New tasting room opening in downtown Paso Robles
Lusso Della Terra winemaker Ed Cholakian and Vice President Megan Van Hook stand in front of the old Phone & Wireless building that will house Lusso Della Terra Cellars. Photo by Heather Young
Lusso Della Terra Cellars opens Zinfandel Weekend
A new tasting room operated by Lusso Della Terra Cellars will open at 831 13th St. in Paso Robles just in time for Zinfandel Weekend, which starts March 20. Owner and winemaker Ed Cholakian started making wine seven years ago in Napa where he worked as an accountant in the wine industry after getting his degree in accounting from Sonoma State University.
“I realized I wasn’t having any fun,” Cholakian said, adding that he’d hear the winemakers having a lot of fun in the room next to him and was led to attend the University of California Davis and earn a degree in winemaking. He started making wine in his house and garage.
He was brought to the Paso Robles area through his full-time job — production manager at Monterey Wine Company, which operates a custom crush business out of King City. He moved to Paso Robles a year ago.
“I fell in love with the area and decided I wanted to open my tasting room down here,” he said. Though he makes his wines in Napa at The Wine Foundry, another custom crush business, he said he intends to make wine in Paso Robles in addition to Napa. The reason, he said, is he wants to continue making wine in Napa is because he has a lot of wholesale business to restaurants from Carmel to Napa.
His case production has varied from 300 to 1,500 cases per year due to what he’s doing and what time he has available, though he said with the opening of the tasting room he plans to increase his production. His tasting room will feature Lusso Della Terra pinot noir and chardonnay made with grapes from Sonoma, Napa and Paso Robles. He also produces sangiovese and zinfandel wines.
The wine tasting room, run by Lusso Della Terra Cellars Vice President Megan Van Hook, Friday through Sunday and will include live music and special events. The tasting will be open Fridays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A back room will be available for private tastings, special events and winemaker dinners.
“Our vision is of a downtown Napa,” Van Hook said of Paso Robles being the destination location Napa has been.
For more information about Lusso Della Terra Cellars, go to ldtcellars.com.
