 Norman
Vineyards was started in 1971 when Art and Lei Norman
were looking for a place to realize their dream of
growing grapes and making wine. Art recalled what drove
him to found Norman – his memories of his father and
grandfather making wine in the home when he was a child.
Art, an engineer by training and practice, was working
in Aerospace in Southern California when his memories of
childhood got the best of him, and their search for the
proper site began. They spent weekends searching out a
site in the cooler, coastal climates of California
before settling on their Adelaida site in the Westside
appellation of Paso Robles.
Shortly after purchasing the winery’s 40 acres, planning
for the vineyards commenced. The shallow top soils on
the site are underlined by calcareous limestone,
providing an environment where grape vines struggle, yet
the high water-holding capacity of the soils provides
limited moisture to the vines through the long, dry
summers. The Normans also chose a very cool site by
California viticulture standards, meaning that their
grapes would mature more slowly. Chardonnay was chosen
for a piece of the vineyard that was perfect for a
variety which thrives in such cool climates. However,
the majority of the vineyard was reserved for reds – a
daring choice that has paid off well. Our Estate
Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera tend
to have harvest dates beginning in late October,
sometimes stretching into December. As a result, our
wines are made from grapes that have an extraordinarily
long growing season and time to develop very full flavor
profiles. In 2000, due to our success with reds and the
availability of very high quality Chardonnay from Edna
Valley, our Chardonnay was grafted over to Cabernet
Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to give us more options for
our wine blends.
During the 70’s and 80’s Art and Lei devoted their
efforts to their vineyards. They fine-tuned their
viticultural skills and continually researched new ways
to attain the best quality grapes they could grow. Art
and Lei have worked with several wineries over the years
supplying what became highly sought after grapes. After
twenty years of grape growing, and with the
encouragement of various local wineries, they decided to
start their own winery. At the time, Paso Robles was a
relatively new player in the wine industry; a virtually
unknown place on the map, just starting to become the
major player that it is today. And so the winery was
founded with the help of Robert Nadeau and the first
wine was produced from the 1992 vintage.
The Normans had envisioned a small “family run” winery,
producing perhaps a few thousand cases of wine per year,
and for a couple of years their vision was realized.
However, early on Norman wines received a warm welcome
from our loyal customers and the wine press. With
demand soaring, the Normans felt obliged to meet it, and
production grew every year. By the mid-nineties they
were using all of our own fruit, and began sourcing
fruit from growers in the region who were selected for
their excellent vineyard practices and fruit quality.
Today the wines come from our home vineyards plus other
growers throughout the Westside of Paso Robles. We also
purchase fruit from the Cucamonga Valley and Edna Valley
to round out the portfolio.
In 1992 our production consisted of Cabernet Sauvignon,
No Nonsense Red, Zinfandel, Barbera and Chardonnay. As
the production has grown, several Zinfandel lines have
been added and, in 2002, created a new reserve line of
wines along with a Syrah program.
There is much in store at Norman as we continue to write
our history; we hope it will only become more exciting.
We will continue to make limited amounts of varietal
wines such as Petite Syrah, Sangiovese, Rhône style
rosés, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and vineyard-designated
wines as our curiosity and quality warrant.
If you’ve been following our progress, we hope that
you’ve enjoyed the journey so far and if you’re new to
our winery, we hope you too will continue to watch us
evolve as a producer of world-class wines.
Cheers from the staff at Norman Vineyards.
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