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| Dover Canyon Winery | Paso Robles, CA 93446 |
www.dovercanyon.com
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4520 Vineyard Drive Paso Robles, CA 93446 (805) 237-0101 Fax : 805 237-9191 Email: dovercanyon@tcsn.net
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At Dover Canyon Winery, you will find a small sign by the road that our neighbors call “a model of what winery signage should be.” A short driveway leads past our walnut orchard and a bank of lavender and rosemary to a small, blue 1989 Dunn barn. Another, slightly larger wine barn sits between the syrah and zinfandel plots—we refer to it as the ‘creekside’ wine barn. Our property has the air of a country farm, complete with a swing hanging from a 100-year-old black walnut. The hilltop barn rests next to our blue 1921 farmhouse, often mistaken for a B&B or tasting room by confused visitors who wander in from time to time. Tasting is conducted on the original work counters found in the barn when we purchased the property. Barrels of wine are stacked next to the counter. As rustic as our buildings may be, Dan and Mary each have almost 20 years of experience in the wine industry. Our wines sell out rapidly upon release. Our state-of-the-art POS system and custom-designed wine club track customer purchases and help customers accumulate points toward deeper discounts. Our total production hovers around 2,500 cases a year of vineyard designated wines and special blends. Most wines sell out within months of release. Dover Canyon wines were poured on the set of the Food TV program Iron Chef, and Dover Canyon has enjoyed favorable reviews in publications like the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Wine Advocate, and Vendimia. |
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Winemaker Dan Panico Dan Panico’s wine style reflects his individualistic approach to life and wardrobe. His wines have a distinctive silk and smoke profile, and his cheerful label has been described by wine critic Robert Parker as “dog-gone cute.” Dan Panico has been making wine in Paso Robles for 18 years, with six of those years as winemaker for Gary Eberle of Eberle Winery. His label, “Dover Canyon,” is named for a canyon in the northwest corner of the appellation. In 1983, while still a student at California Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo, Dan attended the first Paso Robles Wine Festival, where he became fascinated by the science, mystique, and challenge of winemaking. During the 1986 harvest, while still gainfully employed at Ramsey Laboratories, Dan participated in midnight punchdowns at Edna Valley Vineyards with his roommate, Rick, an Edna Valley cellarman. The punchdowns, Dan reports, included numerous barrel samples and quality evaluation. Dan graduated from CalPoly in 1987 with a degree in Food Science and continued to work for Ramsey Labs until the harvest of 1988, when he was hired by a local winery as their lab director. “My first assignment was sampling all the fermentors for Brix and flavors . . . I thought I was in heaven,” said Dan, “but quickly learned the art of tasting without indulging.” In 1991 Dan became the assistant winemaker at Eberle Winery. Owner Gary Eberle traveled frequently, piloting his own plane across the U.S., promoting the Paso Robles appellation. “Dan is the first assistant I ever granted the full title of winemaker,” said Gary. “I could trust him implicitly.” Dan began making Dover Canyon wines as a hobby in 1992 with his friend Ed Smith. Ed painted the distinctive Dover Canyon logo after drinking a bottle of their 1992 cabernet. The wine was made exclusively for fun times with good friends. “We sold 25%,” said Dan, “and drank 75%.” In 1996, a local winery owner approached Dan with an offer to let him lease a small existing wine facility, complete with equipment. After much pencil-pushing, head-scratching, and credit card accumulation, we made the leap to opening our doors to the public on January 1, 1997. Unlike other wineries, where owners sensibly accumulate some wealth first and buy the best equipment, our unexpected launch saw us relying on borrowed and used equipment in what was essentially a converted motor-home garage. But our first few years in operation were great fun and good times. Many of our wine club members have been with us since we first began our wine club in 1999. At Eberle, Dan was one of the first winemakers in the region to produce Rhone varietals, and one of the first twelve winemakers in California to work with viognier, a white Rhone varietal known for its exotic fruit and perfumed nose. Dan is also one of the first winemakers in the region to focus on small lots of vineyard-designated wines, often from very small and specific sites like Alto Pomar (Rhones) and Bella Vineyard (westside zinfandel). Dan’s commitment to natural farming is rooted in his love for intense varietal character, and the spicy flavors that come from dry-farmed, head-trained vines and mountain grown fruit. He buys fruit only from vineyards that meet his criteria. “Blockbuster wines are just not Dan’s style,” says partner Mary Baker. “He uses neutral oak, carefully selected yeasts, and sometimes native yeasts. We are really pleased when a vineyard produces a signature flavor profile year after year, because the expression of Paso Robles terroir is still a mystery and a challenge. It’s exciting to reach for that.” Dan also has a small estate vineyard planted to syrah, and head-pruned, dryfarmed zinfandel. The soils are exceptionally stony, and very calcareous. “We broke two pickaxes planting the vineyard,” says Dan. Estate productions sell out immediately, and are offered exclusively to wine club and mailing list clients. Dover Canyon’s farming methods are low-impact and organic. The vineyard is also a certified national wildlife habitat. You can learn more about Dover Canyon’s vineyard and winemaking practices on our winery blog. |
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Red
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2007 "Cujo" Zinfandel
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Regular 15% Mixed case discount. as of 03/12 |
Phone: (805) 237-0101 Fax: (805).237-9191 Tasting Room Open Info & Map Paso Robles, CA |
White
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2007 White Bone
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Regular as of |
Phone: (805) 237-0101 Fax: (805).237-9191 Tasting Room Open Info & Map Paso Robles, CA |
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