McBride Sisters Collection Reserve Wines
California
"I grew up in Monterey, California and have always loved wines from coastal growing regions, like Santa Lucia Highlands and western Paso Robles. The grape varietals we chose for our Reserve wines thrive in these regions and become wines with powerful aromatics, balanced flavors and exceptional elegance.”
- Robin McBride
Hear Robin tell the story behind our NEW Reserve White Wine "Abalone or Pāua?" from Paso Robles.
92 points, Wine Enthusiast: Reserve Chardonnay “The Great Escape” 2019
91 points, Wine Enthusiast: Reserve Pinot Noir “Cocky Motherf*cker” 2019
The California Coast’s Most Prestigious Wine Regions
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
Nestled along the east-facing terraces of the Santa Lucia mountain range lies the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, located in Monterey County just two hours south of San Francisco. Boasting more than 5,700 acres of vineyards, Santa Lucia Highlands is home to silky and vibrant wines that are delicious at release, and able to go the distance in the cellar.
Known for its winds that average 10-15 miles per hour with gusts up to 25 miles per hour, Santa Lucia Highlands offers a unique combination of abundant sunshine and cool temperatures, which, coupled with their infamous wind, results in deeper flavors in the grapes. It has a longer growing season than most cooler climate regions, creating a slow and even ripening season for the predominant grape varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
PASO ROBLES
At two-thirds the size of Napa, California, the wine growing region of Paso Robles lies directly between San Francisco and Los Angeles, in San Luis Obispo County. The Adelaida District sub-appellation, in the northwest corner of the Paso Robles AVA, benefits from its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, which lends freshness and structure to wines from the area.
Paso Robles is known for having California’s greatest diurnal (day to night) temperature differences, a hallmark of balanced wines. While the hot sun beams down during the summer months, the cool night temperatures offset the heat from the day, giving these grapes a longer ripening period and good acidity. The soil across the 26,000 acres of vineyards in Paso Robles is mostly shale and limestone, closely resembling the soils of Southern Rhône, and making it ideal for growing white Rhône varietals like Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Marsanne.
