Central Coast AVA

Richard Sauret died Saturday night, September 30, 2017, in an automobile accident on Highway 101 and Wellsona Road. He was 82.  Sauret had been in the process of retiring from grape growing.

"One of the things that Champagne did wrong when they started putting out their marketing," says Jenna Congdon, the manager of The Station wine bar in San Luis Obispo, "is that they really put it out there as a special occasion wine."

That marketing message has worked better than those 19th century French producers could ever have imagined. 

Winemakers come from all walks of life. Some are almond farmers who made the switch to grapes because it paid more. Some are artists, drawing on their creative talents to craft wine. And then there are scientists. 

Denis Degher sold his recording studio in L.A. and retired in Paso Robles just after the turn of the millennium. By chance he made a batch of wine that turned out to be quite good. And his feel for winemaking comes from his musical instincts. He gives us an example in this interview.