ckc08

My boyfriend & I will be traveling to Santa Barbara in early Feb from Half Moon Bay, down Hwy 1 to Santa Barbara and would like to stop along the way at some great wineries. Can anyone recommend good places? And should we continue along Hwy 1, or cut over to 101 and see the Paso Robles area proper?


Thanks in advance,

ckc

srianda

I would say figure out where the wineries are that you want to visit and let that determine if you continue on 1 or cut across to 101. Even if you hit 101 you can pick up 1 in San Luis Obispo again.

One of my favorite wineries in Paso Robles is Wild Horse. Tobin James is another favorite, but that would be kind of out of your way. We also enjoy Castoro and York Mountain is a beautiful drive but since they tore down the old house that used to be their tasting room they have been tasting in a mobile home. Not really the best ambiance. I know a new tasting room was planned but haven't been back in a couple years to see what's happening with that.

boom_boom

If you take Highway 46 from Highway 1 toward the 101 you'll pass lots of em.
My picks on 46 west of Paso include
Grey Wolf
Dover Canyon
Peachy Canyon
Castoro

Once you finish there, you could check out Wild Horse or Turley or a number of others between 46 and Highway 41, then go back to the 1 via Morro Bay.

Between Santa Maria and Santa Barbara most of the wineries are on back roads off te 101, but there are a couple near Lompoc and then again in and around Santa Ynez near Solvang. Foxen is great for Pinot Noir. Also in the area Cottonwood Canyon, Rancho Sisquoc and Fess Parker (some time 'ol Fess is there himself signing bottles, etc.) I like Santa Barbara Winery, just a couple of block off State Street in Santa Barbara proper.
Enjoy!

anna_roz

Fabulous Zinfandels at Rotta on Hwy 46.

I join in the suggestion of Tobin James. Real nice people there and tasting is free!

Anna Roz

kimamom

If you like Zin, definitely go to Turley. We spent the weekend in Paso this past October for the Harvest Tour, very fun! Grey Wolf, Peachy Canyon, Summerwood, Tobin James, Robert Hall and Bianchi are all nice places to wine taste in Paso. For a great meal, check out Artisan. Have fun! ***kim***

Gekko

While in Paso Robles, be sure enjoy dinner at Artisan, where you can also taste some great local wines.

www.artisanpasorobles.com

twelveoaks

Another option would be Foxen canyon that runs from Santa Maria to Los Olivos. There are at least fifteen excellent wineries along this short and beautiful drive.Also, below Foxen Canyon are the wineries of the Santa Ynez valley. I prefer these areas over Paso Robles.

sharondi

We found this great place while traveling through Paso Robles area a few yrs back - wonderful products and a huge tasting room. They bake lots of bread and serve it with all the olive oils, vinegars, and tapenades. And it's all grown organically right there. Lovely place.

http://www.mtoliveco.com/farm/

Little_Man

I recently spent a night in Paso Robles and was pleasantly surprised by what a cute town it is. Artisan's an excellent restaurant, La BellaSerra Hotel has decadent and super comfy rooms. We didn't have the time for a big wine tour but did stop in at J. Lohr, which was excellent, and at Firestone which was nice. Would love to spend a full long weekend in the area.

lvk

All good suggestions,so far, I'll just add a few:

We enjoyed our tour of the wine caves at the Eberle Winery. (www.eberlewinery.com/) Also good were EOS and Grey Wolf (already suggested above--small & friendly).

We had a very nice lunch at the restaurant at the Justin Winery, (www.justinwine.com) and a great dinner at Buona Tavola, in downtown PR.