Rabbit Ridge Winery
The story of our winery
Rabbit Ridge started making and selling wine in 1981 and to date has sold over 3 million cases of wine all while staying a small locally run business. We are based in Paso Robles which we feel is quickly becoming one of the premier growing regions in the world. We also source grapes and wine from other highly acclaimed growing regions such as Sonoma, Sierra Foothills, Santa Barbara and Lodi.
We feel very strongly about the use of oak in our winemaking. The use of oak is a personal one for many winemakers and we think it changes the game for better structure, body, and balance in wine.
Sourcing Vineyards
…and as it’s said, wine is made by God…
Rabbit Ridge first started sourcing grapes in Paso Robles in 1996 after becoming enamored by the ideal grape growing climate and soils west of highway 101 in the Templeton Gap.
Rabbit Ridge Vineyards
We are based in Paso Robles where the steep, hilly region with limestone soil and a maritime cooling influence keep it 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the town of Paso Robles to the east. The climate on the west side is very extreme. It is common during the growing season for the temperature on the west side to drop from 90 degrees at 3 pm, to 65 degrees by 6 pm, and then to 40 degrees at night. We believe this area of limited water, shallow, rugged, rocky, calcareous soil produce some of the finest wines in Paso Robles, and among the finest in California.
We source numerous grape varietals including Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Chardonnay, and Roussanne to name a few. Some of our favorite grapes grown on the vineyards in Paso Robles are native to the Rhône region of France. We love working with some of the more popular Rhône varietals such as Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Grenache, and experimenting with many different blends as well as pure varietal bottlings surrounding them.
