Treat Yourself to Treana Wines

One of the joys of being interested in wines is that there’s always something new to taste. Recently, for example, I discovered the wines produced by the Treana Winery in Paso Robles, California in California’s Central Coast.

The winery produces five wines, two under the Treana label and three under the Liberty School label. While I certainly enjoyed tasting the Libetry School Chardonnay, with its pleasant overtones of oak and its pleasant, satisfying finish, my favorite is the Treana White, a very successful Rhone-type blend that very successfully combines Marsanne and Viognier grapes.

In the past couple of years, Viognier wines have become popular and, once you taste them you will see why. First of all, the bouquet is delightful, letting you enjoy the wine even before you even take a sip. Smell is such a large component of taste, and this wine lets you enjoy your swirling and breathing in to the max. Take a sip and let it linger in your mouth, and you will find a slight effervescence in this delightful wine that is full of character without being overpowering. To me it is reminiscent of pear blossoms and lush tropical fruit.

Learning something about a winery and how the wines are made makes tasting even more enjoyable. Treana’s fruit is grown at 100 to 550 feet above the coastline in the Mer Soleil Vineyard, the northernmost vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The vineyard is greatly influenced, Treana spokeswoman Nina Brondmo says, by the ocean breezes from nearby Monterey Bay, which allows for an exceptionally long growing season with flowering in early April and harvest in mid-November. This results in grapes with excellent balance and complex flavors, she points out.

With this fifth consecutive vintage of Treana White, winemaker Austin Hope continues to hone in on the classic Treana Winery style. “The crisp acidity of the Viognier is balanced by the rich texture of the Marsanne,” he explains. “Together, they produce an opulent, floral, but structured wine, a great example of the Central Coast’s suitability for Rhone-style varietals.”

Treana was named for the trinities of natural elements—sun, soil, and ocean, (known in French as terroir)—that create their wines. Liberty School Chardonnay, made from 100% Chardonnay, is barrel fermented on the lees (the sediment that is left in a barrel after fermentation) in American oak and this crisp, delicate wine retails for about $14. Treana White 2000 retails nationwide for about $25. The winery also produces Treana Red, a proprietary blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah.

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