By Boyd Lemon / Guest columnist
Last week I suggested downtown Ventura as a getaway for my 805 amigos who need to get away for a couple of days, but didn’t want to get on an airplane or drive for a long time. This week I’m broadening our horizons a bit— still in the 805, but to the north. Paso Robles—the Jewel of the Central Coast, I call it.
Back in the Twentieth Century, when I lived in the Paso Robles area, formally named in Spanish, El Paso de Robles, there were a lot more cows and horses than there were people or tourists. Still, it was a pretty little city nestled in the rolling hills dotted with oaks around 35 miles inland from Moro Bay. It even has a river flowing through it (the Salinas) part of the year, which is unusual for central or Southern California.
There have been a number of wineries producing excellent wine in the Paso Robles region ever since the end of Prohibition (and even before). The region was known among wine aficionados for its Zinfandel.
In 1990. there were about 30 wineries in the area. Come the Twenty-First Century, everybody interested in growing wine grapes and/or making wine discovered Paso Robles. That changed everything. Not only are there more than 200 wineries in the region now (in, adjacent to or within easy driving distance of downtown), but the industry has spawned a dozen or more fine restaurants; and spas, interesting shops, wine tasting rooms and various festivals throughout the year. It is a hidden jewel and one of my favorite places to visit for a relaxing weekend or midweek respite. It makes for a lovely weekend for anyone who enjoys good food and wine, beautiful scenery, friendly people and relaxation in a serene, small town setting. If you don’t drink wine, you can relax in a spa with natural hot springs.
Spring and fall are especially nice times to visit Paso Robles. Summer days are quite warm, usually in the 90’s, sometimes over 100. In Spring, the hills are verdant, the wildflowers are blooming; the vineyards are sprouting leaves; and the weather is perfect (take a jacket for cool evenings). If you like the festival atmosphere, the annual Wine Festival and its 20,000 visitors takes place the the third weekend of May. Winemaker’s dinners at the wineries and restaurants are the thing to do Friday night; the tasting of more than 400 wines takes place in the downtown park on Saturday and visits to wineries for more tasting, food and music are encouraged for Sunday.
Unless you make a reservation months in advance, you will not likely be able to get overnight accommodations on wine festival weekend. Try San Luis Obispo, which has many more hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts and is only a thirty minute drive.
I suggest that you hire a wine tour. That way you can visit as many wineries as you want on either a private or public tour, and you don’t have to worry about finding them or, worse, a DUI. I recommend one of the oldest of the tour operators, The Wine Wrangler, www.thewinewrangler.com
As for what wineries to visit, it is difficult to choose from more than 200. I can recommend a few that I have personally visited. Cass Winery, Eberly Winery, Dark Star Cellars, Justin Wines, Castoro Cellars, Meridian Vineyards and ESO Vintage Winery. I hasten to add that there are many others well worth visiting. These are just ones that I personally have enjoyed. I can also vouch for the excellent food and lovely views of the surrounding countryside at Cass Winery, but I must add that my son works there, so I might be slightly prejudiced.
Whether you visit on Wine Festival Weekend or some other time, a walk around the picturesque downtown is not to be missed, including visits to several wine tasting rooms, an olive oil tasting shop and wonderful Italian, French, Southwest American, steak, Barbecue and other restaurants. But the highlight for any one who enjoys good wine is the wine tour, where you can sit in lovely surroundings, often with bucolic views of the oak dotted and vine covered hills, sip on a glass of wine and kick back.
I have eaten at the following restaurants and can recommend them: Buona Tavola (Italian), Bistro Laurent (French), McClintocks (steak and barbecue), Artisan (continental) and Villa Creek (American Southwest). Needless to say, all have fine wine menus. All are in the small downtown area within four or five blocks of the city park. There are probably other good restaurants, but I don’t want to recommend a restaurant where I personally have not dined. The Paso Robles Inn has a good breakfast and Sunday brunch.
For accommodations I recommend the historic Paso Robles Inn. It is picturesque and comfortable and right downtown where most of the best restaurants and shops are located.
For nightlife, Level Four downtown is usually hoppin’. On weekends many of the wineries have music or other events, especially in the summer. A very nice wine and music venue downtown across from the park is Vinoteca, a good place for appetizers and a glass of wine before dinner.
If you just want to focus on downtown a day and one night is sufficient, but if you want to visit wineries, I recommend two days and two nights. Paso Robles is about two-and-a-half hours drive from Ventura. The AMTRAK train also stops in downtown Paso Robles going both directions. You can fly into the San Luis Obispo Airport, rent a car and drive the half hour to Paso Robles.
I’ve never heard anyone who hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed a couple of days in El Paso de Robles.
— Boyd Lemon is a retired lawyer, who re-invented himself as a writer, living in Ventura. He recently returned from a year in France and Italy. His memoir, “Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages,” has just been published. It is about his journey to understand his role in the destruction of his three marriages. He believes it will help others to deal with their own relationship issues. Excerpts are on his website, http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com