We spent a good 5 hours visiting wiineries and do tastings on Saturday, starting with the furthest winery "Justin", and made our way towards downtown. What I love most about Paso Robles, besides how beautiful it is, is that we almost always get to meet the owners of the wineries and vineyards. They are so passionate and proud of their products, and I think that's why I enjoy Paso Robles more than Napa.
This entry is about the wineries that we visited and the wines that we purchased. We started with the furthest winery - "Justin" and made our way towards downtown Paso Robles
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Justin Vineyards and Winery
11680 Chimney Rock Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446-9792
(805) 238-6932
Tasting Room Hours: 10am - 5pm
Tasting Fee: $10, includes one logo glass. They do not waive tasting fee if you purchase bottles.
What a beautiful vineyard. It's way out there but so worth it. Wine from Justin is on the expensive side. Their flagship wine is the "Isosceles". We tasted the 07 Isosceles and all fell in love with it, unfortunately they're not for sale for another two months. That's how passionate they are about their wine, if it's not ready, they won't sell it. A bottle of the 07 Isosceles sells for $62, and you're suppose to let it sit for another few years. We spotted a bottle of 05 Isosceles selling for around $200.
The Viognier was on the spicy side, which I wasn't a big fan of. But I loved their 08 Chardonnay for $19, so I bought a bottle
I didn't want to splurge at the first winery we visited, so I will wait to get the Isosceles. Another wine that stood out was the 07 Justification for $45. It's a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, a little fruity and tannic, but would be perfect with a big juicy steak.
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Paso Robles CA 93446
805.237.1231
Tasting Room Hour: 10am - 5pm
Tasting Fee: $10, includes one logo glass. Fee waived with bottle purchase.
Tablas Creek serves Rhone style wine. Much more mild and smooth compare to California wine. Tablas Creek was probably my favorite winery from this trip.Very nice and informative tasting host.
(Left to Right)
06 Esprit Beaucastel Blanc $40
we actually tasted the 2008 and I loved how it was sweet, mild, and floral. The 65% Roussanne content really stood out. The host suggested that I go for the 06, especially they were selling for the same price.
07 En Goblet $40
Earthy and fruity. LOVE!
06 Vin de Paille SacreRouge $45
The dessert wine was not on the tasting list, but we asked to try it. They offered three different dessert wine, two white and one red. I've had a lot of white dessert wine so I thought the red was very unique. The grapes are from the last harvest of the season, and they are grown at the estate vineyard. Tastes like sweet figs and is a bit chocolately.
I'm suppose to wait for 5-10 more years to drink these...
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8325 Vineyard Drive
Paso Robles, CA 93446-7613(805) 239-9020
Tasting Room Hour: 11am-5pm
Tasting Fee: $5, Waived with wine purchase
Really friendly people here! We met Jan, owner of the winery with her husband Bob. They only produce red wine at Whalebone, and their flagship wine is the Bob Wine. I actually wasn't too big of a fan, but I did really like the 05 Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, oaky, fruity, and peppery, with a small percentage of Petit Syrah blended in. They were also offering a 05 Cabernet Private Reserve for $45.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon $35
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7110 Vineyard Drive
Paso Robles, CA 93446-7684(805) 238-9593
Tasting Room Hour: 10am - 5pm
Tasting Room Fee: $5. Waived with bottle purchase.
I have heard a lot about Opolo, but I guess all the hypes raised my expectation, so I was a little disappointed. Nevertheless, they had a great white wine selection. More on the sweet side.
The above picture is
07 Fleur de Paso, $16
It was raining hard on Saturday, and we were so glad to see that they offered a covered area for picnics! They were also grilling a variety of sausages outside. We packed and enjoyed a lovely lunch there.
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4520 Vineyard Drive
Paso Robles, Ca
(805)237-0101
Tasting Room Hours: 11am - 5pm
Tasting Fee: $5
Dover Canyon specialize in Zinfandel, Syrah, and Rhone blends. Their wine ranges from $20-$35, not too overpriced, yet I didn't find one that stand out. Out of all the wine they were pouring that day, Barbarian, Osso Seccho, and the Tre Noce were my favorite. They are all from 2007. Really cute surroundings and tasting room, too bad the lady host weren't very talkative and informative. If you don't seem that interested in the product you are selling, then I am not going to be interested either.
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(tasting room location. )
1480 N. Bethel Road
Templeton, CA 93465Tasting Room Hours: 11am - 5pm
Tasting Fee: $5, Waived with bottle purchase
This was my favorite winery during my first visit to Paso Robles during the zinfandel festival. Friendly tasting room attendants, great zinfandel selection, and we even met the owner. I loved the zinfandel port dessert wine so much that I bought another bottle on this trip.
08 Viognier $25
Fruity and sweet.
07 Westside Zinfandel $19.
Fruity and oaky. A little hint of smokiness as well. This is apparently available for purchase at Costco for $15.
Port VII $25
sweet sugary fig and a hint of caramel. SO DELISH!
I also highly recommend the Especial Zinfandel, I bought a bottle of the 05 last time and it was yummmm.
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1380 Liveoak Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446(805) 239-2565
Tasting Room Hour: 10:30am - 5pm
Tasting Fee: $10, for 4 vertical tastings of Pinot Noir. They do not waive tasting fee with purchase.
2008 Pinot Noir Monopole $38.00
They are an exclusively Pinot Noir vineyard. I sampled 05, 06, 07, and 08 Estate Bottled Pinot Noir. Because I tend to like wine on the fruitier side, I bought a bottle of the 08. All of the Pinot Noir I sampled at Windward were really amazing.
Beautiful surroundings!
They are one of the vineyards that participate in the Pinot and Paella festival. It's going to be on 6/6/2010, $65 per person.
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1953 Niderer Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446
(805) 238-4763
Tasting Room Hours: 11am - 5pm
Tasting Fee: Free
We stayed at Dunning Ranch, and the tasting room was five steps away. Read a lot of good reviews about the wine at Dunning, but again, I think I was expecting too much. The wine was good, but was a bit too oaky and spicy for me. I did, however, loved the 07 Private Reserve Zinfandel. ($35) We met with Jo-Ann Dunning, who was so nice and friendly. All wine are estate bottled.
