2003 Sticks and Stones

.Matt Trevisan, who studied biochemistry at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, apprenticed at Justin Vineyard in the mid-'90s, then later worked at Wild Horse, where he began making his own wines after hours.He was quick to point out that he was not a winemaker in his earlier jobs, but rather "the best forklift driver west of the Mississippi." The laid-back Trevisan owns 76 acres in western Paso Robles (the name of the winery describes the limestone soil series in this area), where he has a winery and is in the process of planting five acres to grenache, mourvedre, picpoul and grenache blanc.Longer-term, he would like to work entirely with his own fruit.Like fellow locals such as Justin Smith and Chris Cherry, Trevisan specializes in blended wines from Rhone varieties.He typically blends barrels just two months prior to bottling without fining or filtering.Trevisan picks at very high sugars and avoids adding sulfur to his reds during their first year, and yet the wines I tasted seemed quite stable.They also appear to possess sound and harmonious-not to mention natural-acidity.