Hearthstone Vineyard & Winery produces 100% estate-grown wine from their 40-acre vineyard. Owner, Hoy Buell, a Cal Poly graduate and horticulturist for 32 years, planted the vineyard back in 1999. With his past experience in growing a wide variety of plants, it is no surprise that he planted a very diverse vineyard. The Hearthstone Vineyard is home to 20 different varieties of grapes with up to seven different clones of each. Over the years he has continued to fine tune the vineyard, sometimes grafting vines, with the goal of producing the best fruit the land can deliver.

Hoy brought in winemaker Paul Ayers to take the wide range of premium fruit to produce exceptional wines. Working together they determine the perfect time to harvest the fruit. Each lot is hand-picked, sorted and fermented in small lots. Unlike many wineries that will process a mix of clones together, each lot processed at the winery is a single clone of a single varietal. That means typically just two tons of grapes at a time and Paul will have up to 25 lots of wine to work with at any given time. By working in small batches Paul is able to retain the subtle variation of flavors that each clone possesses.

According to Paul, “Quality is the focus at Hearthstone and by working with small lots I am able to extract the best qualities from the fruit and age it to deliver wines with a nice level of oak integration. I am always looking to improve the quality of the wines through the use of different yeasts which accentuate flavors and occasionally I will use native ‘field yeast’ to ferment the grapes.” With more than 20 years of experience making wine in the Paso Robles area, Paul has the ability to manage the winemaking process from vineyard to bottle. “Paul’s ability to detect slight variations and prevent problems from growing is crucial to our success, and is a result from his weekly testing, topping, and of course tasting. Paul’s attention to the wines maximizes the potential of the superior fruit coming from the field.” Hoy notes about Paul.

Once the wine has aged long enough to soften the tannins and integrate the desired flavor from the oak, Paul gets to do what he is known best for – create unique, creative blends. Occasionally a single barrel of a varietal is deemed by Paul to be of superior quality and it will be bottled as a standalone varietal. A single barrel produces just 25 cases of wine and these are reserved for the Hearthstone Wine Club. The majority of the wines get blended six months prior to bottling. Paul’s hand-craftd Rhône, Bordeaux and New World Super-Tuscan blends are what put Hearthstone on the map as a premier Paso Robles small-lot, high-quality winery.

Josslyn Wagster, Hearthstone’s tasting room manager, said “Our customers love the blends and the small lots sell quickly. Each time a customer stops by to taste we will have a new wine on the list. Our club is very popular since they have access to our limited production wines and in each wine shipment will receive something different.”

On your next visit to the Paso area be sure to stop by the Heartstone tasting room. Chances are you will even find Paul there pouring wines on weekends or if it is an event weekend he may be grilling something tasty to go with the wine. One of his favorites is the 2007 Produndo, a New World Super Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah.

Hearthstone is located at 5070 Vineyard Drive in Paso Robles and their tasting room is open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to  5 p.m. For additional information, visit hearthstonevineyard.com or call (805) 238-2544.