Owner and winemaker Bruce Hansen pouring for a barrel tasting.
—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 hotel 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.
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 immediately to Bruce’s mind when talking about the wine roadshow.
Rich Hartenberger reports, “These trips were critical to spread the word. Paso was virtually unknown 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 nothing new to Bruce. Before starting Hansen Vineyards, he made a living building winery and vineyard buildings. “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 including Gary Eberle, Craig Reed, now at Castoro Cellars, Alan Kinne, winemaker at Martin & Weyrich, 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 consisting 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 drinkable 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 winemaking, hear some tales from the wine roadshow, and maybe get a hot tip on when the Cab Challenge is returning!
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
