2015 February PASO Magazine
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2015 February PASO Magazine

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The Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce Announces 2014 Beautification Award of the Year Recipient Derby Wine Estates The Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the selection for the 2014 Beautification Award of the Year, Derby Wine Estates. The Beautification award is being presented this year for the preservation of Paso Robles’ history with the renovation of the historic almond processing building by the Ray and Pam Derby. The Derbys, of Derby Wine Estates, moved to the Central Coast in the early 1990’s with the intention of retiring. In 1998 they purchased their first vineyard property, now known as Derbyshire Vineyard. In the years following, Ray acquired the historic Laura’s Vineyard in east Paso Robles and the Westside property, Derby Vineyard. In 2008 Ray and Pam launched Derby Wine Estates and soon were looking for a building to serve as their grape processing location. Resurrection Writer Chris Weygandt Alba describes the revival of a monument in the December 2013 issue of Paso Robles Magazine: A phenomenon happened on Riverside Avenue this year. A resurrection. Right here in Paso Robles. You can see it with your own eyes. The corpse was a public spectacle for a generation of Roblans, abandoned at 525 Riverside Ave. for the elements to slowly decompose. Now, it stands boldly, blinking in the sunlight as if savoring this moment on the brink of charging into its new job. Whatever this building knows about life and death, the old Farmers Alliance warehouse has experienced a resurrection. It has been saved from extinction and given a new purpose. Its existence was spared from demolition by the city council of Paso Robles. It has been studied and saluted for its significance in the life and history of the town that created it. Its integrity has been honored, and it is cared for by people who respect the craft that built it. Revival of a Relic In the autumn sun, the building seems taller on a recent visit, standing new and vigorous head to toe. Its owners believe it’s a building that inspires pride. “It’s a living monument,” says Ray Derby. “An architectural and engineering masterpiece. It stood like a rock through the earthquake in 2003. The engineering techniques were well ahead of the their time. It was built in a majestic manner, the work well done by men who take pride in their work.” Three years ago Ray and Pam Derby bought the decaying relic because they envisioned a future for it. The vision came at a price, says Ray: “Three years of hard work.” When escrow closed in October 2010, Pam says, “We came over here to look at our new property. Pigeon droppings everywhere, fish skeletons on the walls…We looked at each other and said, ‘What did we do?’” To resurrect the building as the home of Derby Wine Estates, they caused history to repeat itself. They formed an alliance to create a majestic living monument to the town’s agricultural heritage. That’s how the building began a century ago. United by a vision, six small almond growers formed the Paso Robles Almond Growers Association in 1910. They were savvy men with a good understanding of the forces that were changing their world. With foresight and success, they hired a master architect to design a cutting-edge warehouse at 525 Riverside Ave. In 1922, they accomplished a feat in five months, erecting a processing plant of over 11,000 square feet of reinforced concrete, so efficiently engineered that a handful of men could process 500 tons of nuts. Lots of those, under the “Blue Diamond” logo, wound up in Hershey chocolates. In the autumn of 1922, a handsome $60,000 processing plant, majestic in a warm-red stucco, stood at the gateway of Paso Robles between the State Highway and the railroad. Considered “lasting evidence of our success,” the building pulsed with life, with farmers, trucks, machinery, and gears as 500 tons of almonds poured into the tower’s bins. Trains chugged down the tracks on the western side, transporting the city’s premier crop, in the era when Paso Robles was the “Almond Capital of the World.” The widespread Derby Wine Estates’ vineyards (in San Simeon, on Hwy. 46 West, and on Hwy. 46 East) sells over 90 percent of their grapes to customers like Gallo. With the reserved portion, winemaker Tiffinee Vierra creates diverse varietals and successful blends. Preserving history and making it useful again, say the Derbys, is a compelling idea. “Not everything you do should be in dollars and cents,” says Ray. “Some things you do because it’s the right thing to do. Photo by Kevin Archambeault “My theory is that it’s good for the community and good for business. It’s win-win.” - Chris Weygandt Alba * ** The productivity of almonds began to decrease in the 1930s and the building went on the market in July 1936. In 1936 K.B. Nelson, a representative of the Farmers Alliance Business Association, a grain brokerage, purchased the building. For 84 years the FABA owned and operated the grain brokerage out of the building, closing their doors in 1975. The historic building remained empty for ten years, until 1985. In 1985 it became “Riverside Centre” and was home to various businesses such as an appliance repair shop and a drywall storage business. It took the Derbys three years to complete the restoration. * * * Chris Weygandt Alba, Paso Robles Magazine, January 2014: Ray Derby is impressed by the people who built this landmark. He has pondered it for three years, off and on, as he and Pam restore it to process grapes. Ray controlled manufacturing plants on a global scale before retirement made him a farmer. He knows industrial construction, and he admires the Almond Growers building. They knew how to think back in those days, he says. They could problem solve, with ingenuity and common sense. “I love the idea that it was built to process the world’s largest almonda crop,” Ray says as the building approaches its grand opening in March 2014. “We’re preserving a part of history, the natural progression from grains to almonds to grapes. Grains and almonds have moved on. It was built to process the top viable crop. Through adaptive reuse, it will again process the area’s top viable crop.” * * * Derby Wine Estates is located at 525 Riverside Avenue, Paso Robles, open for tours and tasting daily from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. HAMON from page 10 Marjorie enjoys hiking and became involved with triathlons to honor her dear friend, Mary Barth. Her Team Ovacome raises awareness and funds for ovarian cancer; with her fellow triathletes, Marjorie has participated in the Wildflower Triathlon and the SLO Marathon. Getting involved and volunteering locally is something Marjorie and John plan to continue doing for a very long time – they enjoy helping others and working with their fellow volunteers, many who have become lifelong friends. Says John, “I would encourage everyone in Paso to become involved in something! All of us have opportunities to help out with things that make our hometown special to us and to those that visit.” That’s just the giving spirit that made the selection of the Hamons as the 2014 Roblans of the Year an easy decision – thanks for your dedication and service to the people of Paso Robles, John and Marjorie! Marjorie fishing for trout in Idaho John and Marjorie enjoy time on their motorcycle while overlooking Yosemite 12 Paso Robles Magazine, February 2015

February 2015, Paso Robles Magazine 13

<strong>February</strong> <strong>2015</strong>, Paso Robles <strong>Magazine</strong> 13

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