Tin City: Don’t Call It a Wine Ghetto

Actually, call it whatever you want, doesn’t bother me. But the official new hot spot for wine is called Tin City and it’s located across from Barrelhouse Brewing Company. If you don’t know where Barrelhouse is I’m not sure what to say other than…you’re missing out.

We decided to hit up Tin City for the first time recently and we weren’t disappointed. The vibe is industrial meets countryside. There’s a lot going on there but it’s quiet and dare I say, peaceful. We parked the car with no plan on where to go but walked until we found the first open tasting room.

That happened to be Powell Mountain Cellars. We had not heard of this one before so we thought, what the hell, let’s adventure. It was a cool little spot with indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating is great for two reasons, 1) the inside space isn’t huge and 2) Paso weather most of the year is nice enough to enjoy. The lady pouring for us was telling us how they had just poured at Crush & Roll West so they had some extra wines open (we like hearing that).

We tasted:

2013 Viognier $28.00

2010 Ascent (Syrah, Mourvedre, and Grenache) $32.00

2011 Summit (Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah) $24.00

2010 Pinnacle (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot) $36.00

2011 Alta Montana (Tempranillo, Grenache, and Mourvedre) $26.00

2011 Mourvedre $32.00

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon $45.00

We walked away with a Viognier, Summit, and Alta Montana. Nice, easy drinking wines. The place is casual and Kim, co-owner and the one pouring for us, was extremely nice and easy to chat with.

Next stop…well…next place we came to that was open, Brian Benson Cellars. We haven’t tasted through Brian’s wines in years and Tin City is his brand new home (used to be off HWY 46 West). I dig what he’s done with the inside and he said he had some finishing touches to make. He’s also going to add an outdoor seating area with some great views of Paso hillsides and the train tracks.

It was a relatively full house while we were there and Brian was handling it all on his own…on his birthday of all days. The birthday balloons in the tasting room were a quick giveaway. After we tasted he took us on a tour of the back rooms which were barrel storage and wine making facility. So here’s what we tasted:

2012 Mourvedre (100%) $55.00

2012 Rapid Roy (59% Primitivo, 30% Syrah, 11% Mourvedre) $55.00

2012 Neapolitan Pussycat (48% Grenache, 46% Syrah, 6% Roussanne) $55.00

2012 S&M (75% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre) James Berry Vineyard $55.00

2012 Western Widow (90% Syrah, 10% Roussanne) Caliza Vineyard $55.00

The wines were tasting very nice in my opinion. We grabbed a bottle of the Neapolitan Pussycat (cuz why not) and a bottle of the Western Widow. I feel his wines have come a long way and he’s just hitting his stride. Well done.

While at Brian Benson our friend Danielle that works with Desparada Wines stopped in to say Happy Birthday to Brian. We asked if they were open. They were. We aren’t quitters. So we went tasting at Desparada. We’ve actually been wanting to taste their wines for some time. We had heard nothing but good things. All that aside, you can never have a bad time hanging out with Danielle.

It actually turned into a big party because when we got there a couple of other friends (Holly and Mike, you know who you are) were there tasting with some of their friends. Good times in wine country. On with the show…we tasted:

2014 Fragment (Sauvignon Blanc)

2013 Wayfinder (Chardonnay)

2013 Suitor (Pinot Noir)

2013 Sackcloth & Ashes (39% Cabernet Sauvignon 17% Cabernet Franc 16% Petit Verdot 14% Malbec 7% Merlot 7% Sangiovese)

We also tasted four Sauvignon Blanc’s side by side. All the same juice from 2014 but each made in a different vessel: Acacia, once used French oak, amphora, and stainless steel. Acacia is a type of wood and amphora is a clay (terracotta) pot. These two wines were quite interesting due to the fact I’ve never had wines made in those vessels. It was cool seeing the Coravin in action too. That’s how Danielle pulled the wine from these Sauvignon Blancs.

The Desparada wines were lovely. We walked away with a Wayfinder and two Sackcloth & Ashes. I don’t have the prices on this wine and they aren’t on the website that I saw. I made Annie pay so I don’t have the receipt ether. Anyways, doesn’t matter. Wines were awesome. I like what they are doing there in that it’s just different. Everything was a little outside the box. It will be cool to see future vintages from this one.

We had an outstanding day in Tin City. If you haven’t been, you have to try it out. It should be your goal to visit every winery in there at least once. Then start again through the lineup…and after that, again. Rumor has it that there will be restaurants that move into the area in the next year. This will elevate this area even further. They will be a self-sustaining island with beer (Barrelhouse Brewing), great wine, and food. I may just pitch a tent and never leave.