What better way to spend a warm summer afternoon than exploring the story, property and wines of Jada Vineyard & Winery in Paso Robles, California?
The swoon-worthy 95-acre estate is located in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles. With high elevations and only 17 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the area is one of the coolest AVAs in the region. The vineyard, formerly planted to barley, was established in 1999 by original owner, Jack Messina, second generation Sicilian immigrant from Brooklyn, New York. Now, eight different Rhône, Bordeaux and “heirloom” varieties such as Graciano and Tannat are planted on 55 acres.
Jada Vineyard & Winery
Third generation member of the Messina family and General Manager, Josh Messina, and winemaker Joshua Harp, shared the history of Jada and their thoughts about the present and future of the estate during my visit. With a refreshing glass of 1149 Rosé 2022 ($38) of Grenache, we began.
The story of Jada Vineyard & Winery began when founder Jack Messina, considered one of the “pioneering families of the Westside,” traveled from New York to Paso Robles to look for property on which to cultivate grapes. He was enthralled with the terroir that offers abundant rainfall and a long, cool growing season resulting in wines with bright acidity, freshness and complexity. At Jada, hilltop terraces rise to 1300 feet and are rife with soils of shale, rock, limestone and fossils. Despite the challenges of farming in this environment, “there are reduced vigor in our vines and decreased berry size, essential to the intensity of our fruit and the underlying minerality to our wines,” shared Josh Messina.
The name Jada derives from the word “jayden” meaning “thankful one” in Hebraic and “jade” in Eastern cultures that represents “perfection, constancy and immortality.” “When my family purchased this land 22 years ago, we had a ‘small, big dream’ – to produce some of the most sought-after wines in the world from our estate vineyard. We never wanted to be the biggest, just to only use the best from our organically farmed vineyard in each Jada wine,” remarked Josh Messina. Production is approximately 4000 cases/year and the goal is to reach 5000 cases.
In 2014, Jada was converted to organic farming practices and in 2022, was officially certified organic. The Riboli Family, originally from Piemonte, Italy, is currently at the helm. Their intention is to maintain the Messina family’s vision of producing world-class wines in a small, sustainable estate vineyard.
Tasting the Wines of Jada Vineyard & Winery
“We want to elevate the wine tasting experience to match the quality of our wines,” stated winemaker Josh Harp who led our tasting of five wines in the cool Treehouse Deck, aptly named due to lofty views of magnificent oak trees and vineyards. But there are other spaces in which to indulge when visiting Jada. A zen-like outdoor space was purchased recently and a beautiful oak lounge, wine garden and grove are popular not only for wine tasting, but for winemaker dinners or private events.
Photo Credit: Jada Vineyard & Winery
We began with XCV 2022 ($55) , mostly barrel fermented Viognier and this year, 15% Marsanne and 2% Chardonnay in the blend. “We don’t do this wine every year; it all depends on the weather,” added Josh. Beautiful acidity with intense aromatics, bright fruit and minerality, the wine is luscious.
To Josh, Jersey Girl 2019 ($72) is “a great example of how the name represents what’s in the bottle. There’s beauty and strength in this wine.” Syrah dominant (95%) with a touch of Viognier, the wine has backbone, structure, balance, flavor and gripping tannins. Of course we can drink this now with lamb sliders, robust meats and hearty cheeses, but Jersey Girl 2019 has the ability to age for another taste sensation in the future.
Josh Messina’s grandfather met his grandmother in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen and after a few sips, the name, Hell’s Kitchen 2019 ($72), is clearly an homage to that first meeting. A blend of mostly Syrah with Graciano and Grenache, Josh feels that the wine “demonstrates the best from both old and new worlds… with Paso flair.” The Syrah in this wine is a softer iteration of the variety, the Graciano offers velvet-like tannins and a dark color and the Grenache brings acidity and a roundness to the blend that is barrel fermented then aged in new oak and concrete. The 2019 is approachable but has ageing potential. “We want to be able to drink Hell’s Kitchen alone as well as pair it with food,” stated Josh.
Since the beginning of Jada Vineyard & Winery, Passing By has been in the portfolio. Passing By 2019 ($92) is a brilliant blend of 85-88% Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah. Josh explained that there’s a “purity of the clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon, purity of the fruit, it has herbaceous qualities without pyrizenes.” On the nose and palate, notes of dry tea leaves, red fruit, blackberries, anise and espresso were lifted with vibrant acidity and tannic structure. Impressive.
One of Jada’s specialty wines is Tannat and with WCS (Wine Connoisseur Series) Tannat 2018 ($82) it’s obvious why. “This has been aged so it’s tasting quite good right now,” shared Josh. Intense red fruit, plenty of tannic structure and menthol qualities on this wine were notable. Those in the WCS portfolio are Jada’s most limited production of wines and are those to seek.
At the end of our visit, Josh Harp shared that as winemaker, every day he “needs to focus, be thoughtful, think about the wines for the long term, persevere and never settle in quality.” By all accounts, the wines of Jada reflect just that and the future looks bright.
Cheers! ~ Cindy
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