You may not associate Paso Robles, California, or any wine region in general, with being bad ass. Compared to its big sisters to the north (Napa and Sonoma), it’s not even the biggest or most in-demand wine region in the state. But that’s not for lack of trying and their latest efforts—an ad campaign featuring a wine-geek-meets-Old-Spice-guy—might just convince you.
We’ve seen a lot of tourism ad campaigns in recent years, and they’ve ranged from the sublime (hey, Boo!) to the corny, but we’ve yet to see anything come out with so many unexpected guns blazing as these rash of videos from the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance.
This wine-drinking incarnation of the "Most Interesting Man in the World," a casually elegant, devil-may-care silver fox, with a rakish grin and intriguing approachability, stars in each video featured on the non-profit organization’s website. Paso Wine Man knows what you want: wine, specifically from Paso Robles. And he employs all his charms to lure you into this (sexy?) world of wine geekery in no less than eight videos (for now). Syrah, Mourvedre, Zin—Paso Wine Man can speak to all these varietals as he deftly navigates your heartstrings and zeroes in on your soul, all while wearing the hell out of a crisp white Oxford. He tames a tiger named Jasmine; he whips wine auction attendees into a frenzy; he drops everything for the harvest, making time just to deliver pearls of wisdom, like: "Real men fear only unrequited love, the road not taken, and clowns." What they don’t fear, according to Paso Wine Man, is rose or blush wines.
Recommended Fodor’s Video
We suggest starting with the Paso Wine Man’s take on Vino Variety below, then browse as you see fit.
Photos and courtesy of Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance