Tolosa Winery

Chardonnay Blendings with LB

Here is a great video that goes through the steps of creating our different chardonnay's. Here at Tolosa we do 4 different types of chardonnay and of those different types we have hundreds of tanks and barrels that the wine is chosen from. It's a in depth process and to break it down we've created this short video with winemaker Larry Brooks.

 Download Blending Chardonnay - Medium

If you are having problems downloading you can also view the video on Tolosa's  YouTube.   

Blooming Lavendar

It's always so refreshing to have new photos of the winery taken! We recently had local photographer Deborah Denkertake a few new shots of the winery, while our extensive lavender is in full bloom. It's a beautiful time of year here in the Edna Valley and I think these pictures definitely capture that feeling.

Farmers' Market in San Luis Obispo

Downtown SLO is surrounded by rolling hills, near perfect temperatures year round (mid-70’s), only a few miles from the Pacific Ocean and akin to the burgeoning Edna Valley wine region.  There is a real sense of community spirit on the Central Coast and no better example of that vibe is during San Luis Obispo’s Thursday night Farmers Market. Festive with the bustling of neighbors, farmers, merchants, and tourists all coming together to share a few hours exploring the SLO Thursday night Farmers markets and all its facets. 

A bit of history – In the 1970’s small farmers were having a difficult time selling their produce.  Governor Jerry Brown and his administration felt that direct marketing would help small farm operations.  In July 1978 the 1st Farmers Market was set up on property near the San Luis Obispo airport at the south end of town which is just across the street where Tolosa Winery and vineyards now stands.  About a dozen farmers and gardeners sold produce off the bed of their pick up trucks or on small tables.

 By 1983, the Downtown Association invited the Farmers Market to join them downtown on Thursday nights where other festivities were already taking place.  The streets are closed on Higuera St between Osos St. and Nipomo St. from 6-9 pm.  It is the synergistic combination of the Farmers Market, restaurant participation – smell the BBQ’s… and community oriented entertainment that blossomed into this year-round weekly event filling the streets on Higuera with thousands of people having a great time.

Shopping Tips – when visiting Farmers Market
So much great stuff, so much to see, smell and eat!

• When you first arrive, walk through entire market and look at the different offerings before you buy.
• Ask questions
• Bring small bills, as you pay each individual farmer.
• Bring a large cloth or net bag to carry your produce.
• Note:  Bargaining for small amounts is not well received.

Although wine is not sold on the street, there are many great restaurants that carry Tolosa and many local wines. In this video we interview  Robin Covey owner of Novo Restaurant, which is the largest supporter of local farmers' market, buying the majority of their produce and fruit straight from the farmers. We also talk with Leonard Cohen owner of Ciopinot a great new restaurant in downtown and Olde Port Inn, where you can taste his fresh food at the market or you can come into the restaurant for a glass of wine from his extensive wine list specializing in Pinot Noir varietals. 

We hope you enjoy this video as a glimpse into our SLO Farmers Market.  We invite you to one day experience the SLO community spirit that captures the Central Coast and visit our local wineries where friendly service and great wines come together.

Click here to watch video:  Download Produce

For more information on San Luis Obispo County Farmers' Market click here.

Sustainable Vineyard Trolley Tour

On Saturday July 11th, we hosted our first Trolley Tour of our estate vineyards. Of our 750 acres here in the Edna Valley there are so many differences throughout each vineyard site and it is very interesting to view the different soil types, trellis systems and plantings in each unique location. With the trolley we were able to take our customers out to the vineyards so that they could view first hand where the wine develops from along with tasting wine from that select vineyard. One site we stopped at in our Edna Ranch East vineyards was our Pinot Noir block used for Lily Gil. This block is our earliest block to ripen of all of the estate and guests were able to see the process of the berries turning color and ripening, which is called verasion. We also had Erin, from Pacific Vineyards as our sustainable vineyard expert to explain the practices that are used throughout the vineyards to protect and sustain a healthy environment. Guests were able to see the owl boxes placed throughout the vineyards, the drip system watering the vines, the goats that graze to keep brush down and many more practices that encompass the sustainable practices taken by Tolosa. We finished up in beautiful Moretti Canyon having a great picnic lunch in our Pinot Gris vineyards. It was a beautiful afternoon and we look forward to hosting the next Trolley tour in the fall. Cheers!
 

Human Tolosa Sign

Last weekend Raine Ross (a great Tolosa Club Member!) and her friends stopped by the tasting room during the afternoon and we were pleasantly surprised when she sent us this photo of the group creating a human Tolosa sign, that we just had to post it! It's so great to have club member like Raine and we appreciate when you share your photos with us, so thank you Raine and friends and we hope to see you soon! If you are a club member and have photos that you would like to share we are always happy to post them or even put them in the bi-monthly newsletter, so just send them into info@tolosawinery.com with your name and maybe a brief description.
Cheers!