As I sip my way across California, I like to dream up avatars for each wine region. I picture Napa Valley as a freshly retired tech founder who bought a vineyard to outrun boredom. Sonoma is a hippie farmer with ancestral roots in Italy. And Paso Robles is a laid-back rancher with an epicurean soul. He’s as comfortable in a Michelin-starred dining room as he is eating barbecue on the beach. He’ll hold court with the most technical sommeliers, but he’s also content sipping old-vine Zinfandel from a bodega glass on his porch.
Thirty years ago, Paso Robles was better known for cattle than vines. That began to change when the Daou brothers recognized the valley’s potential to produce Bordeaux-style wines of the highest order. Famed for notes of mocha, blackberry and flint, Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is the ne plus ultra of luscious, full-bodied reds. (And the wine is such that, of this year, there’s a Paso Robles Wine Month, a nationwide wine education and retail celebration that lasts through May and takes place within thousands of wine/liquor stores across the country.)
The landscape in Paso Robles is as enchanting as the wines — oak trees planted next to palms, faint whiffs of ocean spray on the breeze and mountain peaks on the horizon. While sublime wine is reason enough to visit, this town’s charms extend far beyond tasting rooms and vineyard tours. From buzzy breweries and dazzling restaurants to serene spas and otherworldly outdoor art, the valley’s pleasures are as plentiful as the vines climbing Central California’s sun-soaked hills.
Where to Sip Wine
DAOU Vineyards
The views from DAOU’s mountaintop estate are as gorgeous as the wines in their cellar. Soak in the balmy breeze from the elegant patio while watching hummingbirds dart between vine terraces. In the tasting room, you’ll find a full roster of DAOU’s greatest hits, alongside a catalogue of rarer expressions. For a wine that epitomizes the house style, try a pour of Soul of a Lion. Named in honor of the Daou family patriarch, the Bordeaux blend is an aria of dark fruits with whispers of graphite and wet stone. Sip a glass of Patrimony, the winery’s smaller, ultra-premium label, for a worthy splurge. The kitchen matches the opulence of the wines, where guests can enjoy fresh produce, pastas and locally-sourced meats.
Saxum Vineyards
Saxum’s Rhône-style blends are among the most sought-after wines in California, released in tiny allocations and quickly snapped up by a zealous mailing list. Grown in the limestone-rich soils of the Willow Creek District, the wines are pure Paso power — dense, indulgent and built to age.
The Sensational “Field of Light” Installation Is Now on View in Paso Robles
Ever hiked through 60,000 spheres of multicolored light?L’Aventure Winery
Stephan Asseo, founder and winemaker at L’Aventure, cut his teeth in Bordeaux before finding his muse in Paso Roble’s sunbaked hills. He blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot into wines that marry Old World precision with New World exuberance.
Epoch Estate Wines
The calcareous soil of Epoch Estate, a storied producer in western Paso Robles, has nourished vines since the 19th century. Winemaker Jordan Fiorentini is fond of tinkering with Rhône varieties like Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, crafting vino that vividly expresses the estate’s special terroir.
Where to Drink Beer
BarrelHouse Brewing Co.
Even in a milieu as relaxed as Paso Robles, too many wine tastings can start to feel suffocating. The antidote is BarrelHouse Brewing Co, a refuge of honest brews, live music and cornhole camaraderie. Founded in 2013, the family-owned brewery has built a loyal following for its BarrelHouse IPA, a bright, juicy hop monster. Partial as I am to light, easy blondes, I stick to rounds of the Standard Lager. On hot afternoons, when the mercury climbs, a cold pour is more refreshing than hangover Gatorade.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Throw back a cold pint with vineyard workers and cowboys at Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Light beers are the acid test of any brewer’s chops, and 805 Blonde Ale passes with flying colors — crisp and clean as country water. Hop heads should order Union Jack IPA, a classic West Coast IPA bursting with grapefruit peel and pine resin. Parabola, the brewery’s bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stout, gives Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout a run for its money.
Where to Eat
Six Test Kitchen
The crown jewel of Tin City, an industrial park retrofitted into a gastronomic playground, Six Test Kitchen earned San Luis Obispo County its first Michelin star. Helmed by local chef Ricky Odbert, the 12-seat restaurant treats guests to meticulously choreographed tasting menus.
Odbert’s cooking blends technical virtuosity with Californian locavore vim. The menu changes constantly, but expect indulgences like dill meringue topped with trout roe, ornately garnished oysters and koji ice cream with whipped miso.
BL Brasserie
A top-notch Francophilic dining institution should be a requisite for any great wine region. Chef Laurent Grangien opened Parisian-style BL Brasserie in downtown Paso Robles after building a CV in elite kitchens across France. With burnished wood, vintage cinema posters and crisp white tablecloths, the dining room feels like stepping through the looking glass from California to Saint-Germain.
The menu features Parisianne classics — escargot coated in garlic-parsley butter, steak au poivre with fries and onion soup as comforting as a hug from mémé. On the wine list, you’ll find treasures from both California and the Old World.
What to Do
Sensorio Paso Robles
British light artist Bruce Munro carpeted a swath of Paso’s hills with tens of thousands of glowing fiber-optic spheres and statuary. His multi-acre installation, Sensorio, is part psychedelic playground, part al fresco art gallery. Arrive before sunset to sip wine beside the outdoor fireplaces. After dark, wander the paths through a galaxy of tiny, colorful lights.
River Oaks Hot Springs
The soothing waters at River Oaks Hot Springs Spa will have you feeling right as rain, even after the most aggressive of wine benders. The tubs overlook Paso’s terraced hills, and like a Japanese onsen, the scenery is as delightful as the hot bath. The water is rich in sulfur and other minerals, long believed to soothe muscles and soften skin. Order the “Sip & Soak” experience and taste a flight of local wines from a private tub next to the vineyard.
Where to Stay
Allegretto Vineyard Resort
An Italianate palace framed by vineyards and ancient olive groves, Allegretto Vineyard Resort feels like a Tuscan aristocrat’s villa reconstructed in the California hills. The interior design is just as enchanting as the gardens. With marble halls adorned with medieval tapestries and religious icons, the property brings to mind The Cloisters in New York City.
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