Paso Robles 2021

We are visiting Paso Robles at the end of the month and was wondering what wineries you would recommend visiting.

Our last trip out to Paso was in 2016 and from the bottles we picked up then that we just opened recently, we absolutely loved how our Herman Story Bolt Cutter tasted so that is definitely a must visit for us. We were also thinking of going to Paix Sur Terre since we also liked their offerings the last time. I noticed tasting fees have gone up considerably to almost Napa levels since we last visited so we will probably avoid the pricier tasting fee places like Torrin ($40), Clos Selene ($50), Epoch ($30), Booker ($40), Justin ($40), and L’Aventure ($45). On a side note, based on my notes, the tasting fees back in 2015 were a lot lower - Law ($20), Booker ($20), L’Aventure ($15), Justin ($15), Epoch ($15), and Clos Selene ($15).

Any thoughts on Bodega de Edgar, Aaron, or The Farm Winery? Are there other wineries we might enjoy?

Is Cass the best stop for lunch by the vineyards?

Thanks!

Not what you want to hear, but we enjoyed Linne Calodo, Torrin, Clos Selene, and Epoch last year. Our friends were members a few places, so that helped our bottom line.

There was a cool collective spot that other can speak to that had low fee places with high quality wines. It’s been a year+, so my memory is fuzzy.

I would recommend you check out the wineries in Tin City. Their tasting fees will be a bit lower than the ones you mentioned and you’ll find some quality wines from up and coming winemakers/producers in Paso. Check out Levo, Desparada, Jacob Toft, Benom, Sans Liege, Turtle Rock-- all are great in Tin City.

We have also noted the significant inflation in tasting fees in the past two years. While I enjoyed Clos Selene, it is not worth $50 (our friends chose this one). However, I thought it a better experience and considerably better wines than the $40 tasting at Linne Calodo (friends also chose this one).

Spots where we have had a great experience with reasonable tasting fees include Giornata, Tablas Creek, Paix Sur Terre, Parrish, and Lone Madrone.

On the plus side, while Paso tasting fees have increased to what were Napa levels, Napa tasting fees have increased at a similar rate so Paso still is less expensive.

There are two other recent threads that discuss Paso:

https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3043009

My wife and I like Bodega de Edgar. Ran across them when he was assistant wine maker at Hug, which was just going out of business.

Head south - our tasting fees are lower . . . neener

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Thanks, we enjoyed Jacob Toft in the past although I think we liked his Edmond August even better.

Surprisingly, tasting fees are not necessarily low in a few of these places - Benom ($35), Top ($30), Levo ($25), Turtle Rock ($25).

I haven’t done a proper Paso trip in awhile and have many places I still need to visit, but my favorites are Torrin (but try to see which wines the have available, b/c if sometimes they’ll only have 2 Torrin and 3 Lagom or something [although, I like those a lot as well]) and Clos Solene with the cheese pairing. I only went to Booker once, but thought the tasting was disappointing.

Similar to Napa and Sonoma, Paso has improved the “hospitality” component to tastings at a lot of the better wineries. This means that it’s going to be very hard to find $15 tastings, while still tasting good wines. Maybe checkout who’s in Paso Underground (the hidden tasting room behind the clothing boutique in downtown Paso)-- they might have $15 tasting fees.

A lot has changed since your last visit in 2016. I started going down to Paso around 2016 and have definitely seen it change over the last few years. It’s becoming more upscale, which can be a good thing or bad thing depending upon how you look at the situation.

Larry already chimes in on this thread, but check out Tercero if you want to a great experience and good wines-- at least what I’ve read on the WB forums with everyone who raves about his wines and tasting experience. Next time I’m driving through central coast, I’ll try to stop by Tercero to taste his wines.

Perhaps other Winemakers and Industry people in California can chime in, but I would think $15/tasting would be tough from an economics standpoint when you factor in staff, glassware, cost of a newly remodeled tasting room, etc.

I was also at Torrin recently, and I thought the tasting experience there was top-notch. Basically a personal tasting with a member of their team - everyone was friendly, knowledgeable, and personable. My first visit out of a handful and it ended up being the most memorable. Highly recommended.

Generally speaking, I thought the tasting fees at the places I visited were fair for the experience and wines poured. Though I found myself passing more often than not on purchasing enough bottles to waive tasting fees – they were usually buy 2 bottles to waive 1 tasting fee, and I often found a lot of the $65-85 bottles to be pretty meh in terms of value.

Ah, that explains the higher pricing then. For us, a huge appeal of Paso was that we can go to the “best” of the area and it would still be affordable. Unlike Napa where the “best” is not so accessible. While nice atmosphere and hospitality are important, we also have 3 kids under 4 years old now so it’s more important to be comfortable, have excellent wine, and pay a reasonable rate, versus higher end surroundings and lots of commentary.

Will try to stop by Tercero on our drive back down to LA!

Also try Aaron if you are a fan of petite syrah and PS blends.

My first trip to Paso, in 2006, I paid nothing for any tasting, but I joined 8 wine clubs. So I paid in other ways. Do any of the wineries give credit for the tasting if you buy wine?

Haven’t been there sinze 2007 but heading out this September. One thing of note was that virtually every Paso area winery I planned to visit required a reservation. At least as of about 2 weeks ago. If you search this site you can get a lot of good recommendations.

We’re also planning some days in Lompoc/Buellton/Los Olivos area as well. To keep fees down we started sharing tastings the last time in Napa. The lower amount of alcohol also left us able to hit more wineries.

In my experience, most do.

I agree prices in Paso have been steadily rising and now seem over the top to me.
Nothing there really excites me that much.
Eberle winery which is a historic place still has free tastings.
The wine isn’t the best but still quaffable.
Locatelli is a winery we discovered a few years and really like it especially the Petite Verdot.
Tables creek, Adelaida, Halter Ranch and Daou are all right next to each other.
Used to be a fan of Aaron’s PS but that has gotten quite expensive, just had a bottle of his Keola Red and was just ok but really heavy.
Have a great trip.

I’d highly recommend Lone Madrone for a broad selection of interesting wines several of which are fairly civilized.
McPrice Myers is also interesting and has some nicely balanced peppery Syrahs.

Most places waive tasting fees with purchases. Last time in April we didn’t pay any tasting fees as we were buyers. Places we discovered in this last year…Benom, Full Draw and Denner. discovered long ago Nicora and Torrin…both great wines and people. Lots of great restaurants…try LPC (abbreviation for a very long french name). Amazing food and a killer wine list.

Any thoughts on Thacher, Brecon, or Kiamie? In general, we like elegant reds that are fresh or complex. Thanks!

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