Some wineries are built on a business plan. This one was built on a friendship. In 2009 rancher and grape grower Jim Saunders and Steve Hearst, of the family whose name sits on the castle up the coast, got to talking, and a year later Hearst Ranch Winery was born. The fruit comes from the Saunders Vineyard on the Estrella side of Paso Robles, and the wines carry the wide open feeling of the California coast that raised both men.

A friendship that became a winery

Jim and Debi Saunders bought their ranch on the north side of Paso Robles in 1994 and began studying the soil and the slopes almost immediately, certain there was great wine in this ground. The vineyard sits in the Estrella District, where the Salinas River bends and the hills run to oak studded grassland.

The winery itself started in 2010, when the partnership between the Saunders family and Steve Hearst turned years of grape growing into a label of their own. It is a genuinely local story, two Central Coast families betting on their own dirt, and it has since grown a devoted following on both sides of the Santa Lucia range.

Two Central Coast families, one bet on their own dirt, and a winery that started with a conversation.

Warm Estrella ground by the river

The estate Saunders Vineyard lies in the warm Estrella District, on deep alluvial terraces left by the river system that drains this corner of Paso. Elevations roll from the valley floor up toward 1,800 feet, the days run warm in true Region III fashion, and the nights drop hard, often thirty five degrees or more.

That heat and that nightly cool down let the reds ripen fully while holding their backbone. The vineyard grows Bordeaux and Rhone grapes that thrive in warmth: malbec, petite sirah, petit verdot, tempranillo, syrah, and since 2017 a block of premium cabernet sauvignon.

The wines

Hearst Ranch leans into bold, sun filled reds. Malbec is a signature, plush and inky, alongside petite sirah and petit verdot that bring structure and dark color, and a tempranillo that nods to the Spanish roots of California ranch country. The newer cabernet rounds out a serious red lineup.

The wines are named with a wink to ranch and coastal history, and they drink the way the place looks: generous, warm, and unpretentious. These are bottles made for a long table and a sunset, not for fuss.

What to pour it with

These reds were born for the grill. Pour the malbec or petite sirah with tri tip, the Central Coast barbecue king, or with a grass fed burger, where the fat and char meet the tannin and everyone wins. The chemistry is simple: tannin binds to protein and fat, so the meat tastes cleaner and the wine tastes smoother.

Tempranillo is your move for smoked and spiced dishes, chorizo, paella, lamb with pimenton, echoing the Spanish table the grape comes from. Save delicate white fish for another bottle, since lean flesh and big tannin turn each other metallic and bitter.

Hearst Ranch Winery: common questions