We started our day trip with a visit to the Meridian vineyards in Paso Robles. This winery is beautiful! The grounds are very pretty with picnic tables, flowers and walking paths. We did a tasting here and purchased some wines for the holidays. The pourer was very informative and offered to take our picture outside in the gardens.

Our next stop was at the EOS winery. One of my favorites in this area. They have a very nice Chardonnay and a Moscato. We joined their wine club here and browsed through the nicely stocked gift shop.

The next stop was Martin & Weyrich where the Villa Toscana is located. Very nice Nebbiolo here and very good dessert wines. We were very tempted to try the Buona Tavola which is Northern Italian cuisine in Paso. Antonio Varla is the owner here and it sounds VERY good. He also has a place in SLO. I was too anxious to get over to Cambria so we passed this time but will definitely try it on our next trip. They were recently featured in October's issue of Sunset magazine.

We arrived in Cambria a little after noon and went to the Moonstone Bar & Grill for lunch. We were seated at "the rail" which is a long bar looking directly out to the ocean. The sun was shining and the weather was glorious. I decided on the calamari sandwich served with cole slaw and french fries. A pink lemonade to drink. My husband had the chicken salad which he said was very good.

We then took our blanket and sat on the Moonstone beach all afternoon reading, talking, enjoying the seals on the rocks and taking photos of this gorgeous area. Perfect weather and even warmer than it usually is in the summer months. We decided to wait for the sunset which was absolutley beautiful. We took some photos from the beach then walked up the steps to get the sun going down from the top of the hill. It was very beautiful!!

We then headed into town to Linn's bakery. We promised our kids some chicken pot pies from this great place. I put in our dinner reservations at the Sow's Ear Cafe. www.sowsear.com It is my favorite dinner place in Cambria. (The Black Cat was closed.) I ordered the salmon in parchment paper which was absolutely delicious. Served with sides of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. My husband had the chicken entree which he said was excellent.
I have A LOT of salmon when we are in Astoria,OR and this was some of the best I have ever had in this state. For dessert we shared a blueberry cobbler with Vanilla bean ice cream. Excellent!

The host here is probably the most gracious host of any place I have dined. He is always working there, seats the ladies in front of the fire, takes pictures on special occasions and makes the place very intimate and warm for the diners. The end to a perfect day in this beautiful place that has a very special place in my heart for making special memories that last a lifetime. ***kim***

You did report back, thanks! Sounds like you had a fine time and I enjoyed reading it all, especially your restaurant descriptions.

I've been thinking about taking a trip there, maybe in the spring and also doing the Paso and Los Olivos area wineries, so will have to stop by the ones you mentioned. Is Villa Toscana a country inn and spa? There is a place like that back there I've wanted to explore, maybe that's it.

I had also been thinking of the Black Cat Bistro, having read a good review-- too bad it was closed, but the Sow's Ear is nice. We also like Robin's and Linn's for desserts; their pies are good.

We had a nice stay at the Cambria Pines Lodge, one of their new huge suites with jacuzzi and fireplaces and a deck overlooking the pine-covered mountains and valley--not on the ocean, but we love the "off the beaten path" serenity of it. Their gardens are gorgeous, too.

What I wouldn't give for some of that Oregon chinook salmon! The stuff they try to pass off here as Chinook is worlds apart! Thanks again for a great report!

Hi WineryCat!! Glad you enjoyed the report. The Villa Toscana is a bed and breakfast but there are spa treatments you can have while there. www.myvillatoscana.com is the web address. One winery I left out in my prevoius report was the Peachy Canyon winery. They have award-winning red Zins there. Incredible Red and Old Schoolhouse are our two favorites.

The Villa Toscana is a five-star establishment. We have a place called the Chateau du Sureau around where we live that is also a beautiful five-star place with the Elderberry House as the restaurant. We have dined there on special occasions and it is excellent. ***kim***

Just checked out the Villa Toscana and yep, that's the place. It looks wonderful! I sure wouldn't mind rounding up a few friends and staying at the Winemaker's Residence for the week-end.

We considered Chateau du Sureau for our recent anniversary trip, but Pt. Reyes and Carmel won out. It has been a fantasy of mine to have a 3-day birthday bash with friends at the Villa Sureau, the separate mini-estate there--so unbelievably beautiful & pricey, it will no doubt always remain a fantasy! I hope to get over to Chateau Sureau one day tho, I've heard for years that the Elderberry House is one heck of a restaurant!

Aaaah, only $2800/night!!! www.elderberryhouse.com for those who are interested in checking out this awesome place. They used to serve lunch which made it nice but have since stopped. We hope to get there for Valentine's Day! If anyone has stayed or dined here I would be interested in your review!!! ***kim***