Thirty years ago, the only Rhône grape most Americans knew about was Syrah. Then a French family and an American family together purchased some land west of Paso Robles, in the Adelaida wine district. They set out to import Rhône grape varieties to the Central Coast, with the aim to grow them using organic, dry farming and other sustainable methods.
It took years of quarantine, propagation and vineyard growth, but Tablas Creek Vineyards has become an influential force in sustainable wine grape and Rhône wine production. Marisa Waddell talks with Tablas Creek general manager Jason Haas and one of the founders, Jean-Pierre Perrin, about the company’s past three decades, and about its future.
Also, in the latest installment on media literacy, the conversation moves to the library. San Luis Coastal Unified School District librarian Michelle Hopper and San Luis Obispo High School library media tech Jennifer Sawyer explain the natural fit for librarians to foster inquiry and critical thinking skills with students from kindergarten through high school—and they have some tips for the rest of us, too.
And local author Eldonna Edwards and Brian Reynolds discuss Edwards' new novel, “Clover Blue,” about a young boy coming of age in a 1970s-era commune in Northern California.