University of Georgia Athletics
Paso Robles is home for Viticulturist Terry Hoage
June 08, 2011 | Football
June 8, 2011
PASO ROBLES, Calif. -- There is always good reason to come to Paso Robles, the Golden State's lesser know wine region, but perhaps the one with the best climate for wine production. Napa Valley with its established reputation and history remains the best known wine region and won't be upstaged overnight, but the reputation of Paso Robles wines is rising like a winter tide at Cape Cod.
Paso Robles is where Terry Hoage is making a name for himself as a viticulturist and winemaker--not as easily as he established himself as a football star but just as assuredly. The former Bulldog All-America only owns seventeen acres of vineyards, but he and his ebullient wife Jennifer do it all--from pruning to harvesting to marketing. Terry Hoage Vineyards produces excellent wines which the experts salute. (I imagine the Italians would "salute" his wines, too!) "We have a nice boutique wine business," Terry says. More than likely, he wouldn't be interested in a bigger operation. His wine reputation is acclaimed, and he can make a good living and have fun. More acreage and more production would likely mean more headaches and more problems.
One year when I was visiting with him, he walked by a winepress and paused, grinning, "Not a bad job wouldn't you say?" He had built the winepress just like he built the barn which houses his wine producing facilities and his tasting room which is decorated with Bulldog memorabilia. When I say he built the barn, that means he poured the foundation, put the framework of the building in place, erected the walls, added the roof and installed the plumbing. Jennifer put her foot down and banned him from installing the electrical suggesting that they hire someone who did electrical work for a living.
A Renaissance man if there ever was one, Terry, who owns a Super Bowl ring from Super Bowl XXVI and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000, is a member of the COSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic Hall of Fame. He is a pilot which should surprise no one who knows him. He learned to fly with a broken ankle which was the result of a skiing incident at Aspen. Why sit around and watch TV? Make good use of your time. If he has business in Los Angeles, he can fly his single engine plane into LAX (Los Angeles International Airport).
On a trip a couple of years ago, to visit with him and Jennifer, he told me about the seven pound bass he caught in the lake beside his winery. "Why didn't you have it mounted?" I asked. "Never thought about it," he replied. "I have the memory, that's all I need."
Although he has never said so, I suspect he does have one regret. That he never followed through on his original intentions to enroll in medical school. One day at lunch, he was in a reflective mood and said to Jennifer. "You know it is only a 45 minute flight to Palo Alto (where Stanford is located). What do you think?" Jennifer rolled her eyes and smiled. She knows if he decided to go for it, that he would likely pull it off. Who knows--we may still see him in a white smock with a stethoscope. Why is this something he would want to do? As you might expect, he would like to be a physician who worked pro bono for the underprivileged.
All of his wines do well, although the Hedge (named for the Hedges of Sanford Stadium) is preferred by most, but there's The 46 (for Buddy Ryan's defense), the Five Blocks (for the five blocked kicks at Georgia) and The Pick (for the interceptions he made in his career).
He should name one 3.85 for his grade point average at Georgia. Or, if modesty were breached, "Renaissance Man."
