My last four days in Paso Robles, I witnessed a transformation. This was my third trip in recent years. While elements of the Wild West of wine country in were still in place, an elegance had emerged with sleek tasting rooms and vineyards along with an array of varietals. Paso Robles was true to its global influences while developing a distinct identity. Each sip was a testament to the region’s evolution – a place where the Wild West spirit met sophisticated winemaking, creating a truly captivating destination.
Downtown Paso
Our first day consisted of flying in and grabbing lunch at Taste! Craft Eatery, billed as an establishment that thoughtfully crafts eats & drinks. I loved the diversity of the menu and really enjoyed my meal.
The next day, our first stop was at LXV Winery, a discovery from my last Paso trip and one of my favorite experiences. Neeta and Kunal founded LXV Wine, which was taken literally from the 64 arts of living from old Indian scriptures. The guest experience becomes the 65th art and LXV is dedicated to “heightening senses through beautifully crafted wines and spice pairings.” During my last visit, Neeta told me that spice pairings have a way of changing the context of the wines and the joy she finds in matching the two together. We went to the tasting room (they also have a winery located further away) for the Wine and Spice tasting. There is a reason this is one of my wine clubs. The wines are amazing!
We happened to be in town just two days before my friend, Chris Kern, Co-Owner of Paso Secco as well as America’s Uncommon Wine Expert and Mr. Forgotten Grapes, opened his tasting room. Paso Secco (the name reflects a combination of Paso and Prosecco) sources Grenache Blanc grapes from the Paso Robles region and makes Prosecco-style sparkling wine. Fun stop and good prosecco!
What I didn’t know is that Chris shares his tasting room with another writer and winemaker friend of mine, Lori Budd, from Dracaena Wines, who goes back to the days of attending Wine Bloggers Conferences. She is the biggest advocate for the Cabernet Franc grape that I know and makes wine with her husband, Mike. The name reflects the constellation as well as the genus name of the plant “Draco,” their beloved (now deceased) pet Weimaraner as well as a play on their scientific backgrounds. And, the Cabernet Franc was completely sold out, so we had the chance to try the winery’s other varietals.
After that, we checked into our delightful Air B&B. I loved the house, but this was a lesson learned. Some houses bill themselves as “walkable,” but there is a ginormous hill to climb up and down, so we didn’t find that to be a reality even though it was very close to the city and had a great view.
We ended our first day with dinner at The Hatch. The Hatch is a simple rotisserie and bar just off the town square in downtown Paso Robles. Most dishes are touched by wood fire, they offer small batch whiskey, and it was a busy crowd of locals and visitors. Good place to start the trip!
The Wineries and Restaurants
We started the next day at one of my other favorite wineries, Tablas Creek Vineyard. As one of the pioneering wineries and the very first winery to become the first Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™) vineyard in the world in 2020, Tablas Creek is a special place.
Tablas Creek is a decades-long friendship between the Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel and Robert Haas, a long-time importer and founder of Vineyard Brands. In 1985, the families formally partnered and purchased the 120-acre property in 1989. The vineyard is all about the limestone and chalky soils and temperatures that allow the sun to ripen the grapes, the rain to dry farm the vineyard, and for biodynamic farming. When Tablas Creek couldn’t get the quality of vines it wanted back in the 1990s, it imported cuttings directly from the Beaucastel vineyard and then shared them. In fact, there are more than 400 wineries that have descendants of these cuttings today. This is one of my favorite tours where you get to walk through the vineyard, see the livestock and get a lesson of how Tablas Creek grafted the cuttings.
Our next stop included a Wild Yeast Tasting Experience and lunch at Le Cuvier Winery, one that was new to me and was mind-blowingly good. Le Cuvier is a highly regarded, small-production winery located on the west side of Paso. Known for its dedication to minimal intervention winemaking, using dry-farmed grapes and wild yeast fermentation and fantastic pairing selection, I’d recommend adding this winery to your list.
Our last stop of day two was Alta Colina Winery. Located on a hill in Paso, Alta Colina (“high hill” in Spanish) Winery embodies the region’s potential for exceptional Rhône-style wines. Founded in 2003, this family-run winery prioritizes sustainable practices and minimal intervention winemaking and Rhône varietals.
We ended with dinner at In Bloom. This Michelin star restaurant (awarded in 2023) offers a diverse menu built on creative flavors, seasonal inspiration, and luxury ingredients. This was a fantastic experience.
We started our last day with a great breakfast (two days in a row) made by my friend Jen, who is a fantastic chef, and set off for our morning tasting.
Thacher Winery and Vineyard — once a working quarter horse and cattle ranch, Thacher Winery has been making small production wines with low intervention and native fermentation from vineyards in Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Counties. We started our tasting outside under a table with an umbrella, but the hot weather brought us about halfway into our tasting to the air-conditioned tasting room (I know. We are from Texas!).
Our next stop was lunch at Niner Wine, a LEED Certified Winery at Heart Hill Vineyard, a vineyard that has a natural heart-shaped plant. We had a chance to have lunch and taste through the wine line-up. I was thrilled to see Andy Niner, General Manager, and it was fun to taste through the mostly Bordeaux and Rhone varietals.
Tin City
We then went to Tin City, a unique and vibrant district known for its concentration of small-production wineries, craft breweries, distilleries, and artisanal food vendors.
Our first stop there was Desparada Wine, which reflects the innovative and elegant Old World and New World-style wines from Winemaker Vailia From. She works with more than 20 local vineyards to create special wines branded under separate labels each showcasing unique characteristics. This was a fun stop.
We came upon Tin City Distillery, which had fantastic cocktails and was the perfect place to relax before our dinner reservations. They do offer tastings so I’ll definitely book time to do this next trip.
Our final destination was to have dinner at Etto Pasta Bar, a restaurant with freshly made pasta, classic Italian preparation and local ingredients from local farms. It was an awesome end to a great trip.
The People Who Moved Us
I can’t say enough good things about Toast Tours, a family-owned transportation company that was well connected (they can help you plan a great trip if you don’t have an itinerary or a friend at Paso Robles Wine), they kept us on time and we had a fantastic experience. Lars and Kristina have ten years of being tour guides in both Barcelona and California and will make sure you have a safe and fun journey!
I also want to say a special thank you to Grand Cru Limos. We found out over the course of the trip that Ubers were hard to find. When we ordered one that wasn’t going to fit the luggage and our party of six, the driver assigned to our airport run ended his breakfast early and got us to the airport on time. Make sure you plan accordingly.
A Special Shout Out
I want to give a shout-out to Chris Taranto, communications director for the for the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance who helped me plan an unforgettable trip.
Four days in Paso Robles showed the region’s transformation since my last trip in 2016. The diversity of the varietals we tried to the unique wineries we visited and the welcoming nature of the people, Paso has evolved to establish itself as a major player in the wine world. I can’t wait to return!
