Hometown News Since 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXI, NO. XIX
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020
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VITICULTURE
NONPROFIT
The Cass Winery team has plenty to celebrate after being named 2020 Winery of the Year from the Central Coast Wine Competition. This is the third such award for Cass. Photo by Charles Roberts Photography
Cass Winery Earns
Third Winery of the Year Honor All 18 of its wines placed in the 2020 Central Coast Wine Competition By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com
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or the third time since 2015, Cass Winery was named Winery of the Year from the Central Coast Wine Competition. Cass Winery earned the 2020 honor after all 18 of its competition wines placed. It’s Mr Blanc, a white Rhone blend of Roussanne, Viognier and Marsanne, was the Best
He is obviously having a bit of fun, but make no mistake, Walker and co-founder Adam Firestone take sustainable brewing very seriously. “Whenever we can reduce our carbon footprint, we are going to do so, and using sunshine to fuel our brewery is a simple way for us to participate,” Walker says. “Brewers have sought to conserve energy for centuries, and we want to continue that tradition here on the Central Coast.” The solar project is another in the long list of commitments Firestone Walker has made to the environment since brewing began here on the Central Coast in 1996. “A no-brainer really,” Walker says, adding that they feel it is a fitting milestone on the eve of the brewery’s
PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles City Council approved cannabis tax rates during Tuesday’s, Oct. 20, meeting. Council approved the ordinance, 5-0, with the following local cannabis business tax rates, in addition to any state-imposed taxes: • $20 per square foot of space utilized in connection with the cultivation of cannabis. • 6 cents for each dollar of gross receipts for cannabis delivery businesses. • 15 cents for each dollar of gross receipts for cannabis manufacturing, testing, and distribution businesses. • 10 cents for each dollar of gross receipts for cannabis retailers. There is only one medical cannabis delivery business in Paso Robles, and only delivery, no storefront, businesses are allowed to operate in Paso Robles. Only the tax on delivery businesses would go into effect after the second reading of this ordinance. The other three tax rates may be adjusted if those business types are approved for operation in the City. Many called into the meeting and said they were in favor of opening dispensaries in Paso Robles. The Council voted 5-0 to approve further discussion of expanding what cannabis businesses can operate in Paso Robles. Council members John Hamon and Maria Elena Garcia were volunteered to lead an Ad Hoc Committee to discuss the future of cannabis in
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Sterling Kragten has been the winemaker all three times. “It’s quite an honor,” Steve Cass said. “We are very excited about it, the whole team is. Thank you very much. We are very honored.” Plemons said it was a team effort, but that it all starts in the vineyard. Cass Winery is the only three-time Winery of the Year winner of the CCWC. “There are so many great wines here,” Plemons said. “We are honored to be part
SUSTAINABLE BREWING
of this. I see the work the whole team does, especially in the vineyard. The vineyard is awesome.” Kragten said the wines Cass entered in 2015 were his first wines at the winery. “When we won in 2015, it was my first wines here at Cass, and so it was really surprising,” Kragten said. “I just kind of threw every wine we had in there just to see how CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
GOVERNMENT
Council Approves Cannabis Tax Rates Also, purchase of Motel 6 to address homelessness was discussed By CAMILLE DeVAUL For The Paso Robles Press
David Walker and Adam Firestone, co-founders of Firestone Walker Brewing Company, walk through the newly constructed solar array that will offset a majority of the brewery’s energy usage. Photo courtesy of Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Firestone Walker Creates a ‘Solar System’
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com PASO ROBLES — Tucked behind Firestone Walker Brewing Company is what co-founder David Walker playfully calls the “solar system” — a 2.1-megawatt array that will offset a majority of the brewery’s energy usage. “That is a pretty grand word for it, isn’t it, solar system,” he says with a hearty laugh before lowering his voice and saying, “Welcome to our solar system.”
LOCAL NEWS
COUNTY
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com COUNTY — October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the nonprofit RISE reminds people that help is only a call away. “Just know that there is help, that they don’t have to go through this alone, there are options,” said Stacey Salome, RISE Director of Development and Marketing. RISE’s tollfree crisis line is staffed 24 hours a day — 855-886-RISE (7473). “What we want people to know this month is that we are here for them regardless of their circumstances and that we are a resource that is nonjudgemental that we will listen and can point them to options that may work for them,” she said. The crisis line is not only for people currently experiencing violence. It’s for their friends, it’s for their family, it’s for anyone who feels like they need to provide support to someone in that circumstance, Salome added. Salome said RISE has seen an increase in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said they have seen a 30 percent increase in calls for service over previous years. “Because of all of the trauma related to COVID,” Salome said, “the stress on relationships right now, even healthy relationships, the stress is greater than normal. For us, as an organization, what we have seen is that we’ve had a pretty significant increase in calls to our crisis line.” RISE’s tagline is Respect. Inspire. Support. Empower. Its vision is “a world free of sexual and intimate partner violence.” The Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Center of San Luis Obispo and the North County Women’s Shelter and Resource Center merged in 2013 to form
White Wine in the 2020 Central Coast Wine Competition. The Winery of the Year announcement was made Friday afternoon, Oct. 17, during a virtual celebration hosted by Tom Keffury of the California Mid-State Fair and Christopher Taranto of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. Steve Cass and Ted Plemons started Cass Winery nearly 20 years ago. Cass Winery was also Winery of the Year in 2015 and 2018.
For nearly 25 years, the brewery has been good to the community and the environment
RISE Sees Increase in Domestic Violence Calls During Pandemic
COUNTY
SENIOR LIVING
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CALIF. MID-STATE FAIR announces winners of Spirits and Vinegar competitions | A3
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