Field Recordings So Far Out Chillable Red 2023

Field Recordings was founded in 2007 by Andrew Jones in Paso Robles, California, starting as a side project while Jones was working full-time as a vine nursery fieldman—planning and planting vineyards for growers across the Central Coast. That day job gave him something most winemakers never have: direct, hands-on familiarity with virtually every vineyard in the region. Farmers occasionally offered him small lots of their best fruit, and Jones began turning those opportunities into wine.

He studied agricultural business with a viticulture minor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on a football scholarship, then interned at Gallo on the Sonoma Coast before returning to nursery work. His first vintage used Chenin Blanc from the Jurassic Park Vineyard in Los Olivos—a site planted in the 1970s that most buyers had overlooked. That combination of vineyard knowledge, access, and palate has been the engine of Field Recordings ever since.

What began as a few hundred cases has grown into an operation sourcing from over 28 ranches and more than 120 acres across the Central Coast, with a twelve-person team based in Tin City, Paso Robles. Jones has also planted varieties like Charbono and Xarel·lo on the Central Coast himself, creating material that doesn't exist elsewhere in the region. His winemaking philosophy is straightforward: native yeast fermentations, organic grapes, minimal additives, and selective filtration to allow lower overall sulfur use without compromising stability on the shelf.

Field Recordings has become one of California's largest pét-nat producers, and its Skins orange wine is widely considered a gateway wine for consumers new to skin-contact whites. The Fiction Red offers an annual snapshot of what Paso Robles can do in a single red blend, while the Freddo Sangiovese demonstrates Jones's affinity for Italian varieties on California soil. The So Far Out line—including this chillable red—represents the most casual, food-friendly expression of the project.

Jones has described Field Recordings as his personal catalog of the people and places he values most. The wines are anti-pretension by design: built for the drinking experience rather than the tasting experience, good enough for a special occasion but equally suited to a Tuesday night.

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California's Central Coast AVA is one of the most geographically expansive wine regions in the United States, stretching roughly 250 miles from San Francisco Bay south to Santa Barbara County. The region encompasses a wide range of sub-appellations—including Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, Arroyo Seco, and Happy Canyon—each with distinct elevations, soils, and microclimates shaped by proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

What defines Central Coast viticulture above all else is the marine influence. Coastal fog and afternoon breezes push inland through mountain gaps, moderating what would otherwise be hot interior temperatures. This cooling effect extends the growing season significantly, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and retain natural acidity. The result is a region that can produce both powerful structured reds and aromatic, high-acid varieties in the same general territory.

Paso Robles, where Field Recordings is based in the Tin City neighborhood, sits in San Luis Obispo County at elevations ranging from 700 to over 2,000 feet. The area is known for marked diurnal temperature swings—daytime highs can reach the mid-90s°F while nights drop to the low 50s°F—a pattern that is particularly favorable for varieties like Nebbiolo and Charbono, which need warmth to ripen but cold nights to hold their structure and acidity.

The soils across the Central Coast are diverse: calcareous limestone in parts of Paso Robles, sandy loam and alluvial deposits in Santa Barbara County, and clay-loam in Edna Valley. This variety supports an unusually broad range of cultivars, and progressive producers have embraced Italian, Rhône, and other non-traditional varieties alongside the expected Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Over the past decade, the Central Coast has developed a thriving natural wine scene. Tin City in Paso Robles has emerged as a cluster of minimal-intervention producers working with organic and sustainably farmed fruit. The region's agricultural identity—historically tied to ranching and grain farming before vineyards arrived—has helped foster a culture of land stewardship now expressed through organic and biodynamic practices.

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