There’s a tasting room right at the corner of 46 West and Vineyard Drive in Paso Robles. It’s quite the place…all wood, modern building with lots of abstractly-placed windows and architectural detail. That’s just the outside, you step in and the tasting room is vibrant blues and deep grays with cool edges and dramatic lines. Step on up to the bar and grab a glass to taste. There’s mostly reds to try, with one white. There are a lot of Rhones blended together, with some Zinfandel mixed in here and there. A pretty broad range of flavors, from bright and tannic, to round and fruity. They make really nice wines, focused on quality and flavor, and have quite the cult following. There’s a $10 tasting fee, not refundable with purchase so be prepared for that part of the experience…definitely worth checking out!
We did 2 videos for your viewing pleasure, so you could check out the inside of the tasting room…and see the outside as well!
Video 1 of 2 – inside:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sREViQVFGQ[/youtube]
Video 2 of 2 – outside:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HULASsoz03U[/youtube]
Loving the blog, but loving your hats even more! 🙂
Hey Sandra! Thanks…hats make for good hair days! 😉
Beautiful place, I’m with you Matt if the wine is expensive we won’t buy it unless it’s really really good. Our favorite is Gary King Winery in Los Alamitos tasting is seven dollars but if you buy a bottle tasting is free. His wines run from $12.00 – $25.00 so we always buy a mixed case. Make sure you stop there when you come to Orange County.
Bev – we’ll be sure to stop in at Gary King…sounds like a good deal! Our list is getting longer, too!
Hey Guys! I agree about how they have good wine, but the price tag is tough for me. I have a group of friends in LA that are totally into Linne Calodo, Denner and such (the trendy expensive wines) So these places appeal to the big city big pocket wine drinkers. I think those of us that live around here know how to find great wine at much better prices.
I also think it would be cool if our local wineries would give locals a discount on tastings!
GinaD – Maybe we should start a movement on the locals discount! As for the more expensive tasting rooms, I think it’s great that there’s such a broad spectrum of choices for people, that way the whole market is getting hit by different wineries. My opinion is that a winery should try to target the broadest range of the market, though…have a little something for everybody at various price points.
I must admit, not at all a fan of their wines. Big, hot, overbearing wines. I like some more nuance. I would love to see some of the money and time put into that architecture put back into the wine instead. I won’t be back.
Hi Christopher, love the opinion! There’s definitely a few different types of wineries in the area…and this isn’t one of those where you enjoy the Mom and Pop aspect with the surprisingly great wines. This is one of those that people come to for the looks and feel, and the wine comes after that. We love those hole-in-the-wall places where you get to chat with the winemaker and hear the stories of how the wines came to be. Cheers!!!