This California wine region is on the come up, all thanks to its cabernet sauvignon

Paso Robles is a California region that makes excellent red wines using grapes from the Bordeaux family, as with this lusciously rich cabernet sauvignon. The region is not yet a household name — like Napa Valley — and is also not pronounced the Spanish way; to locals, Robles rhymes with “nobles.” However, Pasa Robles is a place well worth learning about for fans of bold California reds that are also seeking the best value for their wine dollars.

Appellations — the place names on wine labels — are tightly regulated. They must always describe the region of grape origin for a given wine, not the location of the winery. Appellations are useful because they indirectly signal something about the wine’s potential quality and the value of the vineyard land that produced it. Just as oranges from Florida command premium prices because that state has conditions that are just right for growing great citrus fruit, so too do wines from specific places with the ideal terrain and climate for growing grapes, like Napa.

In wine, the smaller the appellation in physical area, the more prestigious. The smallest appellations typically make the smallest volumes of the finest wines, which are by definition the most distinctive in flavor. The larger the physical area of an appellation — which can be a valley, a county, or even a state — the less distinctive its wine is likely to taste (and the more affordable it’s likely to be).

That’s why cabernet sauvignon lovers may want to keep an eye out for wines from Paso Robles. A small inland zone of California’s Central Coast located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, it’s uniquely suited to produce robust reds like this one, but at a more accessible price point. This example offers a juicy mouthful of ripe red and black fruits, like Bing cherries and blackberries, with accents of shaved dark chocolate and black coffee. It’s a great choice for steaks and chops.

Paso Robles, Calif.; 13.9% ABV

PLCB Item #96185 — $18.79 through July 5 (regularly $20.79)

Also available at: WineWorks in Marlton ($18.98; wineworksonline.com) and Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. ($18.99; totalwine.com).