Kiamie Wine Cellars
Paso Robles AVA
Garnering top medals and awards with their small-lot wines blended from a handful of premium growers in Paso Robles.
There is no doubt that the robust grapes of westside Paso Robles’ mountainside vineyards result in notable wines, especially when they are used to craft the exceptional blends for Kiamie Wine Cellars (pronounced key-ah-mee). Kiamie’s expressive wines are a collaborative effort between two men with diverse yet complementary backgrounds - Greg Johnson and Aram Deirmenjian - who share a vision of creating truly distinctive blends from the best fruit that Paso Robles has to offer.
It all started when Greg Johnson, whose career began in a wine retail shop in New York, convinced his friend, businessman and California native Aram Deirmenjian, to move out west to help him start a winery. Aram comes from a family with a 30-year history of California grape growing and in fact, grew up working in the vineyard. Greg, on the other hand, an heir to the Kiamie Real Estate throne in New York, had spent his lifetime drinking fine wines and working at top-selling wine shops. The friends had always shared a history and enthusiasm for wine, and it became their dream to develop a fine California winery. They began visiting several California wine regions and were most impressed with the fruit coming from the mountainside vineyards of westside Paso Robles. They decided this was the place, packed up, and moved to the Central Coast.
In order to get a new hands-on understanding of the business, Aram took a job at Halter Ranch Winery and worked with veteran winemaker Steve Glossner; Steve would become the founding winemaker of Kiamie Wine Cellars. Starting in 2005, Greg, Aram, and Steve began blending small-lot wines for Kiamie Wine Cellars, sourcing grapes from a handful of premium growers in the mountain vineyards of westside Paso Robles.
Over the years, Aram and Greg have become especially fond of the Adelaida and Templeton Gap sub-appellations of Paso Robles, where they feel the grape quality is extraordinary. They are proud to work with several highly-desirable vineyard properties (including Starr Ranch, Halter Ranch, Rolph Family, Hearthstone, and La Vista) to craft their distinguished red blends. One red blend in particular, ‘Adelaida Stone,’ highlights the esteemed Adelaida District of Paso Robles that is known for producing stellar Bordeaux and Rhone style varietal wines.
We are happy to introduce Kiamie Wine Cellars to our Garagiste Wine Club members. Enjoy!
