Highway 101 divides the Paso Robles wineries from East to West. Many of these wineries are located on spectacular backroad country on both sides of 101, very scenic and peaceful. Those wineries are mostly far off and take a bit of exploring. If you are short on time, try the wineries that parallel Highway 46 East. We paid a visit last Sunday to four wineries on the very busy Highway 46 East.
The first winery we visited was the Broken Earth winery that took over the facilities vacated by the EOS Winery. EOS Winery was purchased a couple of years ago by Foley Family Wines. The group moved the winery operations to another area of Paso Robles. The Broken Earth winery redid the color scheme and the picnic area, and it looks beautiful. The tasting room is spacious. We tasted several of the wines and felt that they were good but none that wowed us enough to purchase any for home. Although the picnic area is beautiful, the traffic noise from Highway 46 is somewhat unsettling.
Our next visit was to Chumeia. It was established in 1998 and it’s hard to believe it is one of the older wineries in the Paso Robles AVA. Wineries have increased at an astonishing rate, and today there are 283 Paso Robles wineries. We like the wines here immensely. They are on the expensive side, but are very delicious wines with great character. The Zinfandel is a standout! The tasting room is modest and part of the wine cellar.
Tobin James on Union Road off Hwy. 46 is perhaps the most popular winery in the Paso Robles wine country. The tasting room is boisterous, the crowd on the younger side, and it’s basically a party atmosphere at Tobin James. The winery is famous for its Zins; they are big, bold, and on the wild side.
We headed down the road from Tobin James on Union and get to Rockin’ R Winery. This is a cute little boutique winery, very friendly and cozy. 14 different wines are produced at Rockin’ R Winery with a total case production of 1000 cases. Do the math and realize that these 14 different wines are made in small quantities. We frankly did not care for the wines here. They are a little more on the fruity side for us, but it is still worth a visit.
Other wineries on this stretch include Eberle, Robert Hall, Vina Nobles and others. It is not easy navigating to get back onto Highway 46 when having to make a left turn. The traffic is moving at a terrific pace, so proceed with caution.
Here is a listing of our favorite restaurants and lodging establishments in Paso Robles. Check out more Paso Robles wineries on the Wine Trails of Paso Robles.