He kept his day job while over seven years he drove tractors, planted vines, made wines and allowed them to mature. Justin Baldwin was an investment banker based in Los Angeles when he bought 160 acres for a vineyard and winery in 1981. Wine caves, an ideal environment for barrel aging, were completed in 2003 and are used for special events. Wine Enthusiast recognized Justin not only for its wines, but its status as a tourist magnet with a restaurant and the Just Inn Suites - three units of luxury lodging on the property. 2 in cabernet sales above $20 a bottle in almost every state, Baldwin said. Justin’s higher volume cabernet sauvignon, retailing for $26 a bottle, is No. Other top-priced wines are blends Justification and Savant, also made with artisanal practices from the best estate grapes. In 2000, Wine Spectator magazine ranked Justin’s 1997 Isosceles as the sixth best wine in the world in a list of the top 100, and the wine has continued to draw high scores from critics. Justin is best known for its iconic Isosceles wine, a Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Baldwin said there is no doubt the latest recognition will further benefit the entire appellation. The accolade comes two years after Wine Enthusiast named Paso Robles the Wine Region of the Year. Company officers and members of the winemaking team will be with him to accept the award on Jan. He said he is humbled, excited and pleased for the 35 years of work he and many others devoted to getting Justin where it is today. He sold the business in 2010 to the Resnick family, owners of Fiji Water and California citrus and nut orchards. I reached him by phone in Phoenix, where he was on the road as brand ambassador for Justin. “And if I, in my wildest dreams, thought that 35 years later that I would be honored with a designation of a winery of the year, I would have never believed it,” he said. The nearest neighbor was 2 miles away and there were only five other wineries in Paso. ![]() He recalled that when he started the operation 35 years ago, it was at a dead-end road on scenic, steep slopes far west of downtown Paso Robles. “Wow” was the first word that came to mind. I asked Justin Baldwin what message he would deliver later this month at an awards dinner in New York honoring Justin Vineyards & Winery as Wine Enthusiast magazine’s American Winery of the Year. Justin Baldwin started Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles 35 years ago.
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