San Diego is a fast-growing market for wineries all over the world, but some of the best wines come from a region mere hours away. Paso Robles, a town 30 minutes north of San Luis Obispo, was once the land of cattle ranchers. But in the last two decades, wine producers have flooded to the area for its unique terroir and climate. Half of the region sits just several miles from the ocean, on the west side of Hwy. 46, so grapes there get a strong coastal influence, with cooler temperatures and frequent fog. The other half is delineated by Hwy. 101 and a mountain range, which halts the marine influence and causes temperatures to soar past 100 degrees even into the fall. These geographic features give Paso wines two distinct identities in many flavors, and fierce competition between the two halves has yielded truly amazing wine for every palate. Some of the following wineries plan to expand their distribution in San Diego in the future: Adelaida Cellars Adelaida Cellars is located on the west side of Hwy. 46, in an area that used to be part of the ocean floor. That history has left its imprint in the soil, which is full of calcareous limestone, giving the taste of Adelaida’s wine an earthy, mineral quality. Since all of their wine is estate grown, that taste profile is evident in each bottle. A representative from Adelaida recommended trying the 2008 HMR Estate Chardonnay and the 2007 HMR Estate Pinot Noir to get a good sense of the wines they offer. “People think of Paso Robles as a warmer growing region, but those two are Burgundian wines that are typically grown in a cooler climate,” explained Paul Sowerby, Adelaida’s national sales representative. Clautiere Vineyards Clautiere is arguably better known for its Alice in Wonderland-themed tasting room than its wine, but its sales and marketing director Ron Wannagat said that in 2008 San Diego was one of its biggest restaurant markets. After losing its distributor and seven area sales reps here in 2009, its market share suffered, but Wanagat’s goal for 2010 is to rebuild in the region. Its go-to wine is the Mon Beau Rouge, a unique blend of counoise, mourvedre, grenache and syrah. It is a big, peppery wine made in 30 percent new French oak barrels, and it would be a good addition to many of the local Italian restaurants and steakhouses in the area. Minassian-Young Vineyards Minassian-Young is owned and operated by David and Amparo Young. David is a native of San Diego and visits his parents here frequently. The duo bought the vineyard in 2003 and released their first commercial vintage in 2004. The Amparos are committed to dry farming, which means they don’t have any installed irrigation, and the grapes they grow must rely solely on rainfall as the water source. They farm organically and the grapes they source from other vineyards come from sustainable farms. “A vintage is only captured when you aren’t irrigating away what happened that year,” David said. “It requires us to be better farmers. We are riding the weather rollercoaster.” David said wines from 2007 should be particularly good, because the limited rainfall in Paso that year generated smaller yields with higher quality grapes. Try the 2007 Black St. Peter for a unique blend. It contains zinfandel, mourvedre, petite sirah, carignon and viognier.