Published: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009
Wine Notes: Asuncion Ridge and Bodegas
Different styles, same goal
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closeAs specialized winemakers in Paso Robles, each making their own premium small lot wines at Zenaida Cellars, Dorothy Schuler and Philip Krumal have a lot in common. They also have many dissimilarities.
Schuler’s label, Bodegas Paso Robles, focuses solely on Spanish varietals such as tempranillo, malvasia and graciano.
Krumal’s label, Asuncion Ridge, focuses primarily on pinot noir, with a few other red blends that include syrah, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon.
So as friends for years making wine under the same roof, the two had many discussions about how they could sell their wine to the public without the enormous costs of a dedicated tasting room.
“And we both talked about opening a place, and we just said, ‘We both do totally different things, so we should open something together,’ ” Krumal remembers.
That discussion led to the opening of their new downtown tasting room in March of this year.
Just 400 square feet, the space is small, but the location is ideal for them. Located on 13th Street, between Spring and Park, they are sandwiched between the popular Amsterdam Coffee House and Thomas Hill Organics Bistro, and are close to several other downtown restaurants.
There, the customers can experience a one-of-a-kind tasting experience, comparing two completely different wine varietals and winemaking styles next to one another.
For example, tasters can compare different rosés next to one another, matching a tempranillo rosé against a syrah rosé. Currently the tasting menu offers 14 wines: six from Bodegas Paso Robles and eight from Asuncion Ridge.
The backgrounds of the two winemakers couldn’t be more different.
Schuler was formerly a staff writer for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a cycling journalist in Brussels and a technical writer for billion-dollar engineering projects.
She moved to Paso Robles with her husband, Gerry Finn, in 2001, and started Bodegas Paso Robles in 2002.
Schuler chose Spanish varietals as a result of her travels with Finn around the world, and their love for European style wines.
They also wanted to do something unique that wasn’t being done in Paso Robles.
She taught herself how to make wine, and is deeply appreciative of local winemakers such as Jeff Pipes of Pipestone, Eric Ogorsolka at Zenaida, and Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure for their help and support along the way.
Schuler is now one of only six women who are part of Women of the Vine Cellars, a wine importing and marketing company uniting award-winning women winemakers under one brand.
Krumal, on the other hand, moved to Paso Robles in 1999 from Pasadena, where he was a real estate broker.
He and his partner Michael Dilsaver bought a 320-acre property in west Atascadero and built a stunning bed and breakfast that has sweeping views from Morro Bay to Cambria.
“We looked all through California, from Santa Ynez, Napa, Sonoma, Alexander Valley, all the way to Mendocino, and we just kept coming back here,” Krumal says. “We just fell in love with Paso.”
It wasn’t long after moving to wine country that Krumal started thinking about making wine himself.
“I always wanted to be in the wine industry,” he explains. “Since I was really young I wanted to have a bed and breakfast and a vineyard.”
He planted a 6-acre pinot noir vineyard on his 2,000-foot high property in 2002, and started making wine at Zenaida in 2005.
Now at 1,200 cases a year, he has about the same level of production as Schuler, who made about 1,500 cases last year.
The two winemakers have what looks to be an ideal arrangement.
They worked on all their staffing needs, the design of the tasting room, and all the advertising materials, together.
“We work on this stuff together,” Schuler explains, “which is nice since the burden isn’t all on one person.”
As far as competition between the two, they say there really isn’t any.
“It’s funny,” Krumal says, “we look at the end of the month, and we’re both selling almost exactly the same amount of wine.”
Asuncion Ridge and Bodegas Paso Robles
Tasting room: 729 13th St., Paso Robles, 237-3780
Hours: 12:30 – 6 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Asuncion Ridge
Owners: Philip Krumal and Michael Dilsaver
Winemaker: Philip Krumal
Online: www.asuncionridge.com
Bodegas Paso Robles
Owner/winemaker: Dorothy Schuler
Online: www.bodegaspasorobles.com
Janis Switzer can be reached at 434-5394 or via e-mail at janisswitzer@yahoo.com.
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