Tolosa Winery and Edna Valley

Edna Valley Wine Region

It had been several years since I had last toured the Edna Valley wine region, but after checking in on my property in Cambria, California it seemed the right time for a visit. I spent some time looking over the wine map and details of the wineries at www.slowine.com which is an excellent primer for all things Edna Valley. All of the featured wineries are linked to the map represented below, which is common for many wine regions globally as a way to showcase the wine region and its wineries.

I explored this valley, primarily by bicycle in the late 80s and early 90s when the gently rolling hills, temperate weather and the occasional stop at one of the widely scattered wineries made each ride memorable. But it looks a lot different now. Back then my Grape Expeditions in California wine and bike tours book (1985) only listed a few wineries. Now there are 30 and growing.

Edna Valley, in the heart of SLO Wine Country, is California’s coolest winegrowing region, located just 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  San Luis Obispo, or SLO as we all call it, is a college town and popular tourist attraction. The most notable tourist stop would be the Madonna Inn, which must be seen to be believed and was also where we went on our honeymoon, before continuing down to LA where I taught a computer class.

The northwest-to-southwest orientation of the Edna Valley creates a direct path for cool marine air to filter into the valley from the Los Osos/Morro Bay area.  This climate, combined with the calcareous and volcanic soils results in wines with intensity, concentration and fresh, balancing acidity, perfect for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and aromatic white wines.

The SLO coast begins in San Simeon where we happened to be staying. Driving down highway 1 through Cambria, Cayucos and Morro Bay gave us a clear idea of the maritime climate’s influence on this area. Near where highway 1 meets Interstate 101 we got off on highway 227 which pierces the heart of Edna Valley; but gently. The online version of the map below is interactive. Clicking on any of the wineries will bring up its website and it is also downloadable as a PDF file for future reference.

Tolosa Wine Tasting

Approaching Tolosa, with its glorious tasting room in chrome, stone and glass my anticipation for what lay within intensified. The information I gleaned from their website told me my lust for a good Pinot Noir would be amply satisfied. This is a high quality winery with a passion for the two grapes that grow exceptionally well in Edna Valley; Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The fictional Miles of Sideways would have loved it here.

I didn’t have time to do a tour of the winery, located below the tasting room, but it is state of the art including optical grape pickers, all stainless steel fermentation tanks and every other wish-list a winemaker would check off. And the equipment was put to good use as all the wines here are well-crafted and whisper into one’s mouth the terroir of Edna Valley.

Terroir is a French term defining the cumulative affect of wind, rain, soil, topology and seasonal weather that molds the grapes. Sometimes defined as the “sense of place” that clues the wine lover as to where the wine was made. The long growing season favors the Pinot grape’s finicky personality and the choice of several clones gives the winemaker more choices for crafting wines. Here the grape grower’s skill meets the winemaker’s art in grape selection and blending of various lots to make signature Pinot Noir wines.

Given the fact this is prime Chardonnay and Pinot Noir country I assumed they’d be well represented here. Oh boy, were they. The 1772 series, named for the year mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded, include both grapes, but also Rhone grapes Syrah, Viognier and a wonderful Sauvignon Blanc that we took home. My wife, Barbara and her friend from Intel days, Rosemary were on hand for the tasting, In fact it was Rosemary’s suggestion we go there and she was so right.

We tasted four very different Pinots, deftly crafted with unique flavor profiles and all of them so good choosing one over another was challenging. I finally chose the Dijon 115 Pinot Noir 2014. The Dijon 115 clone was also my favorite clone when I did a similar tasting at Buena Vista Winery a couple of years ago. Dijon is also known for its mustard and is the capital of the Cote-d’Or of Burgundy.

The depth, complexity and variety of Tolosa Pinots is astonishing. Not only do they source fruit from several vineyards in Edna Valley, but also from other well known Pinot growing regions including the Sonoma Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley just down the road and Carneros above San Pablo Bay.

There wasn’t one wine there that was not best of breed and we were treated to many wines. I took lots of tasting notes, too as there was much to comment on. Located near the northern end of Edna Valley this should be your first stop.

Tolosa On The Spirits of New Mexico (KIVA radio 1600 AM and 93.7 FM)

Once I returned home I knew I’d want to interview Tolosa’s winemaker, Jim Kress. Winemakers, particularly those that make high-quality wines are always in demand and always busy. But after some scheduling changes we were able to get Jim on our show and we learned a lot about Edna Valley and the great Pinot Noir wines Tolosa makes.

Since we sometimes do wine tasting on the show Tolosa sent us their two top wines, the Hollister 2015 Pinot Noir and their flagship wine the 2015 Primera, a blend of the best lots from the vineyards of their Edna Valley Ranch property. It even seemed to pour more languidly than other wines, hinting at the luxurious mouthfeel and fine tannins. The rich palate is complex with black fruit flavors and slate-like minerality.

Jim Kress was most generous with his time and he covered many of the vineyards they source fruit from and their genesis from grape to wine. Many thanks to the folks at Tolosa for helping us put on the program and spread the word.