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Northern California
Our Story and Mission- Ever since we were old enough to drink wine, we have been frequenting winery tasting rooms throughout California. Our trips in the late 70’s involved stops at 6-8 wineries (or maybe more) in a day. My first date with my wife was a day of wine tasting in Sonoma 31 years ago. So we are experienced with this stuff. I think there are several ingredients to a satisfying Tasting Room experience. The wine has to be good for starters and generally the known wineries all put out pretty decent wine. But there are other key factors in making the experience memorable. Sometimes a classy tasting room works for us, but sometimes standing around a barrel outside does the trick. At other times it is just good service that pleases us. Certainly one of the keys is the person serving the wine. So there are a whole bunch of things that make visiting a Tasting Room a positive experience. The point of this blog is to talk about and recommend Winery Tasting Rooms where we have had good experiences.The blog was conceived after spending a weekend with my sisters who normally do not frequent wineries and running into a couple of disappointing stops.

Friday, February 15, 2013


A Weekend in Paso Robles

A co-worker asked me for some suggestions on wineries to visit in the Paso Robles area.  We are not avid Paso Robles wine tasters but since we have relatives in San Luis Obispo and our daughter was a student as Cal Poly SLO, we did get to pass through Paso Robles quite a few times in the past 5-6 years and many times I was granted my wish for a stop or two.
 
For those of you who have visited the Paso area you know that it is not one big valley like Napa or two or three distinct areas like Sonoma.  Paso Robles is currently one huge Appellation (Viticulture Area) although things are in the works to break this up into as many as eleven AVA’s.  The area is a pretty hilly area with many different valleys and different topographies.  The main distinction is that there are wineries on the East side of the freeway and wineries on the West side.  The total area is about 1,000 square miles or roughly 33 miles by 33 miles.  My guess is that 2/3rds of the wineries are on the West side and in general I think that is where you are going to find more and better options.  We’ll break up our suggestions by West and East.
 
 
East Side Wineries-
I think one of the ‘must’ stops if you are going to the East side is Eberle Winery.  I can’t begin to count how many wineries we have visited where we found out that the winemaker got his or her start at Eberle Winery.  Eberle is one of the older wineries in Paso and is one of the first wineries you come to as you are heading East on Highway 46.  Eberle sits high on a hill and is a good spot to get started.  Tasting is complimentary and they make a wide variety of wines.  They have a nice outdoor area and a large tasting bar.  They also offer tours which can include a cave tour.  Their Estate Cabernet runs $34.00
 
 
J Lohr is another winery that has been established a long time and they make a lot of wine.  They have a very nice tasting room not too far from the freeway.  They make four or five levels of wine and also offer complimentary tasting on the lower level wines.  I would suggest tasting the Cuvee or Limited wines.  J Lohr has substantial vineyard holdings in the Paso area and also Monterey County as well as some acreage in St. Helena (Napa).  You can find Cabernets under the J Lohr label from $17.00 to over $50.00.
Other wineries on the East side that we have visited and liked are Bianchi and Pear Valley.  Biachi has a very modern tasting room situated on a large man-made pond.  It is also an excellent picnic spot.  Another winery over here is Tobin James.  Tobin James is the fun spot to go to.  At one visit I asked him if it was his goal to hire just good looking women and he said ‘heck yeah’.  The place has a great party atmosphere and can get rowdy at times.  The winery has a western theme and Cabernet’s run from $18.00 to $28.00 (James Gang Reserve). 

One winery we have never visited on this side of town (and a bit south) is Wild Horse.  This winery used to be owned by Kenneth Volk and had a great reputation.  It is now owned by Constellation (Clos du Bois, Mondavi) and I am guessing still makes some pretty good wine.

Grounds at Tablas Creek
Moving over to the East side-
 

There are actually quite a few that we really like over here.  A couple we have mentioned before in previous posts and a there are a few others that we have tasted at and liked a lot.  Some of these are great places to visit because of the views and others have just solid wine.  Some have both.

I think my ‘must’ visit over here is Tablas Creek.  Tablas Creek utilizes mostly Rhone Varietals (no Cabernet) so if you are looking for Rousanne, Marsanne, Grenache and Syrah and a bunch of blends this is the place.  I think the tasting fee is about $10.00 and the wines run from $20.00 for the lower end blends up to maybe $45.00.
 
 
We also like Halter Ranch.  If you are going to do a property tour anywhere this is the place (advance reservations required).  The ranch property and facilities are amazing.  The wines are good also and the picnic grounds are great.

 

Justin is probably the most well known of the Paso wineries and their Cabs have really made a name for themselves.  Their basic Cab goes for $25.00 and the Isosceles, the Cab they are most known for, goes for $62.00.  I think their tasting room is temporarily in the former Wine Club (member only) lounge so it may be a pretty good room to taste in.     

 

A couple of wineries with great views are Daou and Calcareous.  Both wineries obviously come from some big money.  I think the road up to Calcareous cost more than many winery facilities.  My guess is that five years down the road Daou will have a reputation equal to Justin.  Calcareous also makes the Twisted Sister line of wines.  Cabs at Calcareous run from $20.00 to $56.00 and at Daou the Cabernet is $28.00.  I think Daou’s top wine is a Syrah based blend called Celestus at $46.00.
 
Tasting Room at Carmody McKnight
 

A winery that we have visited many times is called Carmody McKnight.  This winery has a great story involving a helicopter crash and an old film actor, so if you are all the way out to Justin this is a good spot.

 

We also like Opolo.  A friend’s daughter worked in the lab here and I remember pretty good wines.  We have not been to Turley in quite some time.  They are a bit south in Templeton and are known for their Zinfandels.  They do not have much of a website so I don’t see much about them.  I know they also source grapes from the Hayne vineyard in Napa, one of the top Napa Valley Zin vineryards.  Another winery worth mentioning is Niner.  We have not visited Niner but have seen them at many events.  We have been told their tasting room is fantastic.  And two last wineries worth mentioning are Peachy Canyon and Castoro.  The wineries both put out reasonably priced wines and have a $5.00 tasting fee. 
 

Vitals-
 

East side-

Eberle- 3810 Highway 46, Paso Robles (PR), 93446, 805-238-9067, www.eberlewinery.com
J Lohr- 6169 Airport Road, PR, 93446, 805-239-8900, www.jlohr.com
Bianchi- 3380 Branch Road, PR, 93446, 805-226-9922, www.bianchwine.com
Pear Valley, 4900 Union Road, PR, 93446, 805-237-2861, www.pearvalley.com
Tobin James, 8950 Union Road, PR, 93446, 805-239-2204, www.tobinjames.com
Wild Horse, 1437 Wild Horse Ct., Templeton (Temp), 93465, 805-788-6300, www.wildhorsewinery.com 

West side-

Tablas Creek- 9339 Adelaida Rd., PR, 93446, 805-237-1231, www.tablascreek.com
Halter Ranch- 8910 Adelaida Rd., PR, 93446, 805-367-9977, www.halterranch.com
Justin- 11680 Chimney Rock Rd., PR 93446, 805-238-6932, www.justinwine.com
Daou- 2777 Hidden Mountain Road, PR, 93446, 805-226-5460, www.daouvineyards.com
Calcareous- 3430 Peachy Canyon Rd., PR, 93446, 805-239-0289, www.calcareous.com
Carmody McKnight, 11240 Chimney Rock Rd., PR, 93446, 805-238-9392, www.carmodymcknight.com
Opolo- 7110 Vineyard Dr., PR, 93446, 805-238-9593, www.opolo.com
Turley- 2900 Vineyard Dr., Temp, 93465, 805-434-1030, www.turleywinecellars.com
Niner- 2400 Highway 46, PR, 93446, 805-239-2233, www.ninerwine.com
Peachy Canyon- 1480 N. Bethel Rd., Temp, 93465, 805-239-1918, www.peachycanyon.com
Castoro Cellars- 1315 N. Bethel Rd., Temp, 93465, 805-238-0725, www.castorocellars.com

 
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