Vino Las Vegas meets with Vines on the Marycrest owner and winemaker Victor Abascal

One of the best parts about our job is meeting people from all over the world.

Everyone can learn something from each

other. We enjoy sampling wines from the

smaller vineyards and meeting the men and

women behind them. You can taste the

passion and labor of love in every sip.

While visiting the wine shop Vino 100 we had the chance to meet winemaker and vineyard owner Victor Abascal of Vines on the Marycrest. Vines on the Marycrest is located on 26 acres in the hills of western Paso Robles. This small vineyard produces handcrafted Old Vine Zinfandel and Rhone varietals that are dry farmed and hand pruned.

We tasted 5 wines from Vines on the Marycrest with Victor and he explained each one. The 2006 Rose had a wonderful deep rose color with many red fruit flavors on the palate. The blend is 63% Grenache , 16% Syrah ,16% Mourvedre and 5% Zinfandel. This Rose was very well balanced and would be good summer wine. Victor poured us his 2005 Heart of Glass which is a wonderful blend from over 50 year old Grenache vines 67% and 22% Syrah with 11% Mourvedre to finish it off. This wine jumps out at you with deep, bright strawberry flavors. Next on our list was the classic Rhone blend , Victors 2005 Round Top. This blend of 45% Syrah , 33 % Mourvedre , and 22% Grenache was well balanced and fruit forward. The 2005 Satin Doll, 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Syrah was our favorite of the night. A great blend with a long smooth finish with hints of oak. We finished up with the 2005 My Generation. This is a unique blend of 45% Zinfandel, 28% Syrah , 18% Mourvedre and 9% Petite Syrah. Victor explained to us the Zinfindel is from his estate vineyard and blended with Zinfandel from the Remo Belli Vineyard near by. This was a "big" wine with an abundance of fruit and a finish that kept going !

Victor and his wife Jennifer founded Vines on the Marycrest in 2004. His wine making style as he explained to us was food friendly and well balanced. After meeting Victor and sampling his wines we can stay he is on the right track with his style. All of these wines were very well balanced and food friendly.

Scott from Vino Las Vegas spoke with Victor about each of his wines, his vineyard and future plans. You can find out more by watching the video interview with Victor and by going to his web site at www.vinesonthemarycrest.com We plan to visit Victor soon and will have a report from the vineyard. Cheers !