PharaohMoans
PharaohMoans is a small winery located in Paso Robles with a remarkable name and a very precise way of making wine. Started by two individuals with backgrounds in the food and wine industries and one French winemaker, the team specializes in a select few Rhône varieties produced in the western region of the appellation.
John Schwartz, who started Amuse Bouche, and Chef Bryan Ogden planned this project and entrusted the management of the wine cellar to Guillaume Fabre, a winemaker who was educated in amongst others Bordeaux and has been working at Paso Robles since 2006.
The wines are marketed under the name Paso Robles Westside, and the winery exclusively uses Grenache and Syrah. Production volumes are low. The winrey operates at a small scale, production volumes are low.
The history
The PharaohMoans project began more as a partnership than as a legacy. John Schwartz, founder of Amuse Bouche, and Brian Ogden, the head chef who won the James Beard Award for Best Restaurant in 2003, already had a combined total of around 35 years’ experience in the wine and gastronomy sectors by the time they jointly released their first bottle under their own label.
What they lacked, however, was a winemaker, and this is where Guillaume Fabre came into the picture. Fabre’s family has been producing wine for two generations in the south of France and in Bordeaux, and he had been working on the family estate ever since he was old enough to help out. He studied winemaking, oenology and vineyard management at the Lycée Charlemagne in Carcassonne, from which he graduated in 2001. Immediately afterwards, he was put in charge of managing the Domaine Sicard estate in the Minervois AOC, covering around 50 hectares, where he spent two years working to improve the quality of the wine.
In 2003, he returned to Bordeaux to work at his parents’ new estate, Château Guionne in Bourg, covering an area of around 24 hectares. Three years later, he moved to Paso Robles and has remained there ever since.
Rhône varieties, west side
PharaohMoans cultivates two red grape varieties, quite known in California:
- Grenache, the lighter-framed of the pair, red-fruited and perfumed
- Syrah, darker and denser, the one that carries the tannin
Both are bottled as single varieties under the Paso Robles Westside label.
Carcassonne training, California fruit
The winemaking process Fabre employs at PharaohMoans is based on techniques he learned in France and is the result of adapting those techniques to the grapes from Paso Robles. The Grenache wine is produced using a partial whole-bunch fermentation method, with about 30% of the bunches added along with their stems. The result is a wine with alight, lively character and firm rather than heaviness.
Both wines are produced with a focus on aroma and texture, not on concentration via extraction. The production volumes are low, so decisions can be made with great care for each individual lot.
Two bottlings, both from the Westside
Releasing these two wines separately rather than blending them clearly highlights the contrast between them. Grenache is a fragrant wine rich in red fruit aromas. Syrah is a deep-colored wine with a robust structure.
Due to the small production scale, the number of bottles produced varies from year to year.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes the wine at PharaohMoans?
Guillaume Fabre, a French winemaker trained at the Lycée Charlemagne in Carcassonne, who moved to Paso Robles in 2006. He is also associated with Clos Solène and Benom.
Who founded PharaohMoans?
John Schwartz, the founder of Amuse Bouche, together with chef Bryan Ogden.
Where is PharaohMoans based?
In Paso Robles, on California's Central Coast. The wines carry the Paso Robles Westside designation.
What style of wine is it?
Rhône varieties, made as single-variety reds rather than blends: Grenache and Syrah.
