In the heart of Paso Robles, California
Eagle Castle Winery sits among the Santa Lucia Mountains in west Paso Robles. The winery itself is unique, in that it was built to replicate a European castle, complete with a moat.
Gary Stemper, Eagle Castle’s founder, and a group of investors (a portion of which are Eagle Castle growers) founded Eagle Castle Winery in 1999. With quality in mind, they built 17,500 sqft, gravity-flow, wine production facility.
Gravity Flow was untilized in the design of the facility to help protect and nuture the sometimes delicate nuances of terroir and varietal chacter found in Eagle Castle's wine. As a result wine pumps are sparingly used in the production and aging of our wines. This, coupled with other techniques and technologies employed at the winery, has resulted in the production of many award winning and celebrated wines.
Eagle Castle also erected an 8,500 sqft tasting and event facility on the property. The California Concrete Association named this tasting and event center “2007 Structure of the Year.”
Gary has a 30-year history in the wine industry, originally in the construction of several major wineries in Paso Robles. As a businessman, he became involved in local politics and served as mayor of Paso Robles. He also was instrumental in developing the 1st Wine Festival of Paso Robles with 23 wineries participating. Now, the Wine Festival has become the largest outdoor wine festival in California, with over 200 wineries participating.
Gary has always admired the eagle for the ideals it invokes. His wife Marylou, is very proud of her English heritage. The marriage of these two thoughts resulted in the dream of Eagle Castle. Today Gary Stemper, along with a phenomenal winemaker, Patrick Davies, and Assistant Winemaker, Sterling Kragten, is producing wines with distinct and exciting character that are earning accolades and praise from wine review magazines and wine competitions.
An up and coming Paso Robles winemaker, Patrick Davies brings excitement and passion for growing and making wine to Eagle Castle Winery. Born and raised in Plano, Texas, Patrick learned of wine making and grape growing while helping his father at their family’s vineyard and winery located in the rolling hills of north Texas in the Red River Valley. Patrick received his Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from Texas A&M, with specifics in Enology and Viticulture, and completed an internship at Texas’ most award-winning winery, Llano Estacado. During this internship at Llano, Patrick had the opportunity to work along side UC Davis graduate and Paso Robles wine making alumni, Greg Bruni, where he observed wine making as both an art and a science. In the spring of 2005, Patrick headed west to Paso Robles, where he was hired to a temporary position maintaining the barrels of wine at Eagle Castle Winery. In the harvest of 2005, Patrick ascended to the title of Assistant Winemaker, working along side Eagle Castle’s wine consultant Vic Roberts, the 2005 Paso Robles’ “Winemaker of the Year” award winner, and owner of Victor Hugo Winery. Through the next few vintages, Patrick started developing robust red wines, with intense color, dark fruit characteristics, and balanced oak, with his white wines adhering to a finer balance of tannin, acid, and oak.
Now the Winemaker of Eagle Castle Winery, his wines have garnered such acclaim as “one of the best Paso Robles Viogniers in the recent memory” for his 2007 Viognier by Steve Heimoff of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Best of California for his rich and structured 2007 Royal Red, at the 2010 California State Fair Wine Competition, and Best of Show for his dry and refreshing 2008 Syrah Rose at the 2009 San Diego International Wine Competition. With his unwavering attention to detail and commitment to style, Patrick brings a quality to Eagle Castle’s wine that stays true to the rustic nature of both Paso Robles and his Texas roots.
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