Gary Eberle is a legendary leader in the California wine industry now, but long before he planted his first grape vine, this native Pittsburgher was a local sports hero. He was an All-American football player at Moon Area High School and a defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions under coach Joe Paterno in the 1960s.

With a degree in biology from Penn State, Mr. Eberle began his doctoral studies in zoology at Louisiana State University. It was while studying in New Orleans that he discovered fine wine and changed the course of his life.

His new ambition was to make wine to match the best of Bordeaux. He ditched zoology and headed to California, where he got a doctorate in oenology. As one wine blogger cleverly points out, "Gary went from crushing quarterbacks to crushing grapes."

The happy combination of wine and football is what regularly brings Mr. Eberle back to Pennsylvania. When I had lunch with him last week at Cafe Zao with his Pennsylvania distributor, Mike Gonze, and chef Toni Pais, he was in town to preside at a tasting of four of his award-winning wines. It was no accident that Penn State was playing Wisconsin in State College over the weekend, which made Pittsburgh a logical stopover. He got to cheer his team to a whopping 38-7 victory, and I got an opportunity to learn firsthand why Mr. Eberle is an icon among California winemakers.

In 1973, when the 6-foot-3 defensive tackle finished his studies at University of California, Davis campus, most winemakers were focused on Napa and Sonoma County property. The visionary from Pittsburgh recognized the potential of a then little-known region around the town of Paso Robles. Twenty miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Paso Robles at the time was thought of more as cattle-grazing land than vineyards.

In partnership with another Pittsburgher, Cliff Giacobin, Mr. Eberle purchased 700 acres and established Estrella River Winery (now Meridian). He left Estrella in 1979 to devote his time to small-production premium wines on his own estate of 40 acres. The Eberle label debuted in 1982 with the release of Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon 1979 and today the winery is making 30,000 cases of wine per year from eight grape varieties.

His Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (it sells in Pennsylvania only through Special Liquor Orders for $17.99) is sold out every year within 60 days of release. In fact, all of Mr. Eberle's wines are sold out before the next vintage is harvested.

The production is essentially in red grapes. There are small quantities of chardonnay and viognier. Although the winemaker considers his cabernet sauvignon his ultimate success, his syrah, zinfandel and a Rhone blend labeled Cotes du Robles made from syrah, grenache and mourvedre grapes also win awards at wine competitions across the country. These reds all exhibit a lush, almost velvety mouth-feel. They are rich and voluptuous, intense in color but with soft tannins. Like the man whose name they bear, they are friendly and approachable and impossible not to like.

Gary Eberle is considered to be the father of the syrah grape in California. He planted the first 100-percent syrah grapes at Estrella River Win ery in the early 1970s. In 1983 he was instrumental in creating the Paso Robles appellation. Today the appellation is considered a premier region especially for cabernet sauvignon, syrah and zinfandel grapes. In 2005, Robert M. Parker Jr. wrote in the Wine Advocate, "There is no question that a decade from now ... Paso Robles will be as well-known as the glamorous vineyards of Napa Valley." Judging from the quality of the Eberle wines I tasted last week, I would say that Paso Robles already has reached that stature.

At lunch we tasted the 2006 Viognier. I first tasted the Eberle Viognier at Typhoon several years ago and became an instant fan. It is an ideal wine to pair with Asian fusion food. There are aromas of peach and apricot with touches of honeysuckle and ripe apple. The finish is crisp and long. The 2006 is a classic example of a viognier from Paso Robles. This was followed by Eberle Chardonnay 2006. Here citrus aromas were accented with notes of pineapple, pear and apple. It is lively and well balanced. he 2004 Syrah had a powerful nose of blackberries, cherries and strawberries with a hint of white pepper and violets.

Although big and chewy in the mouth, the wine showed many of the characteristics of a syrah grape from the Rhone Valley. We ended the tasting with Eberle 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. This elegant wine had a scent of dark chocolate, black raspberry, cassis and a touch of tobacco leaf. The fruit is well integrated with soft tannins making this an elegant and pleasant cab and a great value. Both of the reds spend 18 months in oak barrels.

Where to find Eberle wines

There are two Eberle wines available locally in specialty wine shops.

• Eberle Viognier 2005, PLCB #17806 $19.99

• Eberle Zinfandel 2005, PLCB #13759 $20.99

A third wine is in the state stores but only available in the Philadelphia area. It is Eberle Syrah Steinbeck Vineyards 2002, PLCB #16081, $18.99.

Other Eberle wines are available through the special order procedure from Dreadnought Wines, 2013 Penn Ave. in the Strip District. (412-642-2822). They are:

• Eberle Cabernet Estate Vineyards 2004, $31.99

• Eberle Chardonnay 2006, $17.99

• Eberle Cotes du Robles 2005, $19.99

• Eberle Syrah 2004, $12.99

• Eberle Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, $17.99

-- E.D.