Few families know vines as intimately as the Stollers. Through Sunridge Nurseries they have supplied grapevines to winegrowers across the globe for decades, and in 1998 they were among the first granted a French government license to propagate French clonal selections in the United States. When they finally opened their own winery in 2020, on the renovated Arciero estate along Highway 46 East, it came from a lifetime spent thinking about exactly which vine belongs where.

A nursery family makes its own wine

The Stoller family planted vineyards and began their wine journey in 1995, but their roots in the vine go back further. Craig Stoller’s family founded Sunridge Nurseries in 1977, and Craig joined after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1991, eventually becoming its CEO. Sunridge grew into a major grapevine nursery, supplying vines to growers around the world, and in 1998 the family was among the first to receive the master ENTAV license from the French Ministry of Agriculture to propagate French clonal selections in the United States.

That deep knowledge of clones and rootstock is the foundation of Paris Valley Road, the estate winery at the heart of the Craig and Nancy Stoller collection. It opened in 2020 along Highway 46 East on the site of the former Arciero Winery, with a beautifully renovated 7,000-square-foot tasting room and a large covered patio. For a family that has spent decades helping other people grow great fruit, it was a chance to show what they could do with their own.

The Stollers were among the first in the country licensed by France to propagate French vine clones, and they brought that knowledge to their own estate.

The Geneseo District ground

Paris Valley Road sits along Highway 46 East, in the warm Geneseo District on the east side of Paso Robles. This is upfaulted terrace country built on the gravelly Paso Robles Formation with decomposed granite, a Region III to IV climate that ripens Bordeaux grapes fully while the wide day-to-night temperature swing keeps them fresh.

That balance of warmth and cooling is exactly what a clonally minded grower wants: enough heat to ripen Cabernet and its Bordeaux relatives, and enough nighttime relief to hold acidity and structure. With the family’s nursery expertise, the estate can match specific French clones to specific blocks, a level of precision most wineries never get to attempt, and the wines reflect that thoughtful, almost scientific approach to growing.

The wines

Paris Valley Road focuses on Bordeaux varietals and Bordeaux blending techniques, with a modern and adventurous streak that plays with the range of terroir across Paso Robles and the Central Coast. Cabernet Sauvignon and its Bordeaux partners, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, are the core, built into varietal wines and blends.

Given the family’s clonal expertise, the emphasis is on precision and varietal expression, wines that show what the right clone in the right block can do. Expect polished, structured Bordeaux-style reds in a contemporary Paso idiom, ripe and generous but built with intent. The estate experience matches the wine: outdoor tastings and wine-country dining on the patio, with charcuterie and cheese daily and gourmet bites like oysters and smoked salmon later in the week.

What to pour it with

Bordeaux varietals were built for the table, and a Paris Valley Road Cabernet or Bordeaux blend is a steak wine at its core. The firm tannins bind to the protein and fat in a grilled ribeye or a rack of lamb, softening the wine while the meat tastes cleaner, the classic exchange that has paired red wine and red meat for centuries. A peppercorn crust only sharpens the match.

The softer Merlot flatters lighter plates, a roast chicken or a mushroom pasta, while Cabernet Franc, with its herbal, savory edge, loves dishes with green herbs or a little pepper. On the patio, the charcuterie and cheese are a natural foil for the reds, the salt and fat rounding out the tannins, and the oysters call for something crisp rather than a big red. Keep the structured reds off delicate white fish, where the tannins have nothing to grab.

Paris Valley Road Estate Winery: common questions