Anglim Winery - An Example of How Twitter Pairs Well With Wine

Anglim Winery in Paso Robles, California got my attention simply by their presence and interaction on Twitter (@anglimwinery). They participate actively without coming across as overly self-promoting. Unlike some wineries they do their own tweeting, allowing consumers and followers to get a sense of what the winery is up to but also the people behind Anglim Winery. They are a great example of how a small boutique winery can essentially build customer relationships, and advertise for free, while they are working in the tasting room, filling orders, even in the barrel room or vineyard.

Their social media presence incentivized me to carve out an hour to visit their tasting room while in Paso Robles to see if I could meet the people and wines behind the tweets. The room is located in downtown Paso Robles in the old train depot, and is within walking distance to some great cheese shops, restaurants, and other tasting rooms. Since Anglim does not own any of their own vineyards, at this time, it makes sense for them to co-locate with other Paso Robles attractions. This also offers the visitor a unique and convenient experience away from the winding roads and buses of tourists out in the fields.

Pouring in the tasting room I found Steffanie Anglim, co-owner with her husband Steve. Steffanie manages sales, marketing, and the many tastings that Anglim participates in annually. Steve acts as the winemaker sourcing fruit from some of the absolute best vineyards in the area (Pinot Noir from Fiddlestix Vineyard, Viognier from Bien Nacido, Rhones from French Camp). The whole operation began because Steve and Steffanie, self-admitted wine lovers, bought a home winemaking kit for Christmas one year that made some pretty bad wine. Steffanie asked Steve if he couldn't just head north to Santa Barbara and negotiate getting a very small batch of some quality juice for his next effort. That's it, it was over. Steve started to build some relationships and realized that if he wanted to do it, he could produce wine. While Pinot Noir was their original love, Santa Barbara was just priced outrageously high for a startup, small scale winery. They discovered that Paso Robles offered a wonderful environment for him to build from scratch, learn the trade, and make a wide variety of delicious wines.

Steffanie was great to talk to as she poured her way through their wines. I took extensive notes and scores on at least 7 of their wines, but in the moment left my notes sitting there and do not have them with me today. That actually may be a good thing for both the reader and Anglim as now I can simply present to you the three Anglim wines that still haunt my memory because I found them to be exceptional.

2007 Anglim Zinfandel St. Peter of Alcantara - Sourced from a 40 acre vineyard south of Paso Robles that produces only zinfandel and petite sirah on a very steep hillside, this wine is just being released now. And it is HUGE, in a very good way. The nose is slightly restrained, only giving hints of the fruit that will hit you. But the second the wine hits your palette it literally explodes with very bright red cherries and raspberries, that wonderful California Zinfandel jam flavor that pushes right up to the edge of overdone but does not cross it. Then you get the characteristic spicy pepper and a long delicious finish. This wine is gigantic but in great balance. If you love California zin you will love this wine, 4 out of 5.

2007 Anglim Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard - Steve now has two vintages of the wine he has always wanted to make under his belt. This one is a real winner, and is sourced from Fiddlestix Vineyard which is NOT in Paso Robles (I've said before I'm always leery of Paso Robles grown Pinot as it is just too hot there in my opinion). Taking a gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, this Pinot offers rather dark cherry flavors but enough earth, spice, and velvety mouthfeel to keep you clearly in the Pinot realm. This wine gets a 4.5 out of 5 and retails for $48. Spectacular wine.

2007 Anglim Mourvedre Hastings Ranch Vineyard - I have a soft spot for single varietal bottlings of Mourvedre, and this example was a really exciting one. To me, while it certainly did not come across as a single note, this wine had striking coffee on the nose, and pretty substantial white pepper on the palette. It was the kind of wine that surprises you when first experience and you are either going to love it, or really not like it because it is really so distinct. I loved it, and score it a 3.5 out of 5.

Thanks to @anglimwinery for a great visit. I highly encourage you both to find them on Twitter and interact, and to carve out a visit to downtown Paso Robles and specifically Anglim Winery when you are there. In the meantime order a couple of their wines here and get a sense of what someone's dream and determination can do when they finally find the right juice!!!

The logo and photograph were obtained in the Trade/Media section of the Anglim website and are their property. In the photo Steve is checking on the progress of his grape fermentation, and not actively twittering, in case you were confused.