News & Press

Owen Bargreen: A Deep Dive into the 2020 Whites at Tablas Creek

One of the great things about Hospice du Rhone is seeing the amazing writers and somms who come for the event. One was Owen Bargreen, with whom we decided to take a deep dive into our whites and rosés when he visited. The reviews were outstanding, including 94 point ratings for Clairette Blanche, Viognier, and Marsanne, a 95 point rating for Roussanne, and a 96 point rating for Esprit de Tablas Blanc, with the comment:

This sensational southern Rhone style wine blends 46% Roussanne and 28% Grenache Blanc with smaller parts Picpoul, Bourboulenc, Clairette Blanche and Picardin. The aromatic range is off the charts with banana, honeydew melon, salted nuts and shades of kiwi. The thrilling 2020 Tablas Creek ‘Espirit Blanc de Tablas’ White Wine unveils a multitude of working pieces once on the palate, ranging from tropical fruits to melon and stone fruits. Salty and very savory, wait for the minute-long finish! This is hugely complex and also highly delicious Rhone style wine that will easily cellar well for another fifteen years

Check out his full report!

VinePair: 6 Eco-Friendly Wineries to Shop From This Earth Day

We're proud to be one of VinePair's "6 Eco-Friendly Wineries for EarthDay"... wineries who are "actually practicing what they preach and working toward creating a more eco-friendly world". From their section about Tablas Creek:

Renowned Paso Robles, Calif.-based winery Tablas Creek may be best known for its delicious Rhône-style wines, but the winery is also a leader in biodynamic winemaking. Gaining an organic certification in 2003 and using animals rather than chemicals to fertilize its vineyard soils, Tablas Creek received its official biodynamic certification in 2017 and became the country’s first-ever Regenerative Organic Certified™ vineyard in 2020.

XChateau Podcast: Boxing for the Environment

In a second episode he recorded with hosts Robert Vernick and Peter Leung of the XChateau podcast, our Jason Haas dove into our recent foray into making our first box wine, and more broadly into the prospects, challenges, and rewards of alternative packaging.

SOMM Journal: "A trip to Paso is, in my opinion, incomplete without a stop at Tablas Creek"

In his regular column for SOMM Journal, Contributing Editor Wes Hagen visits Tablas Creek on a quick trip to Paso Robles, and writes up his highlights. Among the nice things he said:

Tablas Creek produces wines that speak of the California sunshine; extraordinary care of the land in the form of cutting-edge viticulture (its vineyard was the first in the world to receive certification from Regenerative Organic Certified for its stringent farming processes); and a sense of complexity and balance that is, frankly, sometimes lacking in wines from Paso Robles. The tasting experience here is unhurried, warm, and generous; a trip to Paso is, in my opinion, incomplete without a stop at Tablas Creek.

He also includes a lovely review of our 2019 Esprit de Tablas Blanc, which he described as "damn close to perfect without losing its soul".

XChateau Podcast: Regenerative, the Only Sustainable Farming

In a new episode of the XChateau podcast, hosts Robert Vernick and Peter Leung welcome Jason Haas for a deep dive into regenerative farming.

Food & Wine Magazine Drinks Innovators of the Year: Jason Haas

We are excited to announce that our Proprietor Jason Haas is a Food & Wine Magazine 2022 Drinks Innovator of the Year! Jason received the nod for "using regenerative organic methods to make great wines, and help fight climate change while he's at it". We couldn't be more proud. From Food & Wine:

This new annual accolade from Food & Wine highlights the extraordinary creativity and ambition — practical, social, cultural, and beyond — that's going on in the drinks space right now. Taken together, the Drinks Innovators, eight individuals working in the wine, spirits, beer, and non-alcoholic beverage realm, illustrate where the entire drinks industry is going. And they all have products that consumers can get their hands on right now. This is what the future tastes like.

Robb Report: Can Fine Wine Come in a Box? This Vineyard Is Betting on It

Subtitle: Tablas Creek is making that earth-friendly option hard to resist.

In a terrific new article for Robb Report, writer Sara Schneider explores our decision to dip our toe in the water of alternative, lighter-carbon-footprint packages by making 3L boxes of our 2021 Patelin de Tablas Rosé. A taste of her piece:

A good deal of soul-searching swept away the arguments against “bottling” some good Tablas Creek wine in boxes—wine meant to be drunk within a few months. “It’s not just about carbon footprint,” says Haas. “It’s a good choice for storage and usage too.” So many of those heavy glass bottles don’t actually fit into standard cellar racks. And tapping a box of wine doesn’t start to degrade the contents like pulling a cork; the internal bag deflates as the wine is dispensed, keeping oxygen at bay. The wine stays fresh for weeks (in the off chance that four bottles’ worth of Tablas Creek will last that long in your house). Besides, says Haas about committing a higher-end tipple to a box, “someone has to be first!”

Green Wine Future Podcast: What's Regenerative Viticulture?

In a new podcast episode that leads up to the May 2022 Green Wine Future Conference, our Jason Haas joins hosts David Furer and Stacy Briscoe and Australia's Richard Leask to discuss the current state and future potential of regenerative viticulture.