Martin & Weyrich Winery closed in about 2010, after almost thirty years in Paso Robles, first as Martin Brothers Winery1,5. David Weyrich's properties, among them the winery and the Villa Toscana inn, went to a creditor, the financial firm Aegon, at auction on February 2, 20101, and in May 2012 they were reported sold to a Chinese investment group2. There is nowhere to visit and no wine to order.
The former Villa Toscana property on Buena Vista Drive is now CaliPaso Winery, a separate business3,4.
About the winery
Martin Brothers Winery was started in Paso Robles in 1981 by the Martin family, two brothers and two sisters and their families5. Dominic Martin, a UC Davis enology graduate, made the wine; Tom Martin, who had spent a college year in Florence, pushed the family toward Italian grapes, starting with Nebbiolo, an Italian bottle and a label with Renaissance art5. Tom had been a chemist at Mattel, where he invented toys including Slime, and later helped found the Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association6.
In 1990 the winery released Cabernet Etrusco, which it called America's first blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, and made a Vin Santo from Malvasia Bianca grapes dried on straw mats5. It aged Chardonnay in Italian chestnut barrels, added a Sangiovese and a Moscato in 1992, and by the late 1990s had more than 200 acres of vineyards in development5. When Dominic Martin left in 1994, his assistant of five years, Craig Reed, became winemaker5.
David and Mary (Martin) Weyrich became the sole owners in 1998, with their eight children, and renamed the winery Martin & Weyrich; by August 2000 its Web Winery page carried the new name, a new crest and plans for the Villa Toscana inn7.
Known for
Nebbiolo
Sangiovese
Cabernet Etrusco
Vin Santo
Moscato Allegro
From the archives
Pages Martin & Weyrich Winery published on the original Web Winery, from December 1998; it had left the shop by June 2002.
Martin Brothers and the Cal-Italian idea. Martin Brothers' main page told how the Martin family started the winery in 1981 and built a whole line around Italian grapes, bottles and labels: Nebbiolo first, then Cabernet Etrusco, Vin Santo, Chardonnay aged in chestnut barrels, Sangiovese and Moscato. It noted Craig Reed becoming winemaker in 1994 and more than 200 acres of vineyards in development. Wayback copy
A new family tradition: Martin Brothers becomes Martin & Weyrich. A New Year letter, on Web Winery by August 2000, announced that David and Mary (Martin) Weyrich, sole owners since 1998, were renaming Martin Brothers as Martin & Weyrich Winery, with a new logo and crest. It described a larger winery, new equipment, a renovated visitor center and the coming Villa Toscana bed and breakfast. Wayback copy
Wine, toys and billboards: Tom Martin. A profile of co-founder Tom Martin, who spent ten years as a chemist at Mattel, where he invented Slime, before joining the family's outdoor advertising business. With his family he started Martin Brothers Winery in 1981, and he chaired the Paso Robles Wine Festival for seven years. Wayback copy
