I am Russell P. From, winemaker and sole employee of Herman Story Wines.

Herman Story Wines are made, schlepped, peddled, and drunk with friends by me. The basic web design books tell me that you’re probably here for the basics: to find release schedules, ordering information and tasting opportunities for the wines I make, which sounds pretty good to me. The less time I spend writing this stuff the more time I spend in the cellar. So here you go, all the facts with none of the filler. An aesthetic I stand by and believe my wines do too.

I release my wines twice a year, in Spring and Fall. The current set was freed to the wild in mid-September, 2011, and includes the wines detailed below. If you want to get in on the action and try some of my stuff, please join the Wait List for my Wine Club, listed below. You can also visit me at my tasting room in Downtown Paso Robles at 1227 Paso Robles Street, Paso Robles, CA 93446. It’s open Thursday – Sunday from 11AM – 4PM and I would love to see your shining face there.

Earnestly yours, Russell P. From

CURRENT WINES

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2010 Tomboy

79% Viognier, 29% Roussanne

301 Cases Made – $42.00 Retail

Vineyard: Larner, Camp 4

TASTING NOTES:

The 2010 Tomboy is that really amazing day or two that you spent with your friend’s friend who was passing through town. Your friend was too busy to entertain, so he passed her into your care for the weekend. She was from a big city, savvy and exciting, but with an infectious laugh that put you at ease.The two of you hit it off, but she moved on and you never saw her again. The 2010 Tomboy is how you remember those few short days. Scents of pretty white flowers, lemon verbena, cinnamon, clementines, wet sidewalks and pink peppercorns. The palate has all the richness of those warm summer evenings and the subtleties of white tea, almond oil, laurel leaves and a cool, quartz-like minerality. Truly a wine to bring you back.

(DRINK NOW: 1-2 hour decant, CELLAR: 5 years)

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2010 Larner

65% Syrah, 35% Grenache

234 Cases Made – $42.00 Retail

Vineyards:100% Larner Vineyard

TASTING NOTES:

I know what you’re thinking; “what happened to the Larner Syrah and Larner Grenache? What’s up with this blend of the two?” Well, here’s the thing; I had every intention of making both wines, I really did, but as I was tinkering in the cellar I noticed that the blend was just better than either of the two wines alone. I’m not much of a stickler for rules, I’m just out to make the most exciting wines possible, so at the expense of doing a 10 year vertical tasting of Larner Syrah, I decided to go for what felt right. Think of it as cake and ice cream, both are pretty awesome, but put them together and, bam! you get al a mode. This is the best Sunday drive ever. It starts at home with smells of cranberry granola, ripe raspberry, coco dust, and cherry 7up, and moves into the country with scents of fresh lumber and cut hay, sassafras, orange blossom, bark and potting soil. The palate brings the drive back to the kitchen with flavors of chicory coffee, black pepper, rhubarb pie and hibiscus tea. Truly a journey worthy of a day.

(DRINK NOW: 2 Hr Decant, CELLAR: 6-8 years)

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2010 On The Road

100% Grenache

444 cases made – $42.00 Retail

Vineyards: Santa Barbara Highlands, Larner, Shadow Canyon, Terra Bella, Vogelzang, Jesperson

TASTING NOTES:

More than any other varietal I work with Grenache reminds me of myself. It can be elegant and refined, or just as easily it can be a raucous party animal. Some people try to make it one or the other, but I think it’s best when you can get it to have a little of each. This year’s On the Road is just that, it’s got class and will doff its cap for the ladies, but won’t hesitate to start a brawl if needed. The wine’s got some serious muscle under that tucked in cowboy shirt. Smells like a fourth of July party by the pool: raspberry sorbet, fresh orange
zest, licorice, fresh rubber rafts, chocolate brownie batter and vanilla whipped cream. On the palate the 2010 On the Road does a cannonball off the high dive, bringing an explosion of brambly blackberry, pomegranate, oiled leather, cherry cola and charcoal briquettes all with teeth staining color, it’ll leave you soaked and smiling.

(DRINK NOW: 1 hour decant; CELLAR: 4-5 years)

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2010 Nuts And Bolts

100% Syrah

792 cases made – $42 Retail

Vineyards: Les Galets, Shadow Canyon, Luna Matta, Terra Bella, White Hawk, Larner

TASTING NOTES:

You know that old saying about the blind men and the elephant? About how one guy is touching the trunk of the elephant and thinks it’s a snake and the other guy is touching a leg and thinks it’s a tree? But because neither of them can “see” the whole animal they don’t know what it is? Well Nuts & Bolts always reminds me of that. There’s something about taking little pieces of a lot of different vineyards from Santa Barbara County to Paso Robles, that tells you more about the vintage in an instant than any single vineyard wine could. Nuts & Bolts is kind of like being able to see the whole elephant in that way, and this year is no different. The 2010 Nuts & Bolts has the intensity and intrigue I think 2010 will be known for. It smells like a highclass picnic in a redwood forest: smoked ribs, red velvet cake, chocolate covered cherries, cologne, caraway, violets and olive. The palate takes you on a hike deep into the forest, with juniper berries,
black tea, red licorice and rich tannins that hit you like a bear attack.

WINE CLUB CLOSED: JOIN THE WINE CLUB WAITING LIST

Unfortunately, I only have enough wine to accommodate sales to my current, super-sexy, Wine Club Members and the savvy folks who swing by my tasting room… until I sell completely out, that is, at which point I will have to close my tasting room down until I have more wine to sell. In the mean time, consider joining my Wine Club Waiting List, or coming to visit me in Downtown Paso Robles at 1227 Paso Robles Street, Paso Robles, CA 93446. The tasting room is open Thursday – Sunday from 11AM – 4PM. You can also call me at 805.237.2400 to check further availability. -RPF

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MAILING LIST

You can get information on my wine releases and receive incredibly well-written emails from yours truly by signing up for my mailing list. It’s not as awesome as actually joining my wine club, but it’s still one of the smartest decisions you’ll ever make.

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CONTACT

Tasting Room & Winery: (805)237-2400

Cell Phone: (805)714-9966
Fax: (805)237-2224 Email: thirsty@hermanstorywines.com

Herman Story Wines, P.O. Box 15928, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

TASTING ROOM

My winery and tasting room is located at:

1227 Paso Robles St, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Open from 11-4 Thursday-Sunday

If you’re passing through at another time, give me a call on my cell phone (805) 714-9966 or at the tasting room (805)237-2400 and I’ll do my best to free up some time to taste with you.

FACEBOOK

Click the link below and the internet will give you a piggyback ride to my Facebook page.

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