
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.
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.
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.