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MANA GEMENT Large 1,200-gallon oak foudres are used for storing wine, and upright foudres are used as fermentation vessels. At right, workers operate a Key Technology Iso-Flo shaker table while processing grapes. $2.6 million for adjacent land The opening of the building addition isn't the only recent change at Tablas Creek. Soon after the building was finished, an adjacent property came up for sale. "It was not meant to happen together," Haas says of the winery and vineyard expan- sions. Purchasing the land was a financial stretch on the heels of the building expan- sion, but the owner needed to sell. Tablas Creek paid $2.6 million for the property. Fourteen acres of the 154-acre property already were being leased by Tablas Creek and planted to grapes. The property also had about 50 acres of walnut orchard, which are being cleared for vineyard planting. One appealing feature for the estate winery is that both properties can be contained within one fence line. The soils are similar to those at Tablas Creek—which is important, because the calcareous soils are what attracted Robert Haas and the Perrins to the location on the west side of Paso Robles in the first place. "There's calcareous stuff littered all over," Haas says. "It's very limestoney." The new property also comes with a pond and the water rights to Tablas Creek, the stream from which the winery took its name. Haas plans to use the water for frost protection when necessary; he estimates that about 40% of the 2011 crop was lost to frost. "The "Wow, you're exactly the same as I remember you!" "Actually, I've aged quite a bit… on the inside." They say a fine wine only gets better with age – and at Barrels Unlimited we make sure of it. Whether it's making a good wine great or a great wine legendary, our air-dried American oak casks and barrels infuse complexity and character into every batch. Available in 5,10, 15, 20, 30, 59, 70, and 80 gallon sizes. Corporate Office | Jackson, Wyoming 1.800.875.1558 www.barrelsunlimited.com | West Coast Cooperage Fresno, California 36 Wines & Vines JUne 2012