Paso Robles Wine Country Vacation

I first remember adding Paso Robles to my wine country checklist back in 2007 when Sunset magazine ran an article touting it as "The Next Wine Country." What used to be cattle ranching country with a handful of vineyards (whose grapes were mostly sent to Napa), was slowly becoming a destination in itself for wine lovers. Over the last decade or so, more of those grapes began to stay in "Paso", as serious winemakers raised the profile of the area and it hasn't taken long for Paso Robles to fulfill it's predicted destiny as the next wine country.

Anson and I finally got a chance to see for ourselves over this past Thanksgiving weekend, and we can't wait to go back.

While there are over 150 new wineries since 1997, there are many older big-name torch bearers such as J.Lohr, Eberle, Peachy Canyon, and of, course, Wild Horse. Being at the south end of the appellation, we stopped there on our way.

We have always enjoyed their wine and were excited to see where it is made. We were happy to discover a modest tasting room and friendly, helpful attendants. After our experience at Drytown Cellars in Gold Country (where we learned that Amador County is pronounced "Am-a-door," not "Ahh-ma-door"), we asked them how to pronounce the name of the county we were in--Paso Robles. Our deliberations in the car on the way were answered when we were told it really is "Pass-o Ro-bulls," not "Pah-so Ro-bless."

Wild Horse has a beautiful property which lends itself to perusing the garden with a glass of wine, checking out wine-making antiques, and taking in the expansive view.

We had heard that Hansen Winery was an entertaining experience, so we headed over there. I can't get enough of the sun, skies and trees this time of year.

The owner makes only Cabernets in a very bold, hearty style. The property was beautiful, and, as you can see, still had that rural feel.

The next morning we took a spin around downtown Paso Robles. It's a charming small town, with wide streets, Victorian houses, independent restaurants, and prestigious brick buildings surrounding a traditional town square.

This morning a farmer's market/craft market was set up in the town square and that's not something I can ever pass up. We picked up these homemade caramels from Sugar and Spoon Caramels...

Some fresh local olive oil from Legacy Olive Company...

And beautiful produce. We picked up some fresh tamales and plums for lunch later on the road.
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Now it was time to hit the wine trail! Paso Robles is really easy to navigate, all you need to do is take the 101 for about 4 hours north of Los Angeles, then get off on Highway 46. From there you can go either east or west and run across dozens of wineries either way. It's nice to have a map of Paso Robles to get a lay of the land and find the outlying wineries as well. The area is not nearly as vast as Napa and Sonoma, so you can easily span the entire appellation in one day.

We started out at Villicana Winery because our intended destination was not open yet, but it turned out to be a really great visit because they not only have a delicious Syrah, but they are distilling spirits as well. 

In California, wineries can make spirits in the form of brandy, so Villicana came up with the idea to use their saignée (grape juice that is "bled" off to concentrate the final product) to make an 80-proof brandy called ReFind. Now here's the thing, they distill it into a "Neutral Brandy," which is basically vodka, and a "Botanical Brandy," which is gin. We brought home a bottle of the neutral brandy which I commented has almost a sweetness to it. Our tasting lady explained that I was tasting glycine, which naturally occurs in grapes and is often added to commercially produced vodkas.

Our next destination was Le Cuvier, a delightful and eccentric winery perched at the top of a hill. This winery is definitely worth stopping in for a tasting, as they pair each wine with a little cheese, tapenade or other tasty bite that is created specifically for that wine.

The view is not to be missed either, this is looking at the northern end of the valley.

We ate our lunch while lounging in some adirondack chairs made from barrel staves.

One of our favorite parts of visiting wine country in the fall (see my post from last Thanksgiving in Napa and Sonoma) is the electric colors that carry over to the vines. 

We made a u-turn as we drove by Niner Wine Estates, we had to stop in honor of Anson's football team. But we found that the owner's last name was Niner, and the winery was not an ode to the San Francisco 49ers. That's Heart Hill, overlooking the tasting room and winery. The top photo in the post is an adjacent hill from the same property.

We enjoyed the wine tasting which had an optional cheese pairing. It was the usual suspects as far as the cheese and wine selection goes, with the exception of one: Kokos, a coconut cheese from Holland. Get some for yourself and pair it with a Sauvignon Blanc, you have never tasted a cheese like this one. Really, really delicious.

We picked up and headed to our last winery, Opolo Vineyards, which was loud, crowded, and tacky, but in a good way. 

I loved all of their fruity, easy, reasonably priced wines and the everyone-is-family atmosphere. And I was glad to see a Minnesota boy was half of the ownership!

One last stop as the last rays of sun disappeared behind this haunting hillside, with bags of walnuts stacked at the bases of the trees.