AMGEN Tour of California – Silver Horse Winery

Some of you may have heard or seen that Silver Horse Winery was responsible for the commemorative blend for the AMGEN Tour of California Stage 5 Race. Stage 5 was the longest stage of the tour starting in Visalia, CA and finishing in Paso Robles, CA. there was an estimated 30,000 people that were on hand to witness the finish of the race that in included world class riders such as Levi Leipheimer (overall AGMEN winner), Marc Cavendish (fastest rider in the world and winner of Stage 5) and Lance Armstrong! It was a great event and great exposure to Paso Robles.
 

So you may be asking yourself what this has to do with Silver Horse Winery. Well every stage of any bike race, be it the Tour de France, Tour de Espania, or Amgen Tour of California, offers a trophy to that stage winner. This trophy represents the area/town in which that stage is finished. Being that the Paso Robles AVA (American Viticultural Area)wineries are the main draw for travelers the area, the City of Paso Robles wanted to present the winner of Stage 5 with a bottle of wine! That’s where Silver Horse Winery and I come in.
 

The City of Paso Robles wanted a wine that would not only reflect the AVA as a whole but also the active lifestyle of the people with the city. They left the decision to the Paso Robles Wine County Alliance (PRWCA our AVA’s think tank if you will) to decide who it would be to make this commemorative blend.
They chose Silver Horse Winery because we are a great representation of what the Paso Robles wine region is all about. We are small. We are family owned. We make great diversified wines. They also liked the fact that I live a very active lifestyle and would represent not only Silver Horse Winery well but also the City of Paso Robles too!

The Blend that I put together was a blend from for different lots of grapes. Two Cabernet Sauvignon lots, one Merlot, and one Petit Verdot. The final blend consisted of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 25% Petit Verdot. There was a total of 80 cases made of this wine. Of which a large portion went to the riders and there sponsors. There are a few bottles flying around that might go for a pretty penny so be on the lookout. The trophy was a 9L bottle (or one cases of wine) hand etched and hand painted. It weighed 50 lbs and was beautiful. The “Street Value” of this wine is $1200.00. So Marc Cavendish…don’t drop it!

According to some friends in the bike racing industry, the commemorative blend is being well received by the people to whom it was giving. It was a great honor to be asked to make this wine and would love to do it again. I want to thank the City of Paso Robles and the PRWCA for allowing me to participate in this great event!
 

Cheers,
Stephen Kroener
Winemaker-Silver Horse Winery