At Sixmilebridge, we are singularly focused on making fine Paso Robles wines from noble Bordeaux grape varieties. Our low-intervention approach honors the fruit that we organically and thoughtfully farm. The resulting wines are balanced and savory, and well-suited for aging.
Sixmilebridge’s abundant limestone brings minerality to the wines, while the sun on our 2,000 ft. high and steeply sloped vineyards make for thick skins, which impart a strong tannic structure to our wines.
The daily afternoon breeze off the Pacific Ocean through the Templeton Gap creates diurnal swings as much as 50 degrees, letting our vines rest overnight due to the cooler temperatures, thus preserving essential acidity. As a result, winemaker Anthony Yount is able to practice low-intervention, terroir-driven wine makingwinemaking that’s more old world than new and which ages beautifully.
Our focus on Bordeaux style blends makes us a bit of an anomaly in Paso Robles, which is known deservedly for great Rhône blends.
Why go counter to what Paso Robles is best known for? Jim and Barbara believe you have to have a passion for whatever you do. Hug your kids, play with your dog, make wine. They grew up drinking Bordeaux wine. It was always the most special wine they drank. They shared a passion for it. So frankly, they never thought about making anything else other than Bordeaux style blends. They wanted to make wines they would enjoy drinking every day. They wanted to make wines for which they had a genuine passion.
Sixmilebridge works hard to provide its guests with the best hospitality in Paso Robles. The winery has a strict one host to one party policy, which ensures the guests close attention to every aspect of their visit. The winery’s contemporary architecture surrounds the warmth of the indoor tasting room space, which is in turn complimented by an outdoor patio area just feet from the vines of the Grace Vineyard, as well as a 150 year old California Coast Oak that provides the perfect canopy for the outside deck.
The History of Sixmilebridge
Jim and Barbara acquired the property in the Peachy Canyon corridor of the Adelaida District sub appellation of Paso Robles in 2012, and first planted vines in 2013. They have focused their plantings on red and white Bordeaux varieties, plus a small amount of Zinfandel. At nearly 2,000 feet of elevation, the predominately limestone driven terroir of the property is rare in the United States, yet found in world class wine regions like the Right Bank of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Chablis, the Southern Rhone and the Loire.
The winery’s name comes from the small town of Sixmilebridge in County Clare, Ireland from where Jim’s great-great grandparents emigrated to the United States in 1852, bringing with them a two year old son named Jim Moroney, Jim’s great- grandfather and namesake. And that year would be infamous in the history of Sixmilebridge.
It was the year of the Sixmilebridge Massacre. It’s this event, which featured an election that pitted land owners against those who worked the land for them that resulted in several deaths of the laborers by the militia of a landowner that ties together Jim’s life long work in journalism with the name of the winery.
On the wines’ label is featured a birretta, the type of hat worn by Catholic clergy at the time. History records that such a hat belonging to Fr. Clune, who was leading a group of laborers to the poll, was found on the ground with a bullet hole through the top of it. Fr. Clune survived. That hat graces the label on Sixmilebridge wines as a reminder of the fateful day and ties the winery back to Jim’s Irish heritage.
The Winemaker
Anthony Yount is one of Paso Robles’ premier winemakers. His wines have twice been in The Wine Spectator’s annual global Top 100 Wines of the Year. Monarch Wine wrote that “Anthony’s wines are consistently being recognized as among area’s best.”
Here’s what Anthony says about winemaking and Sixmilebridge: “It’s the vineyard, not the man. And oh, those Sixmilebridge vineyards!”
Anthony gores on to say, “Sixmilebridge practices organic farming, hand harvesting, and precise picking times. Our three estate vineyards, Maidie, Grace and Florabel, showcase their high elevation, steep hillsides, coastal influence, and limestone soils in every bottle of Sixmilebridge wine.”
Our winemaking philosophy is to make authentic expressions of our estate vineyards in each vintage. Sixmilebridge employs native yeast, uses minimal sulfur dioxide, and avoids adulteration to our grapes and wine. To do so, it is imperative that we take a low-intervention and hands-off approach whenever possible.
