Interactive wine tastings highlight Paso Robles harvest season
– Hope Family Wines will offer interactive tasting experiences at its two Paso Robles locations in September as part of California Wine Month. The experiences, designed by Director of Hospitality Jo Armstrong in collaboration with Owner-Winemaker Austin Hope and Director of Vineyards Stasi Seay, invite participants to become winemakers for a day.
The first experience, “Berry Sensory Analysis,” will take place at the new Hope on Park tasting room in downtown Paso Robles. Patrons will taste a variety of wine grapes straight from the vineyard and learn how to assess fruit ripeness by analyzing factors such as pulp, seeds, and skins. Participants will also learn how to take “brix” measurements to determine grape sugar content. The experience concludes with a curated tasting flight of Austin Hope wines and costs $75.
The second experience, “Brix Testing,” will be held at the Austin Hope & Treana Tasting Cellar in the Templeton Gap District. Attendees will receive fresh cabernet sauvignon grape juice and a hydrometer to measure the brix, which indicates fruit sugar ripeness. This experience is also followed by a curated tasting flight of Austin Hope wines and is priced at $25.
Armstrong described the experiences as a way to celebrate the local grape harvest and involve patrons in the winemaking process. “These are one-of-a-kind tasting experiences that draw you into the excitement of the season.”
The experiences can be reserved throughout September by visiting HopeFamilyWines.com or by contacting the respective tasting rooms at cheers@hfwines.com and (805) 238-4112 for the Austin Hope & Treana Tasting Cellar, or dreamweaver@hfwines.com and (805) 591-0744 for Hope on Park.
