The Boston Wine Expo is an amazing event. Over two days, you are surrounded by hundreds of wines and dozens of foods. Even when you reduce those numbers to the amount that you actually sample, there still are many names and faces to remember. At the end of the weekend, the most memorable are the ones that will stay with you.
One such memorable winery was Aaron Wines based in Paso Robles, California. I was able to speak with the owner, Aaron Jackson, about his Petite Sirah, his vineyards, and his first trip to the chilly and snowy Northeast. While speaking, I, of course, sampled some of his 2006 Petite Sirah, which was full-bodied, well balanced, and smooth. An absolutely lovely wine!
With the numerous attendees at the expo, there simply is not enough time to conduct a full interview. Since then I have emailed with Aaron to learn more about his wines.
Do you harvest your own grapes, or do you purchase them from local vineyards?
I work with about 6 vineyards in Paso Robles, all of which are very small and none of which I own. The largest, I think, is 8 acres, so as you can see, most high-end, quality driven vineyards in Paso that have Petite Sirah planted are very small indeed. Paso is often divided into two areas, the Eastside and Westside. While the division of these two areas is somewhat arbitrary, there are some distinctive differences. The Westside is cooler from a general perspective, since it is closer in proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Also, the topography tends to be more extreme, with steeper hillsides and shallower, limestone heavy soils. The Eastside is warmer slightly, and may or more not have deeper soils depending on the site. It does, however, have a more gentle topography, with more rolling hills and less extreme hillsides. I work very closely with growers to guide the farming of all my fruit, which I purchase on contracts. It’s a great relationship, and I’m very anal about how things are done in the vineyard, to the point where I do quite a bit of vineyard work myself just to ensure everything is done to my standard. Currently, I have a great relationship with all my growers, and we’re all striving for quality and working toward making Petite Sirah in Paso Robles better than anywhere in the world. It can be done, I have faith!
According to your website, you ship to 18 different states. Do you intend to expand?
I make a very small amount of wine, only about 400-500 cases a year. While the Aaron project started in 2002, it’s grown very slowly and for good reason. I’m at a point now that I am ready to start pushing the production, but only modestly. I’d like to be at 1200-2000 cases in the next 5 years, but there are a lot of things that need to happen to get me there. I have no big investors and no trust fund floating me, this has all come from my own pocket and from a lot of love. Also, I need to ensure that I have the quality fruit sources to supply me. The big reason that so many brands go downhill when then expand is that they start buying sub-par fruit to allow for increased production. I don’t ever want to compromise my quality. Ever.
What is the most important fact that I should share with our readers about Aaron Wines?
Aaron Wines is all about Petite Sirah and all about breaking down the doors of pretentiousness! The days of stuck up wine snobbery are gone, it’s all about drinking what you like and enjoying the hell out of it. My goal is to make the most ridiculous high end wines, but I also want it to be fun and approachable for everyone. I’ve been making wine for 9 years, but I’m only 26 and I’m not interested in being uptight and holding back. I make big wines, and that’s why I chose to focus on Petite Sirah. As my slogan says, Go big or go home!
Tags: Aaron Wines, California, Paso Robles, Petite Sirah
