|
||||||||||||||||||||
Rotta Winery, founded in 1908 by the Rotta Family, is the only remaining family-owned "original" winery in San Luis Obispo County. Mike Giubbini-grandson to the Rotta Family-and Mark Caporale of Napa have combined their talents to "bring back to life" the historic and rustic winery. To longtime fans of this wine region, the name Rotta Winery might ring a few bells, but only if you were familiar with Paso Robles's wines before the rest of the country really knew where Paso was. In fact, you have to go back several decades to discover the beginnings of Rotta Winery, which was one of the first three wineries established in Paso Robles. The original vineyard and winery were started in 1856 by a Frenchman named Adolph Siot, who later sold the successful enterprise to Joe Rotta in 1908. In the 1920s, Rotta then sold it to his brother Clement Rotta, who bonded the winery after Prohibition in the 1930s and forged the label into one best known for its hearty Zinfandels. Today the Rotta label is being revived by their grandson, Michael Giubbini, who remembers long, happy days of working in the vineyard as a child when he visited his grandparents from his home in Menlo Park. He fell in love with the area, so after graduating from high school, he attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and has been there ever since. In 1990, despite the demands of a now 30-year career as a fire captain with the California Department of Forestry, Giubbini undertook the task of replanting the old family vineyard almost exclusively to Zinfandel. Our selection is a perfect example of the large, bramble-flavored Zinfandels that are considered classic here. It really doesn't get much better. This is a mere giant of a wine, meant to be enjoyed with very hearty fare like lamb sausages or a wild boar ragu. October 2011 Limited Series Newsletter (.pdf) The Limited Series for October 2011 from Wine of the Month Club on Vimeo. |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
