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“You can make money in this business, but I don’t think anyone would ever tell you it’s easy,” Baldwin says. “You’re out there getting your hands dirty, doing hard, intensive work. And then there’s that small matter of getting your name out there, of letting consumers know you exist.”
Winemakers, of course, embrace their profession more for the lifestyle than the bottom line. Around Paso Robles, vintners take advantage of seasonal rhythms and indulge in the splendor of their surroundings. Terry Culton, the head winemaker at Adelaida Cellars, lives near the coast and is an avid surfer. He often catches waves with Josh Beckett, of Peachy Canyon Winery, whose brother, Jake (also employed by the winery) rides motocross.
As for Terry Hoage, he’ll compete in anything when time allows: softball, basketball, soccer, golf. When he first took up winemaking, Hoage downplayed his background in pro sports, worried that his efforts wouldn’t be taken seriously. Now his wines, including one called The 46, a proudly displayed reference to the stout defense the Eagles played, sell out swiftly every year.
Hoage saves a small amount to pour by appointment in his tasting room, at a humble wooden counter in the barn he built. There’s a winning sincerity to the setting, flush with success but stripped of pretension, not unlike Paso Robles itself.
“I like wine when it’s demystified and consumed,” Hoage says. “It’s in that tiny moment when you take a sip and say to yourself, Damn, this stuff’s good.”
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