2019 Copia The Source

Copia Vineyards was started in 2015 when Varinder Sahi and Anita Kothari toured Paso Robles wine country as part of an educational tour. Within a few years they had acquired 50 acres in the hills on the west side of Paso Robles and started making wine. The pair are winemakers who trained under at the Booker and Epoch Vineyards. The 2016 vintage was their debut release and for now they are using mostly sourced grapes. Their Rhone style wines are typically red blends, though they’ve also produced a white blend and a rosé. Reviewer Jeb Dunnuck has noted that “if these first releases are any indication, the future is very bright for this team.”

Paso Robles AVA is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it is considered one of the West Coast’s most exciting winemaking regions. With its hot, sometimes searingly dry and sunny weather, it is especially good country for growing warm climate grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Because many Paso Robles wineries have been successful with blending these grapes into Rhone Valley-style wines, it is known as the Rhone zone of California. The AVA was created in 1983 and there are 32,000 vineyard acres. In late 2014 the AVA was divided into 11 smaller sub-appellations, so starting with 2015 vintages labeling will become more specific on Paso Robles wines, which will now also list sub-appellations. Located in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles, the town and its surrounding area, was traditionally a farming and ranching region. But from a few dozen wineries in the early 1990s to more than 200 today, the area is quickly becoming known for wine and risk-taking winemakers.