Opolo Vineyards
 
Located in the western Paso Robles Hills at 1600 ft of elevation 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Opolo’s vineyards are planted to steep hillsides of rocky, chalky soils.  Dave Nichols and Rick Quinn, partners in the winery have made these vineyards, and the quality of their fruit, top priority.  They are meticulous farmers regarded on the central coast as being among the best in the region.  The plantings include Cabernet clone 337, the Dijon Clones of Pinot Noir, and Syrah Noir, all smaller berry and bunch versions of those more often found in California.  Low vigor rootstocks have been selected, the vines access to water is carefully controlled, (the soils have no ability to hold water) and yields are significantly lower than other farmers in the area.  All grapes are hand harvested and care is taken avoid blemished fruit.  Having made wine for many years at home, the two began to make small quantities of wine from their vineyards using Robert Nadeau, who produces wine under the Nadeau Family Label, as winemaking consultant.  They produce 6500 cases of wine, of which 4000 are sold direct from the winery to consumers via mailing list and to a few accounts in the central coast, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  (They are at Spago LA and Farallon in San Francisco.)  The style of the wines is best described as concentrated, chewy, broad, and fruit forward.  They are all fully extracted, big bodied, and loaded with flavor.  The wines are fermented in small open top bins and aged in a combination of French and American Oak, amounts varying depending upon the variety produced.

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