Castoro | Rotta | Midnight Cellars | Wild Coyote | Eberle | Adelaida

Our Getaway to Dining and Wine Tasting in Paso Robles Wine Country
May 2006

We really enjoy visiting this developing wine country and the town of Paso Robles. There are numerous wineries surrounding Paso Robles and their number is increasing each year. The wineries have brought a new clientele to the region and many of the new shops are catering to the vast number of wine country visitors. Each time we visit, we find new shops, tasting bars, and restaurants that are interesting and very chic. But Paso Robles still has much of the old along with the new and that is what makes this town a favorite of ours.

Here is a quick look at our relaxed two-night visit to the Paso Robles wine country.

In Town and Around the City Park of Paso Robles

We did a bit of the new Downtown Paso Robles Wine Trail. The trail is outlined in a spiffy flyer available from the Chamber of Commerce at 1225 Park Street or at any of the shops that are part of the trail.  The best of the stops on the trail is the We Olive store. It’s the only spot that is not a wine bar or tasting room. At We Olive you can taste various olives and olive oils. It’s a very attractive shop with lots of interesting treats and great gifts for the gourmet. The best wine bar/tasting room is Wines on Pine. This tasting room has wines from seven boutique wineries in the area.

Eating in Town

We picked up a picnic lunch at Panolivo, a French Mediterranean restaurant. The food is excellent.  The restaurant is a superb choice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

For good Italian food you cannot beat Buona Tavola at 923 Spring Street. We had a great meal there our first night in Paso. The wine list is fabulous and reasonable.

Best restaurant in town is Bistro Laurent.  We had a delicious dinner on the second night. This restaurant never disappoints. This restaurant would receive a great rating if it were located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or any U.S. city. It is expensive for Paso Robles, but well worth it.

Lodging

We prefer staying in town rather than a B&B far from the downtown area. We usually book the Paso Robles Inn but this time we lodged at the Hampton Suites & Inn.  We found this inn to be quite comfortable. The room includes a breakfast that is adequate, nothing fancy but they have good choices of cereal, assorted pastries, bagels, and the like. The coffee is very good. Each evening they a have wine and food reception. They pour two or three of the local wines paired with cheese appetizers. The Hampton Suites & Inn is located just off Highway 101 at the exit that leads to Highway 46 West.

The Wineries We Visited

Day One:

Rotta Winery
From Castoro we head back to Highway 46 West and stop in at the Rotta Winery tasting room located in a bakery store.  Rotta will be opening a tasting room soon at their winery location. Tasting fee is $3 and includes a logo glass. We tasted three wines and liked the Zinfandel very much. Rotta Winery, founded in 1908 by the Rotta Family, is the only remaining family owned “original” winery in the County.

The Good: Delicious Zinfandel wine, family owned winery.
The Bad:  Tasting fee, tasting room location in the corner of bakery (temporary)

Day Two

We head down to 24th St. in Paso Robles and turn right on Naciemento Road watch for Adelaida Road which is a soft left turn. We drop in on the Wild Coyote Winery. 

Wild Coyote Winery
The Wild Coyote Winery sits high atop a hill with a great view of the vineyards below.  The architecture is adobe style and the entire experience here is one of peace and tranquility. The winery also has a beautiful adobe style B&B on the property

The Good:  The wines were very good, the view spectacular, and the tasting room very warm and inviting.  The Meritage wine is outstanding. Gianni Manucci is the owner and winemaker of this small boutique winery.
The Bad: Tasting fee of $5, which includes a logo glass. The wines start at $20.

Adelaida Cellars
We continue along Adelaida road and to Adelaida Cellars. Adelaida Cellars has been operating since 1981 and makes an array of very fine estate wines. We have visited here often and always enjoy the Adelaida wines. 

The Good:  A very good selection of value wines. Family owned and operated. Estate vineyards with the oldest Pinot Noir vines in the area.
The Bad: Tasting Fee of $5 which includes a logo glass.  This is a beautiful spot but they have a sparse picnic area and there is little shade.

Following our visit to Adelaida winery we continue along Adelaida Road. This country road is particularly beautiful at this time of the year.  The wet spring has the oak woodlands unusually green and vibrant.  We pass several wineries along the way but each is closed to visitors. Although Paso Robles has an increasing amount of visitors to the wine country, the heavy traffic comes on weekend. Many of the wineries opt for tasting room hours only Friday through Sunday.

We reach the junction of Adelaida and Vineyard Road and take a left turn onto Vineyard and head back to highway 46 West. Eventually we make our way to the other side of Highway 101 where there are several good wineries on Highway 46 East. 

Eberle Winery
Our finally stop of the day is the Eberle Winery.  Very similar to Castoro, Eberle makes several varietals of wine and all reasonably priced. We consider the Eberle wines to be good value wines. Gary Eberle, the owner and winemaker, has been making wine in the Paso Robles area since the 1970’s and he is considered one of the pioneers of Syrah wine.

The Good:  Excellent wines at reasonable prices. No tasting fee, free caves tours. Beautiful picnic area.  Very good service in the tasting room.
The Bad: Very crowded on weekends. Dangerous left turn into winery when going east on Highway 46E.

For a complete listing of top wineries in Paso Robles, see our Paso Robles Wine Trails