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.