Lady’s Guide to Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

There’s nothing quite like taking a road trip in California. The bright sun, the beautiful coastal scenery along the state’s iconic Highway 1, and the golden beaches make it one of the most popular routes in the world to travel. But there’s one catch. With so many wineries up and down the coast, it can be hard to stay focused on the road. That’s particularly true when you’re wine tasting in Paso Robles.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

My mother and I are driving from San Francisco to Paso Robles en route to Hearst Castle in San Simeon.

The four-and-a-half-hour drive takes us along one of the most famous stretches of Highway 1, past the surfing mecca of Santa Cruz, the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, the chocolate-box streets of Carmel, and the iconic coastal cliffs of Big Sur.

It brings us along beaches full of lazy elephant seals and farms filled with fresh artichokes, then lands us in the sunny wheat-colored hills of the Paso Robles wine country.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles: AronHill Vineyards

Paso Robles is right around the corner from Hearst Castle, so we spend an afternoon wine tasting in Paso Robles the day before our tours of the famous estate in San Simeon.

The weather is unseasonably warm, so we take advantage of the sun and start our afternoon with lunch on the terrace at AronHill Vineyards.

The service is slow, but the views are beautiful and the Primitivo goes down a treat.

Like all good Americans, we start to socialize with the others on the terrace and end up making friends with a group from Michigan that’s traveling with two adorable Jack Russell terriers.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles: Brian Benson Cellars

After our salads and wraps, we take the advice of our new friends and drive down the road to go wine tasting in Paso Robles at Brian Benson Cellars.

The tasting room is housed in a rustic red barn with pretty metal hearts on the outside, and the interior is filled with striking artwork.

The wines are all reds, and they’re bold as reds go. As we taste, we learn that Benson is the son of the winemakers at Dark Star Cellars, which has an adjacent wine tasting room in Paso Robles.

He started learning his craft at a young age and released his first vintage on his 21st birthday. Now he’s one of the most popular winemakers in Paso Robles.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles: Croad Vineyards

After sipping some good Rhone varietals and Zinfandels at Brian Benson Cellars, we drive up into the hills for our third winery of the day, Croad Vineyards.

The winemaker here is from New Zealand, and his heritage comes through not only in the kiwi crossing sign in the driveway, but also in his winemaking style.

As we taste everything from Sauvignon Blanc to Zinfandel, we soak up the mission-style ambiance of the tasting room and the stunning views over Paso Robles.

Below us is a pretty courtyard with a fountain and several sculptures, and in the distance are rolling hills lined with vines.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

When we finish our wine tasting in Paso Robles, we drive over to the coast and check into the Fogcatcher Inn, an oceanfront hotel in Cambria, a cute little town between Paso Robles and Hearst Castle.

We go to a local restaurant for a dinner of fresh seafood in a quirky rustic dining room. It’s the perfect way to end our day.

As the sun sets on the Pacific Ocean, I can’t help but feel lucky to be from a part of the world where stunning coastal scenery and wine tasting in Paso Robles go together in a single trip.

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