New Short Film Reveals the 25-Year Journey of Winemaker Matt Trevisan and the Making of Nature-Positive Wines in Paso Robles
July 19th – Paso Robles, CA—At Linne Calodo Winery in Paso Robles, Winemaker Matt Trevisan has taken a long and unconventional journey to creating some of the region’s most notable wines. Now comes “Nature Always Wins,” a new short film that documents the slow burn of Trevisan’s creative evolution, culminating in what he calls his “nature-positive” viticultural ethos that exists outside of formal farming certifications.
The film (6.5-minute run time) is now streaming on Linne Calodo’s YouTube channel, documenting the origin story of Linne Calodo as well as the unorthodox blending and farming methods behind the wines. Last week, Trevisan was named “2023 San Luis Obispo County Winemaker of the Year” by his peers in the Paso Robles and Central Coast wine industry.
“Much of what we do at Linne Calodo’s estate vineyards is about un-learning the modern methods of viticulture,” Trevisan said. “It hearkens back to when farmers lived within the bounds of their land’s limited resources, relying on natural solutions and manual labor in contrast to chemicals and carbon-excessive activities. It’s a conversation I’ve had with myself over many years, and now I’m getting more comfortable having it with others.”
Nonconforming Blends
“Nature Always Wins” reveals how blended wines have driven the Linne Calodo experience since day one. Trevisan employs field blending, co-fermentation and other techniques to create blends that begin in the field and evolve in the cellar, in contrast to the simple act of blending finished lots at the end of the aging period.
Trevisan helped spark the Rhône-variety blend movement in Paso Robles when he and his wife Maureen started Linne Calodo in 1998. He is also a longtime champion of Zinfandel blends that reflect the heritage of the region. Over the past 25 years, Linne Calodo has created some of the region’s most enduring wines, including Rising Tides (Grenache, Syrah), Overthinker (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) and Cherry Red (Zinfandel, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo).
“I think you could consider Linne Calodo a trailblazer in blends in Paso Robles,” Trevisan says in the film. “Blends were the stepchildren, but they have the power to be better than varietal wines…Blending makes the wines fascinating to consume, and it also opens up a new doorway to farming.”
The Niche Theory
Ultimately, Linne Calodo’s philosophy that “nature always wins” isn’t just about letting things run wild, but rather working hand-in-hand with nature to achieve the best possible outcomes for native species, resource conservation, soil health and wine quality.
“There’s this concept called the ‘niche theory,’ which says that if you create a void in the universe, another more obnoxious thing comes in and fills that void,” Trevisan said. “Living in the niches is my life’s exploration—restoring the voids to do right by the land and to make wines without compromise.”
Established in 1998 by Matt and Maureen Trevisan, Linne Calodo is a pioneering icon of Rhône-variety blends and Zinfandel-based wines from Paso Robles. The winery is named after the calcareous Linne Calodo soils found at the estate vineyard in the westside Willow Creek District. Winemaker Matt Trevisan subscribes to a “nature-positive” farming ethos that emphasizes biodiversity, native lifeforms and species coexistence for the sake of creating responsibly grown, vineyard-centric wines. Visit the secluded Linne Calodo tasting room at the corner of Highway 46 West and Vineyard Drive, situated adjacent to the working winery and estate vineyard. See LinneCalodo.com.
