now
at Lightpost Winery in Morgan Hill.
Since its first release, Hansen
Vineyard & Winery has become
known for excellent, award-winning
wines. Bruce oversees everything
with precise detail, from planting,
growing and harvesting, to barrels,
fermentation and bottling.
The vines grow in soil consist-
ing mainly of nutrient-rich black
adobe with an abundance of shale
and limestone. The wines are aged
in 100% French Oak barrels for two
and a half to four and a half years,
accounting for the amazing results
and the reason the wine is so drink-
able shortly after being bottled. He
produces around 1500 cases a year.
Most recently, Hansen wines
were awarded gold and silver medals
at the 2024 American Fine Wine
Competition. The Hansen Cab
House 2019 Cabernet Franc and the
Hansen Cab House 2021 Cabernet
Franc both won gold medals. The
Hansen Cab House 2017 Cabernet
Sauvignon and Hansen Cab House
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon both won
silver medals.
Visit the winery and experience
some serious wine. Chat with Bruce.
Learn more about his winemak-
ing, hear some tales from the wine
roadshow, and maybe get a hot tip
on when the Cab Challenge is com-
ing back!
Visit the Hansen Vineyards and
Winery tasting room at 5575 El
Pomar Dr. in Templeton; open Friday-
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for
major holidays. For more information
visit hansenwines.com or call
(805)-239-8412.
—Jackie Iddings
Rich Hartnberger, founder and
winemaker of Midnight Cellars,
Doug Kruse of Jack Creek Cellars,
Danny Panico of Dover Canyon
Winery, and Joe Barton of Grey Wolf
Barton Family Wines, came imme-
Owner and winemaker Bruce Hansen pouring for a barrel tasting.