California’s Paso Robles Wine Route: Top 10 Guide

Villa San Juliette, Paso Robles

Paso Robles is the fastest growing wine region in the US, with over 200 wineries, yet its tasting rooms are far less busy – and its hotels and restaurants more affordable – than more famous Napa and Sonoma

Take the scenic Pacific Coast highway through California and turn inland roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Paso Robles, 20 miles up state route 46, is in the heart of California’s Central Coast wine region. Paso, as locals know it, is in San Luis Obispo county, where the Salinas river runs out of the Santa Lucia mountains. The city of Paso Robles has a quaint downtown surrounded by 20 square miles of coastal mountain terrain.

Although wine-making in the region dates back two centuries to when missionaries first began growing grapes, it’s only recently that the Paso Robles American Viticultural Area (AVA, a federally recognised wine classification) has become a region to watch. In the past decade the numbers of producers and acres under vine have doubled, and now the Paso Robles AVA is the fastest-growing wine region in the US, with over 200 boutique and family-owned wineries producing zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and other varietals from Spain, Italy, Bordeaux and the Rhone.

The terrain offers plenty for the eye: flat river valley floodplains give way to sweeping slopes dotted with homesteads, farms and wineries, with most vineyards sitting on rolling hillsides between 500 and 1,000 feet above sea level. One of Paso’s charms is its as-yet-undiscovered feel: on-property tasting rooms are cosy and nowhere near as packed as those in Napa valley, and are more often than not manned by the vintners themselves. And Paso’s charming historic downtown has great new places to eat and drink without the crowds – or the higher price point – of its more famous northern counterpart.

WINEMAKERS TO VISIT

Bianchi

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In September 2014, Bianchi’s zinfandel beat stiff competition to be crowned California Zinfandel Champion. Of the 93 wines entered, only four won double gold; Bianchi’s was one, the other three were from Sonoma, a wine region neighbouring Napa. Known for estate-grown and hand-crafted wines, the Bianchi family’s wine producing heritage dates from 1974, when Joseph Bianchi and his son Glenn set up shop on the banks of the San Joaquin river, eight miles from downtown Paso. Winemaker Tom Lane attributes the brand’s recent success to the 2011 zinfandel’s subtle layers, something he strives to achieve in every vintage through experimentation with fruit from different vineyards, changing harvest times, new yeast strains, and fermentation and aging regimes in spicy barrel types. A glass-walled tasting room overlooks flat fields of vines that begin to sweep upwards to the rear of the property and, inside, a fireplace and warm earth tones create a welcoming setting for winter tastings. Outside, a patio borders a lake teeming with koi carp gliding beneath miniature sailboats.
• 3380 Branch Road, Paso Robles, +1 805 226 9922, bianchiwine.com. Tasting room open daily 10am-5pm, $5pp for a tasting of five wines of your choice

Justin Wine

In 2000, Isosceles, vintner Justin Baldwin’s local interpretation of a big Bordeaux, was named one of the top 10 wines in the world by Wine Spectator magazine. Baldwin now has 25 vintages under his belt and Isosceles – a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot – remains the winery’s flagship and best-seller. Its other labels are delicious, too, particularly the big bold reds made using old world methods, such as harvesting by hand and small barrel-ageing in French oak. Sixteen miles from downtown Paso, its tasting room and restaurant have panoramic views of vineyards that undulate with the rolling hills. There’s also a three-room inn, where stays (from $375 a night for two) include a complimentary tasting experience: choose from a “deconstruction” or vertical tasting of different vintages of Isosceles, or a library tasting hosted in the Chateau, Justin Baldwin’s former home.
• 11680 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles, +1 805 238 6932, justinwine.com. Tasting room open daily 10am-4.30pm, tastings $15, no reservation necessary; tours 10am and 2.30pm daily, $20pp, reservations required

Halter Ranch

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In the Westside Adelaida District, 12 miles west of downtown Paso, Halter Ranch produces only estate-grown, sustainably farmed Bordeaux and Rhône wines. You can swing by the tasting room for a tipple and a picnic without prior announcement but the three-hour excursion tour ($45pp) by Land Rover is worth calling ahead for. On the tour, guests cruise through all 281 acres of vineyards, descending from lofty Lion’s Ridge – with vistas of sloping patchwork blocks dotted with copses nearly 2,000 feet above sea level – to a tasting beneath the spreading branches of the Ancestor Tree, one of the largest live coastal oaks on record and the name of the winery’s Bordeaux-style flagship wine. The 2011 Ancestor reserve – a blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and petit verdot – scooped four-star gold in the Orange County Wine Competition and a gold in the San Francisco International Wine Competition in 2014. Consider picking up a bottle of the 2012 Ancestor ($55) to add to your collection.
• 8910 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles, +1 805 226 9455, halterranch.com. Tasting room open daily 11am-5pm, $10 for four/five wines; fee waived with bottle purchase

Red Soles

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At Red Soles, six miles from downtown Paso, romance abounds. Lacking equipment, Randy and Cheryl Phillips crushed their first barrel of grapes with their own feet in 2004; that first stomping of petite sirah and zinfandel grapes later became the couple’s first vintage, called Kick-Off. Every wine in their portfolio is estate-grown over 200 acres of vineyards – half are east of Paso Robles and the other half are at the Templeton Gap winery – but only a small proportion of the grapes they grow become Red Soles wine; the rest are sold to large wineries. Randy and Cheryl also run the Hacienda-style, terracotta-coloured tasting room. Stop by to sample the nutty, chocolatey 2012 Estate Syrah ($40), produced in the Côte Rôtie-style with 10% viognier crushed and fermented with syrah, or bring a picnic and grab a bottle to enjoy on the vine- and oak -ringed lawn.
• 3230 Oakdale Road, Paso Robles, + 1 805 226 9898, redsoleswinery.com. Tasting rooms open daily 11am-5pm, $10pp for tasting of six wines plus a brandy; fees waived with a bottle purchase

Villa San Juliette

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Nigel Lythgoe, producers of Pop Idol, American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, bought Villa San Juliette, 12 miles from downtown Paso, after falling in love with the region. Lythgoe and partner Ken Warwick both keep apartments in the chateau building and are known for offering good (read large) pours at the tasting room when in town. Guided tours of the 168-acre property take place daily; alternatively you can opt for a private wine and cheese pairing or a picnic lunch of artisanal pizza, crab cakes and charcuterie on the patio overlooking the vineyard and pond. Romantique ($60) – a rich composition of 2010 malbec, petit verdot and cabernet sauvignon – delivers its own raspberry, currant and mocha-nuanced music. If you’re feeling competitive, you may want to take up the So You Think You Can Taste Challenge: four wines, poured blind ($15pp).
• 6385 Cross Canyons Road, San Miguel, +1 805 467 0014, villasanjuliette.com. Open Mon, Thurs-Sun 11am-5pm, Tues-Wed by appointment only

WHERE TO EAT

Thomas Hill Organics

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 Photograph: Alamy

Originally conceived by owner Debbie Thomas as an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) showcase of local produce, Thomas Hill Organics has evolved over time into a relaxed, elegant restaurant. A high-ceilinged dining room, anchored by an L-shaped bar and a brick wall lined with hundred of bottles, leads to a breezy outdoor patio with a not-so-subliminal message – “WINE” – on the wall in letters several feet high. Local ranchers, bakers and growers provide chef Christopher Manning with quality organic produce for his creative farm-to-table cuisine: his pan-seared scallops with celeriac, linguiça sausage, purslane and baby beets ($31) are delicious with a glass of Bianchi’s sparkling.
• 1313 Park Street, Paso Robles +1 805 226 5888, thomashillorganics.com. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-3pm and 5pm-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-3pm and 5pm-10pm, Sun 10am-3pm and 5pm-9pm

La Cosecha bar and restaurant

Spanish for “harvest”, this is chef Santos MacDonal’s second outlet: his other is Il Cortile, also in downtown Paso. MacDonal and his brother Jorge, both alumni ofGiorgio in Malibu, reign supreme in the kitchen, serving dishes inspired by Spanish and South American cuisine with an emphasis on herbs and spices that speak of their Honduran roots. Local gourmets gather in the long, narrow cosy space after work to enjoy Paso wines complimented by selections from Spain, Argentina and Chile; they linger late into the evening for dishes such as octopus salad with rocket, cannellini beans and chimichurri sauce ($12), and grilled pork chop with pear honey glaze and local vegetables ($27), from the easy-to-navigate, pairing-orientated menu.
• 835 12th Street, Suite A, Paso Robles, +1 805 237 0019, lacosechabr.com. Open Sun, Tues-Thurs 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, closed Mondays

Artisan

What started as a childhood dream for food brothers Mike and Chris Kobayashi (at the time aged 14 and 11 respectively) has now, luckily for Paso locals, been realised. Artisan is very much a family affair: while Mike runs the restaurant, Chris – a graduate of the culinary academies in San Francisco and Napa, and formerly of the Clift Hotel and Brix restaurants – runs the open kitchen and his wife Shandi runs the organic farm a few miles away in Templeton. The huge, street-facing windows are more often than not packed with locals enjoying a glass of zinfandel and yet another warm Paso evening. Inside the elegant, contemporary dining room, hungry patrons indulge in meatballs with ricotta gnocchi ($14) and garlic and wild boar tenderloin with fennel risotto, feta, roasted apple and mostarda pickle ($33) complimented by a carefully selected, Central Coast-focused wine list.
• 843 12th Street, Paso Robles, +1 805 237 8084, artisanpasorobles.com. Open Mon-Thurs 11.30am-9pm, Fri 11.30am-10pm, Sat 10am-10pm, Sun 10am-9pm

WHERE TO STAY

Bike Lane Inn

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In Templeton, this guesthouse-cum-homestay with two bedrooms is a cosy launch pad for cycling or driving tours.Owners Elaine and Scott McElmury opened their home of 13 years to travellers in 2011 and still live on the property. The Syrah room has a queen bed, private bathroom and opens onto a vine-enveloped patio; the Merlot room has a pillow-topped queen mattress with a private bathroom. A patio with loungers overlooking the family-owned Templeton feed mill is a great place to mingle with other guests; on cooler evenings , games and a stone fireplace make the guest lounge a great place to relax. At weekends, Elaine serves a breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, ham or sausage and toast or pancakes and also offers complimentary glasses of cabernet from the private John Alan winery, nearby. The McElmurys also have two bikes for guests’ use.
• Doubles from $90 B&B, open weekends in autumn/winter and during the week on request in the summer. 749 Gough Avenue, Templeton, +1 805 434 0409,bikelaneinn.com

Paso Robles Inn

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The rooms at this downtown hotel encircle a heated pool, gardens and a koi carp-filled pond. The area is known for its natural mineral springs and if you follow your nose to the nearby Paso Robles Hot Springs, you’ll reap the rejuvenating benefits celebrated by Native Americans and missionaries in times gone by. Alternatively, opt for a deluxe mineral spa room and you’ll find a spa tub, rich in sulphur compounds and trace minerals, on your private patio. All rooms have a kitchenette, and in-room spa services, such as citrus body scrubs and hot stone massages are available. There’s also a steak house and lounge restaurant on site.
• Doubles from $130. 1103 Spring Street, Paso Robles, +1 805 238 2660,pasoroblesinn.com

Contributed by Gemma Price, www.theguardian.com