News & Press

Newsweek: How Climate Change Could Affect Your Favorite Wines

Newsweek Editor, Jeff Young featured Tablas Creek Vineyard in his recent article highlighting how climate change is effecting wine regions around the world, and how the way vineyards choose to farm can be part of the solution. From the article:

Haas said those practices require attention and effort but do not necessarily add a lot of cost considering the substantial benefits for both growing grapes and selling them: Wine consumers want to know what's behind the label they're buying."I think people more and more want to know that the products that they support are being made, farmed in a way that's consistent with what they think is the right way to do things," he said. "There's not a negative side to this at all."

Robb Report: How Winemakers Are Reducing Carbon Emissions While Improving Flavor

In a new feature article for Robb Report, authors Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen dive into the positive "impacts that cleaner farming can have on the wine itself." The speak to our Proprietor Jason Haas as well as owners and grapegrowers from other regeneratively farmed Paso Robles wineries Booker, Villa Creek, and Robert Hall. From their introduction:

We are not the first people to have written the words “Great wine begins in the vineyard,” but in many years of visiting wine regions and tasting wine we can certainly attest to the truthfulness of this statement. As much of the wine world comes down off its 20th-century fascination with pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer and moves back toward a type of farming that’s better for the planet, vines, grapes, and our health, it’s important to consider the impact that cleaner farming can have on the wine itself.

Jason Haas featured in American Fruit Grower Magazine

In a new cover feature, Editor Dave Eddy profiles our proprietor Jason Haas, focusing on why we believe that working together with other producers makes good business sense. From his article:

They freely share information with their neighboring wine grape growers because Haas believes that though it may sound counterintuitive, their neighbors aren’t their competitors.

“We are an open book here, anything that we do that helps other people grow grapes in a less resource-intensive way, we’re happy to share,” he says. “The nice thing about wine is that it’s not a zero-sum industry. A neighbor who makes great ‘Syrah’ doesn’t make customers less likely to buy our ‘Syrah’, it makes them more likely.”

Decanter: "Down to Earth" features producers dedicated to regenerative farming, highlighting Tablas Creek

In a new article in Decanter, Rupert Joy dives into the growing movement within wine toward regenerative farming, and highlights wines from eight producers. From his conclusion:

in a world facing soil degradation and climate crisis, a toolkit that helps viticulture to flourish as a contributing part of a healthy ecosystem, rather than at its expense, while also sequestering carbon and increasing climate resilience, can only be a positive thing

His reviews of our 2017 Esprit de Tablas and 2019 Esprit de Tablas Blanc are below:

Tablas Creek, Esprit Blanc de Tablas, Adelaida District, Paso Robles, California, USA 2019 94
Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc and Picardan blend from Tablas Creek’s Regenerative Organic Certified vineyards. A delicate floral nose leads to a rich, mineral mouthful of citrus and honeysuckle with hints of pineapple. Complex, pure and creamy in texture, bright acidity and a lifted, airy quality. Drink 2023-2030 Alc 13%

Tablas Creek, Esprit de Tablas, Adelaida District, Paso Robles, California, USA 2017 95
Rhône blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Counoise from Tablas Creek’s Regenerative Organic Certified vineyards in Paso Robles. Compelling aromas of cherries and plums. A rich, complex and seductive mouthful of sweet black fruits, herbs and olives. Fresh and lifted with lovely intensity and a long finish. Beautiful wine. Drink 2023-2035 Alc 14.5%

The Tribune: From flooding to drought, here’s how SLO County winemakers are adapting to climate change

Joana Tavares and Mackenzie Shuman highlight Tablas Creek's regenerative vineyard practices as a solution in the third installment of a four-part series exploring how climate change may reshape life in San Luis Obispo County over the next 10 to 50 years. From the article:

We see the benefits of that healthier soil in the grapevine’s resistance to things like droughts and heat spikes and extreme weather events,” Haas said, “and we’ve seen it translate into the grapes that we’re picking, in the wines that we’re making.” Haas noted that by using these methods, he has been able to triple the organic material content in his vineyard’s soil over the past several years from 2% to about 6%. Generally, the more organic material in soil, the healthier it is.

Tablas Creek awarded 2023 California Green Medal for sustainability

The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance awarded Tablas Creek the Environment Award, one of four 2023 Green Medals: the California wine community's highest honor for sustainability.

The Environment Award is given to the vineyard or winery that best demonstrates Environmental Stewardship through maximized environmental benefits from implementing sustainable practices.

For details on our sustainability efforts, as well as the video produced by the CSWA for our award, see the blog Jason wrote celebrating the announcement.

Jason Haas on KCBX's "Issues and Ideas"

We're proud to have a conversation our Jason Haas had with KCBX FM's Benjamin Purper -- focused primarily on our work on dry-farming and regenerative viticulture -- be turned into the final piece of his five-part series "In the Vines" examining the long-term prospects for the Paso Robles wine community. We really do believe it is how wine sets itself up for a sustainable future! If you missed it on this week's "Issues and Ideas" broadcast, you can listen below.

Jancis Robinson: A step beyond organic viticulture, producers are reaping the rewards of regeneration

In her weekly column in Financial Times, Jancis Robinson dives into the promise of regenerative farming. In it, she highlights the Regenerative Organic Certified program, Tablas Creek's role as an early adopter, and recommends our 2017 Esprit de Tablas as one of her regeneratively farmed top picks! From the piece:

The American ROC (Regenerative Organic Certification™), launched in 2020, is more demanding because it’s even more wide-ranging and requires a commitment to organic farming. It also requires integrating animal welfare and livestock operations, where appropriate (it can be applied to a wide variety of products — not just wine) as well as the social aspects of sustainability (looking after the workforce and so on).

The organisation’s motto is “Farm like the world depends on it”. So far the only wine operations to be fully ROC-certified are Domaine Bousquet in Argentina, Troon in Oregon and Fetzer, Neal, Sominer, Tablas Creek and Truett-Hurst in California.