Give six of the Central Coast’s top...

Give six of the Central Coast’s top winemakers grapes from the same vineyard and what would you get?

Jim Niven of Paragon Vineyards in the Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo County decided to find out. In 1991, he gave a small amount of Pinot Noir grapes from the same vineyard to six different winemakers.

The results will be made available at the ninth KCBX Wine Auction, to be held at the San Luis Bay Resort in Avila Beach July 10. A total of 120 mixed cases of the result--called Paragon Six Select--will be auctioned off for what event coordinator Archie McLaren estimates will be $240 a case. Every case contains one bottle of Pinot Noir made by Au Bon Climat, one by Mount Eden Vineyards, two bottles each from Chimere and Wild Horse Winery and three each from Meridian Cellars and Niven’s own Edna Valley Vineyard.

The deepest and most intense of the wines is from ABC. Not far behind in terms of weight is the richly scented Edna Valley. More fruity and elegant are the Wild Horse and Meridian. The Chimere is more complex. The Mount Eden wine is deep and dark but awkward at this young age.

Winning bidders may have bottles autographed by winemakers.

A similar project coordinated by Sanford Winery with grapes from the Sanford and Benedict Vineyard will be unveiled later this year.

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has approved two new viticultural appellations for winegrowers. BATF certified Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain, in which about 800 acres of grapes are grown, and Dunnigan Hills near Sacramento, where 1,118 acres of grapes are grown.