Exploring Paso Robles

As a longtime fan of the robust wine scene in Paso Robles — approximately 300 wineries dot the countryside among Paso Robles’ 40,000 vineyard acres — after a recent visit, I am happy to report that the hospitality and dining scene is definitely catching up to the sip scene. What’s more, it’s an easy two-hour drive from Santa Barbara, making it an ideal spot for a weekend getaway. 

Our home base was the incredibly charming, newly renovated bed and breakfast spot The Farmhouse Paso, which is from the same owners (Nomada Hotel Group) as the Skyview in Los Alamos. Like that property, The Farmhouse is an upcycled vintage boutique hotel (circa 1947), with all kinds of great decor and personalized touches. We stayed in the Farmhouse Superior room, which had its own private courtyard and fire pit, luxe Italian bedding, and a locally curated mini bar. Each of the 26 cottage rooms is unique and all include excellent coffee and delicious local breakfast pastries from Back Porch Bakery.

We started out on Day One with a fascinating and informative tour of Robert Hall Winery from Caine Thompson, who had an incredible wealth of information to share about regenerative farming. As managing director, he has been recognized for his work devel­op­ing and imple­ment­ing regen­er­a­tive wine-grow­ing prac­tices that will scale for the glob­al viti­cul­ture com­mu­ni­ty.  He is currently spearheading a Regen­er­a­tive Farm­ing Case Study (under the auspices of O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, which owns Robert Hall and a handful of other brands), and there’s a great video explaining more about it here.

Our experience, called “The Grape to Glass Excursion,” included a walk through the vineyard and a tour of the winery, the underground cavern (with direct from the barrel samples), and the tasting room, where we tried 5-7 wines and some small bites. At just $35 per person, this is a great value, as well as a nice way to spend an afternoon. I was especially fond of the 2021 Cavern Select Sparkling Grenache Blanc. 

Our next stop was just up the road for a Tasting & Tapas at Vina Robles, a venue I had enjoyed several times before for wine, hospitality, and great shows at the outdoor amphitheater. CEO Kurt Ammann said that the next concert season will have even better food and wine pairings available from their lovely private winery patio with comfy chairs and fire pits. It’s a great place to enjoy music, but also nice any time of the year. My favorite wine from here was the 2019 Syrah from Terra Bella Vineyard. As Ammann explained, “It’s a very different expression of fruit, more meaty and savory than many syrahs, especially on the Central Coast.” It was lovely on its own, but the very generous charcuterie plate made it even better. 

We also checked out Paso Market Walk, which is similar to the Santa Barbara Public Market, with a tasty selection of gourmet food and beverages, including The Vreamery, a vegan cheese shop with an impressive list of plant-based, dairy-free varieties of cheese, which pairs perfectly with wine country.  

That night, we had dinner at The Hatch, which had been on my radar to try for a while, as it’s one of the Paso Robles restaurants recognized as Michelin’s new additions to the California Guide (alongside Six Test Kitchen, The Restaurant at Justin, Les Petites Canailles, and In Bloom). The Hatch more than lived up to its billing as a cozy, comfortable joint with great food and interesting cocktails. I started with the Black Tie Optional, an excellent bourbon-based concoction with Averna and notes of blackberry, graham cracker, and black walnut bitters. We also tried a few different versions of the Old Fashioneds — all of which were unique and tasty. For the main event, dinner time, we unknowingly timed it perfectly, as their (deservedly) famous fried chicken is only served on Wednesday nights, and that’s when we happened to be there. We also shared the equally incredible wood-fire black opal Wagyu skirt steak and capped the night with the wood-oven cheesecake (only because they had sold out of the Mexican chocolate cream pie). We’ll definitely be back to try the rest of the menu. 

Our next stop was Tin City, a cool area with modern industrial-style buildings filled with 20-plus small-production wineries, distilleries, breweries, and the aforementioned Michelin star restaurant Six Test Kitchen. New to the Tin City area is Etto Pasta factory, where the husband-wife team of Brian Terrizzi and Steph Terrizzi are creating single-ingredient craft pasta from organic American semolina flour. The factory, which plans to be open for public tours at some point, is a fascinating place, where they not only make pasta for their onsite restaurant (Etto Pasta Bar) and store (Etto Pastificio), but also supply pasta for school lunches in the region from Monterey to Orcutt. 

After the tour, we had a delicious lunch with Brian and Steph (who is also the winemaker for their Giornata Wines next door). The two pastas we tried — the creamy, white-sauced Mighty Cap Mushroom and classic tomato-sauce Amatriciana, which brought back lovely memories of Italy — were delish and the Caesar salad with fried brussels sprouts served like croutons, a special that day, was an awesome invention I hope catches on. 

After all that food we took a nice stroll around Tin City, which is one of our go-to spots to stop when we drive from Santa Barbara to San Francisco. In addition to the great pasta and many wineries, I’m also quite fond of Tin City Cider and the distinctive sheep’s-milk ice cream at Negranti Creamery, while my husband also rallies to try the small-batch beers available only at Barrelhouse Brewing Co. 

Next up on our itinerary was a tasting and a tour of SummerWood Winery & Inn, another charmer! The nine-room inn is delightfully situated to enjoy picturesque views of the vines and the rolling coastal terrain, with an expansive lawn area that’s perfect for special events. The vibe is contemporary farmhouse, with mostly neutral colors and organic textures throughout both the public areas and guest rooms, but with all of the modern amenities one could want — including a killer kitchen that would be great if, for example, you did a buyout for a special event. Family reunions are the most popular events at the Inn, said General Manager Shayne Kline, who also gave us a tour of the vineyard, winery, and barrel room, and led us through a flight of SummerWood’s limited production American Rhône and Bordeaux wines. The tasting room overlooks a lush cabernet sauvignon vineyard, and there’s also a small gazebo for private tastings, a nice touch if you happen to have loud friends, like we do!  

Our last destination of the Paso Robles trip was indeed a grand finale: Sensorio. I had visited the immersive light installation when it first opened back in 2019, when property owners Ken and Bobbi Hunter brought it in as a temporary installation. At that time, I wrote it was a “mesmerizing experience that defies description.” It has since morphed into an even more dazzling permanent attraction, merging light and technology into a unique walkable art escape that now has four different exhibits, all created by Bruce Munro. The original Field of Lights centerpiece covers even more ground, with 100,000 solar powered fiber optic spheres shifting in color against the night sky as they dance across the rolling hillside. 

New additions include the Light Towers, a wine-inspired vision with 69 towers of more than 17,000 wine bottles, illuminated with glowing optic fibers whose colors evolve to an ethereal musical score by Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Gone Fishing, a whimsical exhibit with 25 multi-colored fishing rods; and Fireflies, an extravaganza of almost 10,000 points of white light that float and sway organically on the breeze.

In addition to the new light installations, there is a new indoor mercado building with food and drink and cozy couches, and they have a very cool private terrace area with its own bar, restrooms, and fireside tables where you can sit and enjoy an excellent view of the Field of Lights. While doing just that, we had a surprise visit from owner Ken Hunter, who shared plans for several new exhibits. First up will be DIMENSIONS by Los Angeles–based artists HYBYCOZO, a collaborative installation art collective made up of Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk, who have exhibited sculptures worldwide. Also coming later in 2024 is a new exhibit from Bruce Munro, as well an event stage for live music. 

There are lots of great reasons to visit Paso Robles, including the ones mentioned here. Coming up on February 18 is the annual Rhone Rangers Experience, a big wine festival featuring a fun and educational day with seminars, a wine auction, and a grand tasting that evening with more than 300 wines from 80-plus Rhone Rangers members from Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County, Ojai, Monterey, Napa, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma, El Dorado, Lodi, Temecula, Oregon, and Texas!  

Learn more about all things Paso Robles, including a list of upcoming featured events and promotions at travelpaso.com.