Sip Trip: Paso Robles, California

A Wine Lover’s Paradise

California’s fastest-growing wine region, Paso Robles truly is a dream come true for wine lovers. More than 250 wineries dot the countryside amongst Paso Robles’ 40,000 vineyard acres, many of which are small boutique producers. Nestled in the rolling foothills of the Central Coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, this exceptional locale offers untouched natural beauty, farm-fresh cuisine, 250+ wineries, a historic downtown surrounded by specialty shopping, wine tasting and dining, a wide selection of accommodations, golf, entertainment and a vibrant arts scene.

DAY 1

10 a.m. Start your day on the East Side of Paso Robles with a visit to one of the wineries that helped put Paso on the map, Eberle Winery. Gary Eberle was a pioneer and one of the first to plant Syrah in California, and later helped make Cabernet Sauvignon so popular in the area — his first Eberle label wine was the 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon. eberlewinery.com

Then pay a visit to Glunz Family Winery & Cellars, a fourth generation winemaking family who recently opened their winery in Paso after sourcing grapes there for many years. glunzfamilywinery.com

1 p.m. Visit DAOU Vineyards & Winery for an amazing culinary experience that’s a perfect pairing of wine, cuisine and limitless views on the crown of DAOU Mountain, as well as a tribute to the Lebanese culinary heritage of the Daou family. daouvineyards.com

3 p.m. Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery never disappoints — also visit the Vina Robles Amphitheater and check out their concert lineup. They’ve hosted everybody from Willie Nelson to Tony Bennett, and the Beach Boys and Barenaked Ladies are already on deck for 2020. vinarobles.com

5:30 p.m. Head downtown for a beautiful evening around the historic Downtown City Park. Several amazing restaurants surround the park — La Cosecha Bar + Restaurant, Thomas Hill Organics and the new French favorite, Les Petites Canailles. lacosechabr.com | thomashillorganics.com | lpcrestaurant.com

10 p.m. When you’re ready to call it a night, accommodations around the park include the classic (tried and true) Paso Robles Inn. Also nearby, Hotel Cheval is a small luxury inn and a few miles east is the lovely Allegretto Vineyard Resort. hotelcheval.com | pasoroblesinn.comallegrettovineyardresort.com

DAY 2

9 a.m. Grab a strong coffee at Spearhead Coffee and hit the road. Start your wine tasting adventures with Grey Wolf & Barton Family Wines — try their amazing white wines and unique Paso blends. Then head on to one of the many smaller, family-owned wineries like Clos Solène, owned by French couple Guillaume and Solène Fabre; or reach out to Ledge Vineyards for a private tasting — it’s owned by local musician and friend to all Mark Adams, and they make beautiful Rhônes and blends. spearheadcoffee.com | bartonfamilywines.com | clossolene.comledgevineyards.com

1 p.m. Opolo Vineyards has great wood-fired pizzas on their patio, along with lovely wines. Sip and savor as you enjoy the views of their walnut orchard and over 70 acres of vines. Also on-site are handcrafted spirits by Willow Creek Distillery. opolo.com

2:30 p.m. Stop by Thacher Winery and Vineyard, a boutique operation that specializes in dry farming on the historic, 52-acre Kentucky Ranch. Make an appointment at Denner Vineyards to visit their Comus Crush tasting room, where the exterior windows have vineyard views and the interior windows provide a peek into what’s happening on the winery fermentation floor. thacherwinery.comdennervineyards.com

4:30 p.m. Don’t miss the chance to visit Tablas Creek, which specializes in Rhône-style wine and is the realization of the combined efforts of two of the international wine community’s leading families: the Perrin family, proprietors of Château de Beaucastel, and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands. tablascreek.com

7 p.m. Dine on rustic Italian fare at the romantic and intimate Il Cortile, a local favorite with one of the best wine lists in the area. ilcortileristorante.com

9 p.m. Wrap up your evening at the new boutique hotel property, The Piccolo. Their Tetto rooftop bar is the first in the area and serves Paso-centric wine and craft cocktails, a perfect way to cap off a magical two days in Paso Robles. thepiccolo.com

There’s so much more to enjoy in Paso Robles, you could easily spend another day tasting, sipping and exploring this exciting wine region. For additional resources and itinerary ideas, visit travelpaso.com and pasowine.com.

 

Originally published in the spring/summer 2020 issue of Touring & Tasting. Click here to read this story and more! TT-SP20.digital

A Day Away: A Grape Escape

Allegretto Vineyard Resort

Allegretto Vineyard Resort evokes an Italian Estate, with views overlooking grape vines and olive trees. Photo courtesy Allegretto.

With more than 40,000 vineyard acres
 and more than 200 wineries
 in the region, Pas
o Robles
 is
 a perfect weekend destination for a wine lover’s
 getaway.

By Les
lie Dinaberg

CAB is definitely king in Pas
o Robles
 wine country, and rich, velvety, complex cabernet s
auvignon makes
 up almos
t half of all the grapes
 grown acros
s
 Pas
o Robles
.

The offerings
 range from boutique wineries
 to high-production facilities
, and with s
ome as
s
is
tance from the Pas
o Robles
 CAB Collective, we did our bes
t to s
ample as
 many CABs
 as
 we could.

Ancient Peaks Margarita Vineyard, photo by Matt Wallace, courtesy Ancient Peaks.

Ancient Peaks Margarita Vineyard, photo by Matt Wallace, courtesy Ancient Peaks.

Where to Sip

Five dis
tinct s
oil types
 are the key to the unique wines
 of Ancient Peaks Winery, whos
e es
tate Margarita Vineyard is the only one in Santa Margarita Ranch AVA. Originally planted by the Robert Mondavi family, the current ranch owners
—the Filipponi, Ros
s
i and Witts
trom families
—took control of the vineyard in 2005. In addition to a charming tas
ting room and the delicious
 food at Ancient Peaks Café, the winery offers
 pers
onally guided vineyard tours
 Wed.-Sun. mornings, followed by a private tas
ting and chees
e and charcuterie (reservations
 required). ancientpeaks.com

Hope Family Wines has
 a dis
tinctive lounge-s
tyle tas
ting room pouring five unique labels
: Liberty School, Aus
tin Hope, Treana, Candor and Troublemaker. Try the big, intens
e Treana red, a clas
s
ic Pas
o Robles
 blend of cabernet, s
auvignon and s
yrah. hopefamilywines.com

By appointment only (and worth it) is
 a vis
it to Hoyt Family Vineyards, where you can bring a picnic and feed the goats
 and chickens
 as
 you s
ip on s
ome amazing wine. Try the sophisticated 2012 cabernet s
auvignon, which won Bes
t of Clas
s in the San Francisco Wine Chronicle. hoytfamilyvineyards.com

Another lovely s
pot to s
ip is Brecon Estate, a boutique s
us
tainably farmed es
tate winery producing an old-vine cabernet s
auvignon. Brecon’s
 award-winning s
mall batches
 of premium wines
 s
ell out quickly and cannot be purchas
ed anywhere els
e. breconestate.com

DAOU Vineyards, photo by Zak Klobucher.

DAOU Vineyards, photo by Zak Klobucher.

One of the lovelies
t views
, in a region that’s
 full of them, is DAOU Vineyards and Winery. Brothers
 Georges
 and Daniel Daou s
earched all around the s
tate to find an unrivaled terroir for producing cabernet sauvignon, a ques
t that eventually led them to the gorgeous
 DAOU Mountain in the Adelaida Dis
trict. Res
ervations
 are recommended to sip excellent wine while overlooking the vineyards
, with panoramic views
 from 2,200 feet. daouvineyards.com

Where to Eat

Opolo Winery offers
 pairings
 on the patio, as
 well as
 delicious
 homemade s
aus
age and charcuterie, pizzas
, s
alads
 and s
uch. Idyllic vineyard tours
 are als
o available, which include the tas
ting room, distillery, Inn at Opolo, a walnut orchard and more than 70 acres
 of vines
. opolo.com

Offering excellent wine-country cuis
ine in a beautiful s
etting, Cello Ristorante & Bar features
 creative but acces
s
ible dis
hes
 made from regionally farmed and foraged ingredients
, alongs
ide an extensive wine list. allegrettovineyardresort.com/dining

A long-s
tanding farm-to-table favorite, Thomas Hill Organics s
ources
 a wide variety of ingredients
 from local purveyors
 to offer a dynamic array of bold, imaginative dis
hes
. thomashillorganics.com

Where to Stay

Nes
tled among 20 acres
 that include wine grapes
 and olive and fruit trees
, the eclectically elegant Allegretto Vineyard Resort brings
 owner Doug Ayres
’ s
ingular vis
ion to life. The impres
s
ive property evokes
 an Italian vineyard es
tate, with 171 gues
t rooms
 and suites, a wine bar featuring the res
ort’s
 own private wine label, a s
pa, a pool and cabanas
, manicured gardens
, a beautiful Abbey, hundreds
 of antiques
, a 12,000-s
quare-foot piazza, and art and artifacts everywhere the eye can s
ee. Allegrettoresort.com

This story was originally published in the Winter 2017-18 issue of Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine.