The Paso Robles Wine Country is one of the fastest growing premium vineyard and winery regions in California, with the amount of bonded wineries and wine grape land in Paso Robles more than doubling between 1993 and 2002.

Paso Robles grape growers, wineries and wine tasting rooms united to form the Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association in 1993. This non-profit trade organization is dedicated to the promotion and education of the Paso Robles premium wine country.

Every year in March, the Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association hosts the Zinfandel Festival, during which California Zinfandel producers and enthusiasts come together for an evening of wine, food and celebration of California?s heritage varietal.

Paso Robles? wine production began two centuries ago at Mission San Miguel Archangel. As early as 1797, Father Junipero Serra planted 1,000-grapevines to make sacramental wines. As French and Italian immigrants settled in the area, they brought with them superior European vine cuttings to make wine for family and friends. But it was 1882 when the first commercial winery, Ascension Winery, was established by rancher Andrew York. Now known as York Mountain Winery, the original Homestead Certificate signed by President Ulysses S. Grant still hangs proudly at the oldest-continuously-running winery in Paso Robles.

The boom in winegrape growing began in the late-1960s, thanks to trailblazers like Dr. Stanley Hoffman, a Beverly Hills cardiologist credited with developing modern wine production in Paso Robles. An aficionado of the Burgundy region of France, Hoffman believed Paso Robles had similar soils and climate to France. Purchasing a 1,200-acre ranch in 1972, he named it Hoffman Mountain Ranch (HMR), and planted grapevines from Burgundy under the guidance of his close friend, the legendary Tchelistcheff.

The last decade of the 20^th century saw significant vineyard development in Paso Robles , which grew 72 percent. Again, it was the most dramatic increase of any American Viticultural Area according to the San Francisco marketing firm Gomberg, Fredrikson and Associates. The past won?t be forgotten, with the historic HMR vineyard purchased and revitalized by Adelaida. And the future is no less bright with internationally known producers like Fetzer, Gallo, and Mondavi planting thousands of vineyard acres throughout Paso Robles. And artisans who produce miniscule amounts of luxury wines, L?Aventure, Garretson, Linne Calodo, Saxum, Tablas Creek and Turley, have raised the region?s reputation to even greater heights. Of this we?re sure; Paso Robles? outstanding wines are no longer a secret among wine connoisseurs.