Paso Robles 2021

[krystleang]

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.

LPC looks delicious but we are sticking to outdoor seating because of the kids being unvaccinated. Do you think their food would travel well with takeout?

[David_B]

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

I really like Thacher. They have an eclectic selection of wines including some fresher stuff like Cinsault and Valdigue.

[Joel_S_Morris]

Any smoke effects from the 2020 fires?

[Larry_Chmel]

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

I really like Thacher. They have an eclectic selection of wines including some fresher stuff like Cinsault and Valdigue.

+1 on Thacher. Great wines and nice outdoor tasting area. Always loved everything purchased from them.

[larry_schaffer]

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.

LPC looks delicious but we are sticking to outdoor seating because of the kids being unvaccinated. Do you think their food would travel well with takeout?

They do have outdoor seating in a covered tent next to their restaurant. Not sure how well it would travel in all honesty.

Cheers!

[mmoyer]

Agreed…food would not travel well, but the tent was fine for us especially after dark when you didn’t so much realize you were in a parking lot

[H_Schultz]

While I don’t have a vast experience in the Paso Robles area, the winery that stood out to us in the few we stopped at was Onyx in Tin City.

The day we were there we couldn’t get anyone to even seat us for a tasting (3PM) but Onyx was more than happy to seat us.

We truly appreciate their blends, especially Crux.

Enjoy your trip.

[Howard_Roselinsky]

Just got back from a quick trip last week, and I have to be honest, I don’t understand Paso at this moment. True, there are some outstanding wines: Turley/Saxum. There’s just so much wine that’s trying to be Saxum, however, and for whatever reason just isn’t. A lot of unbalanced, high octane wines. (I’m not saying you can’t make a high octane wine that is balanced)

Additionally, the pricing is off the charts for quality that just isn’t there. If you go south to SB county or north to CV or SCM you can find better wines and wine experiences, in my opinion.

Of what we tasted, TOP, stood out and definitely worth trying.

Howard

[krystleang]

Just got back from a quick trip last week, and I have to be honest, I don’t understand Paso at this moment. True, there are some outstanding wines: Turley/Saxum. There’s just so much wine that’s trying to be Saxum, however, and for whatever reason just isn’t. A lot of unbalanced, high octane wines. (I’m not saying you can’t make a high octane wine that is balanced)

Additionally, the pricing is off the charts for quality that just isn’t there. If you go south to SB county or north to CV or SCM you can find better wines and wine experiences, in my opinion.

Of what we tasted, TOP, stood out and definitely worth trying.

Howard

Thanks for the feedback. How many wines did Top have when you went? I contacted them but they only have one wine to taste for $30 so we’ll pass for now.

[John_Glas]

Head south - our tasting fees are lower . . .

Larry any good golf courses in your area. Need to get out next summer with my son who is a scratch golfer.

[Howard_Roselinsky]

Just got back from a quick trip last week, and I have to be honest, I don’t understand Paso at this moment. True, there are some outstanding wines: Turley/Saxum. There’s just so much wine that’s trying to be Saxum, however, and for whatever reason just isn’t. A lot of unbalanced, high octane wines. (I’m not saying you can’t make a high octane wine that is balanced)

Additionally, the pricing is off the charts for quality that just isn’t there. If you go south to SB county or north to CV or SCM you can find better wines and wine experiences, in my opinion.

Of what we tasted, TOP, stood out and definitely worth trying.

Howard

Thanks for the feedback. How many wines did Top have when you went? I contacted them but they only have one wine to taste for $30 so we’ll pass for now.

We had 3 wines, a white Rhone style wine, a Grenache blend, and a Syrah blend. If I recall correctly, a lot of the grapes for the red blends were out of the G2 vineyard.

Howard

[larry_schaffer]

Head south - our tasting fees are lower . . .

Larry any good golf courses in your area. Need to get out next summer with my son who is a scratch golfer.

Yep - La Purisima is good but you gotta play early. Alisal has 2 courses. And I know there’s a course out at Vandenberg that’s supposed to be good as well. . .

[Jim_Burke]

I’ve been going to Paso 3-4 times a year since about 2005. While my palate is not certainly as refined by any measure as many on this board, I do enjoy finding wineries in the early stages of development (Tastings on a plank over a couple of barrels in a barn), and have seen some major changes in the past couple of years toward the hospitality aspects. I appreciate that business model, but am more of a explorer, and am not a sit down taster over cheese etc…

My current recommendations for accesible elegant reds would be:
Turtle Rock, Herman Story, Thatcher, Tablas Creek, Turley Zins

More rustic, full throttle reds: Kiamie, Rangeland, Brian Benson, Barton

Full on old style Paso: Minassian Young for Zin, Pianetta, and any of the many large eastside of 101 wineries

[Mstanford]

I’ve been going to Paso 3-4 times a year since about 2005. While my palate is not certainly as refined by any measure as many on this board, I do enjoy finding wineries in the early stages of development (Tastings on a plank over a couple of barrels in a barn), and have seen some major changes in the past couple of years toward the hospitality aspects. I appreciate that business model, but am more of a explorer, and am not a sit down taster over cheese etc…

My current recommendations for accesible elegant reds would be:
Turtle Rock, Herman Story, Thatcher, Tablas Creek, Turley Zins

More rustic, full throttle reds: Kiamie, Rangeland, Brian Benson, Barton

Full on old style Paso: Minassian Young for Zin, Pianetta, and any of the many large eastside of 101 wineries

Jim - I hear what you’re saying…it’s getting tough to be an explorer (as you describe) these days in Paso. Look at what Eric Jensen has done at Booker with the cave/new tasting facility - Epoch’s rebuild of the historic winery/tasting facility there…L’Aventure/Law, etc. These are class-A, bigtime facilities and tasting experiences unfolding in Paso. It’s just growing up, I guess - and attracting a lot of attention. I’ve been hitting Paso pretty regularly since '12 and it’s changing. Fast. I’m a fan…

[J_Bateman]

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

We loved Brecon and ended up joining their club last on our visit last year.

[Bob_Davis]

I started doing some detailed research for our fall trip to Paso and I’m coming across more wineries that want to book you for an “experience”. 45 minutes to an hour with fees running up to $40. Plus appointments required everywhere at preset times. I really hate keeping to too much of a schedule when on vacation.

[J_Rock]

I started doing some detailed research for our fall trip to Paso and I’m coming across more wineries that want to book you for an “experience”. 45 minutes to an hour with fees running up to $40. Plus appointments required everywhere at preset times. I really hate keeping to too much of a schedule when on vacation.

I prefer only doing scheduled tastings. I love the private experience.

[larry_schaffer]

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

We loved Brecon and ended up joining their club last on our visit last year.

Note that they’ve gone through a few winemakers in the past few years. . .

Cheers

[larry_schaffer]

I started doing some detailed research for our fall trip to Paso and I’m coming across more wineries that want to book you for an “experience”. 45 minutes to an hour with fees running up to $40. Plus appointments required everywhere at preset times. I really hate keeping to too much of a schedule when on vacation.

This is part due to Covid and part due to the way the qine world is going in many many regions. I would expect this to gain momentum as wineries try to maximize revenue by seemingly giving more attention to each customer - and that comes at a cost.

It would be great if folks listed the prices they are being quoted and what they are getting for that. I know a few places in SB County that are now $50+ but they are exceptions at this point.

Cheers.

[Bob_Davis]

I started doing some detailed research for our fall trip to Paso and I’m coming across more wineries that want to book you for an “experience”. 45 minutes to an hour with fees running up to $40. Plus appointments required everywhere at preset times. I really hate keeping to too much of a schedule when on vacation.

This is part due to Covid and part due to the way the qine world is going in many many regions. I would expect this to gain momentum as wineries try to maximize revenue by seemingly giving more attention to each customer - and that comes at a cost.

It would be great if folks listed the prices they are being quoted and what they are getting for that. I know a few places in SB County that are now $50+ but they are exceptions at this point.

Cheers.

I can see that. But I’ve been to enough wineries where I don’t need the folks t tell me about soil, vineyard management, and how they make the wine. I don’t need the extra attention. Those places will be lower in priority. I don’t mind the fees so much as my wife and I share tastings. By the way we plan to stop by Tercero.