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Jason Haas

Proprietor at Tablas Creek Vineyard

Notes from the Cellar: Pomp and Circumstance

By Chelsea Magnusson The clanging and hammering coming from the construction crew outside the winery seems to echo the pandemonium going on inside the winery. Construction officially began last week, which is both exciting and stressful. Stressful because we have our big bottling session lined up for the the end

Grapes of the Rhone Valley: Grenache Noir

Grenache, (also known as Grenache Noir, to distinguish it from its white counterpart Grenache Blanc) is the most widely planted grape in the southern Rhône Valley, and the second most widely planted varietal in the world. It is most often blended (with Syrah and Mourvèdre in France and Australia, and

An update on HR 5034: a good meeting with Kevin McCarthy and a positive note from Diane Feinstein... but the co-sponsors list grows to 106

About a month ago, prompted by an email exchange I had with Representative Kevin McCarthy, I wrote about HR 5034, a bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by the beer and wine wholesalers associations that would, among other impacts, likely restrict or eliminate out-of-state winery

Changes at the 2010 Paso Robles Wine Festival

We just finished the Paso Robles Wine Festival for 2010. As usual, it was a whirlwind of activity, with a delicious dinner Friday night at the Cass House Inn in Cayucos, pourings with the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance on Friday and Saturday evenings downtown in Paso Robles, and our

Why Limestone Matters for Wine Grape Growing

[Editor's Note June 2020: I've written a new version of this blog, taking into account new research and correcting a few areas that I've come to believe were inaccurate or incomplete. Please see Why Calcareous Soils Matter for Vineyards and Wine Grapes.] Winemaker and

Tablas Creek is a 2010 "Best Winery Blog" finalist!

I'm proud to announce that Tablas Creek has again been named a finalist for "Best Winery Blog" at the 2010 Wine Blog Awards. These awards were created four years ago by the tireless Tom Wark (whose blog Fermentationis a daily must-read for anyone in the

Vine Relocation Project

We've gotten approval for our expansion plans, and should start construction sometime in the next week or two. This third and final phase of our building will include more fermentation space, a new room for our foudres, more offices, more and better parking proximate to the tasting room

Vineyard weed control... and introducing the spader, our newest toy

At this time of year, it's essential that we get into the vineyard and complete the long process of knocking down the vineyard weeds so that they don't steal water and other scarce resources from the vines. This is a multi-stage process that takes us

Notes from the Cellar: Biodynamics and crystallization? Yeah, it's new to me too.

by Chelsea Magnusson When I was a student at Cal Poly, my Advanced Viticulture class spent a few lecture sessions on alternative farming methods. In less than five minutes, we were finished with our lesson on biodynamics - it was clear that the professor was not trying to sell the idea.

An exchange with Representative Kevin McCarthy on HR 5034 and direct shipping

On April 15th, H.R. 5034 was introduced into the US House of Representatives. This bill, written by the Beer Wholesalers of America and titled the "Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2010" [Get it? The "CARE Act"] would write into law the primacy of the