Explore Central California: A Weekend Getaway in Paso Robles Wine Country

Of my many goals for this year, visiting as many wine regions as possible is always a priority. Growing up and trying to figure out what I wanted to do professionally, I knew travel had to be a component. As a teenager, I thought about becoming a guide for Adventures by Disney. But as an adult who loves my childhood home town, living abroad for six to eight months out of the year is out of the question. One of the things I love most about working in the wine industry is the seemingly limitless amount of travel involved. Between the 30th and 50th parallels north and south of the equator, there are thousands of wine regions to visit all around the world. At least crossing off all those close to me is a reasonably accomplishable task.

Last year, I was able to check two major places off my laundry list of wine regions in the United States: the Willamette Valley and Napa Valley. But, this year, I felt the need to diversify. What's another large region that my store sells a lot of wine from, that is relatively up and coming in the global scheme of winemaking, and provides great value for money? Paso Robles.

Six hours away from Reno, this darling wine region is halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco along the Central Coast of California. Settled during the Mission period in the 1800's, many families landed here after the Gold Rush, literally putting down roots. With 11 AVAs, there's a huge amount of diversity in micro-terroirs, grape varieties, and styles produced. Not yet charging the luxury prices that Napa commands, Paso Robles is an affordable region to visit for wine enthusiasts. And between wine tasting during the day, the array of breweries, and night life bars and tasting rooms in Downtown, there really is something for everybody.

Unlike our trip to the Willamette Valley during the fall, my partner and I didn't have a week to spend in this region. We had three full days to get the greatest possible scope of this beautiful land, not a lot to work with. But, averaging at least three tastings a day, and considering the tasting rooms open late downtown, it was certainly possible.

Armed with a list of wineries available on the shelves of my store, I started assembling our dream itinerary. I did the best I could to balance large, nationally distributed companies with independent, family operations. For every old, highly acclaimed winery on the list, I tried to also include a modern, recently established house as well. Day One was all about family with Austin Hope, Desperada, and Herman Story, all family-owned and run labels present at my store. Day Two we got a little bit bigger and bolder with Tobin James Cellars, JUSTIN Vineyards, Ancient Peaks, and Serial. And our last day we went all out, starting out at the famous DAOU Family Estates, before moving onto Booker and Opolo Vineyards. And while in Rome, we also had to include one brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

With so much to do and see (and of course taste), we did our best to capture every moment. Apart from the wine of it all, getting dedicated time to travel with my partner, my best friend, the love of my life feels harder to do as life picks up and starts moving at a break-neck pace. Having an extended weekend with him, getting to relax in the downtime away from work and our busy lives back home has started to become a luxury worth cherishing. It was an audacious list for such a short period of time, so we headed out for a quick adventure to kick our new year off.