Opolo Vranac Reserve Brings Balkan Rarity to Paso

Nearly opaque in the glass, scented with saturated dark fruit and spice, Opolo Vineyards’ 2022 Vranac Reserve arrived on March 24, 2026 from the estate’s Willow Creek District vineyard in Paso Robles. The release carries genuine rarity: it comes from California’s first authenticated planting of Vranac and remains the only varietal bottling of the grape in the United States.

Opolo Vranac Reserve and the 33-case signal

Thirty-three cases define the scale of the 2022 Vranac Reserve, Opolo Vineyards’ second estate-grown release of this classic Balkan variety after the inaugural 2021 vintage sold out quickly. The format is deliberately pure: 100-percent Vranac, grown on the estate, with a two-bottle maximum purchase.

Provenance gives the bottling its charge. The fruit comes from 2,000 Vranac vines planted at Opolo beginning in 2018, an unusually precise starting point for anyone tracking the grape’s California story.

Rick Quinn and David Nichols founded the family winery in 1999, and Quinn’s connection to the variety is personal: his grandfather hailed from Montenegro. Balkan heritage and cuisine have long been part of the Opolo experience, making this bottling more than an experimental small lot.

Scarcity alone can feel thin. Here, the limited production is tied to an estate planting, a clear varietal identity, and a grape with almost no domestic frame of reference.

Why Vranac changes the Paso Robles conversation

Vranac is prized for dark color, deep textures, and an intense flavor profile. It is especially widely planted grape in Montenegro and is also popular in Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, and elsewhere, a serious red variety with roots far from California’s familiar Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel conversation.

Pronounced “vrah-nuts,” the name is derived from a word signifying “black stallion,” a fitting shorthand for the grape’s depth of color and flavor. In Paso Robles, that identity takes on a new register: Balkan structure, California sun, and the limestone-and-hillside sensibility associated with the Willow Creek District.

For collectors, the interest lies in the clarity of the proposition. This is not Vranac folded quietly into a blend. It is a standalone estate expression, tied to one producer, one site, one vintage, and one uncommon grape.

The 2021 release introduced the idea; the 2022 vintage gives it continuity. Early bottlings like these are the reference points that make a young domestic category worth following.

What Opolo has put in the bottle

The 2022 Vranac Reserve is dark, concentrated, and structured, with expansive texture, saturated dark fruit, hints of spice, and firm tannins that promise longevity in bottle. It sits firmly in the camp of cellar-minded reds rather than novelty pours.

Opolo holds the wine back in bottle for an additional eight months before release, allowing Vranac’s naturally bold tannins to round into form. That decision matters: the grape’s appeal depends on density and grip, but balance is what gives structure its future.

One bottle gives an immediate read on the vintage, color, fruit weight, spice, tannin. A second is for time. With the purchase cap in place, that two-step approach is one elegant way to understand the release without treating it as a one-night curiosity.

Opolo is already known for Mountain Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other Paso Robles wines, but Vranac moves the estate into a more unusual lane: a heritage variety with enough architecture to merit serious attention.

The collector case for a second estate-grown vintage

Second vintages carry a different message from debuts. A first release can be an experiment; a follow-up begins to look like conviction. Opolo’s 2022 Vranac Reserve makes that argument through site, continuity, and scale.

The price is $60. The allocation is narrow. The wine is available only for a limited time, which makes early action part of the proposition for anyone building a cellar around rare California bottlings.

The more compelling point is not scarcity by itself, but scarcity attached to a first authenticated planting. That gives the wine a place in the state’s varietal record and creates a foundation for comparisons across future vintages.

Patience should be rewarded here. Firm tannins and stated bottle longevity make the 2022 Reserve most useful when treated as a wine to revisit, not merely a curiosity to open on arrival.

How to taste or buy the 2022 release

The 2022 Vranac Reserve can be purchased at the Opolo tasting room or by calling the winery at (805) 238-9593. For Paso Robles travelers, it gives the estate visit a particularly sharp focus: a rare Balkan variety, grown from the winery’s own vines, now in its second release.

Opolo is based in the coastal mountains of the Willow Creek District, with a visitor experience that includes a tasting room and bistro, the Inn at Opolo, and the Willow Creek Distillery. For this wine, though, the essential draw is the bottle itself.

California wine has room for more than the expected icons. With Vranac, Opolo has opened a small but fascinating door, and the 2022 Reserve sets a benchmark for future vintages to follow.