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A Serendipitous Road Trip to Paso Robles

Not all roads lead to Paso Robles wine country in California’s Central Coast. But in 2015, two events would lure me back to the Golden State’s rising star. In May of that year, a visit to then-new Bristols Cider in the town of Atascadero next door to Paso (the shortened moniker for Paso Robles) introduced me to hard cider made by Neil and Jackie, a brother and sister team from Bristol, England, aka cider country -- because they couldn’t find the refreshing fermented apple beverage they so loved back home. Today, Bristols Cider House thrives with a loyal following.


Hard cider at Bristols Cider House, Atascadero 2015
Hard cider at Bristols Cider House, Atascadero 2015

In July 2015, while visiting Manchester, England, I wandered into a wine merchant’s shop. In its narrow slice of space, a single wall filled end-to-end with fine wines from around the world entranced my curiosity. Knowing I was from California, the store manager pulled open a drawer revealing a bottle of Tablas Creek Esprit de Beauscatel Blanc.


Tablas Creek wine at Hanging Ditch wine merchant in Manchester, England
Tablas Creek wine at Hanging Ditch wine merchant in Manchester, England, 2015

“That’s from Paso Robles,” I smiled, touched by this happenstance moment on the other side of the Atlantic.

Fast forward to May 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions began loosening up. My husband and I agreed it was time to celebrate our return to “normal” with a road trip back to rustic Paso, 3.5 hours from Los Angeles. Its wide-open space paints the quintessential California landscape of shady oaks, acres of rolling vineyards, and romantic roads winding in between. With 200-plus mostly family-owned wineries spread throughout, we could barely wait for in-person wine tasting again amid Paso’s famous warm and laid-back spirit. Today, it is California’s largest American Viticultural Area (divided into 11 districts), and the state’s next major wine region. And then some.


Enter Robert Haas, an American wine merchant and leader in the wine industry, and the esteemed Perrin family of Chateau de Beauscatel located in the Chateauneuf du Pape wine region in France’s Rhone Valley. In 1987 Haas and the Perrins partnered to grow Rhone grape varietals in Paso Robles after discovering that conditions here are exactly that of the Rhone: calcareous limestone, rare in the U.S., that allows for the same dry farming methods of Europe; and ideal Mediterranean climate. Eleven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, its hot days dip dramatically to cool nights. With 40- to 60-degree temperature changes in a single day, the diurnal shift here is the largest of any growing region in the country.


Porous calcareous limestone soils allow for dry farming in Paso Robles wine region
Porous calcareous limestone soils allow for dry farming in Paso Robles wine region

By 1990, Tablas Creek Vineyard was born, and Haas joined the pioneers of the American Rhone wine movement. Today it is the only winery in the country to have all 14 Chateauneuf du Pape grapes, and over the decades its grafting program has made Rhone varietal cuttings available to vineyards around the country. Counoise, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Noir, Marsanne, Mourvedre, Syrah, Roussanne, and Viognier are just half of the Rhone varieties.


Suffice it to say, Tablas Creek was our first winery stop. Here Ray King, tasting room host extraordinaire, offered a fantastic minicourse on the journey of Rhone grapes to America with a tour of the vineyard and a divinely comprehensive tasting session – emphasizing Paso’s spectacular climate for making elegant wines.


Ray King, Tablas Creek tasting host
Ray King, Tablas Creek tasting host

“The grapes get cooked during the day and then have reprieve overnight to get this nice acidity…the result is naturally well-balanced grapes – even before we manipulate them into wine.”

Rhone-style wine tasting
Tasting the array of Rhone-style wines at Tablas Creek can transport guests to France’s Chateau de Beauscatel in the Rhone Valley – Tablas Creek’s sister vineyard.

Following this total-immersion minicourse in Rhone-style wines and Paso’s French connection, we called it a day to absorb it all and worked our way back to the lively atmosphere of downtown Paso. Streets lined with shops, art galleries, a movie theater, its popular General Store (that sells more than just provisions) and dining spots just about everywhere, were abuzz with locals and visitors heading out to dinner. And in the center of it all, the inviting greenspace of City Park offered rest and respite, enhanced by soulful tunes compliments of a passionate saxophonist.


Saxophonist plays jazz tunes in downtown Paso Robles
At City Park in the center of downtown Paso Robles, passionate saxophonist Tyler Anderson treats passersby to bright jazz tunes.

European ambience at Hotel Cheval in downtown Paso Robles
European ambience at Hotel Cheval in downtown Paso Robles

Our tasting itinerary continued over the next two days at equally remarkable small-production wineries – Niner; Brecon; Lone Madrone; and Epoch in neighboring Templeton -- each sharing their own “Paso stories” while showcasing exquisite estate grown varietals and flagship blends.



After finishing our flight of fabulous wines at Lone Madrone Winery (loved the Chenin Blanc) I had one last question for Lorraine, our tasting host, how the name Lone Madrone came about.


“The first cabernet sauvignon vineyard that Neil sourced for Lone Madrone had one madrone tree,” she said. “It has a beautiful reddish shiny bark. We have a picture of it inside.”

Lorraine, tasting host at Lone Madrone Winery, with photo of lone madrone tree in 2021
Lorraine, tasting host at Lone Madrone Winery, with photo of lone madrone tree in 2021

Instantly, my 2015 excursion to Bristols Cider House flooded my memory, especially when owner Neil Collins talked about the lone madrone photograph hanging on the wall.


Then Lorraine surprised us with samples of different ciders -- also sold at Lone Madrone.


“Cider has become quite the thing here,” she said. “It’s refreshing after a day of wine tasting.”

I was smitten by all of this, but there was more to come: Collins is also the winemaker and vineyard manager at Tablas Creek. In the late 1990s he worked a year at Chateau de Beauscatel then returned to California and Tablas Creek, where he has been ever since. Lone Madrone is Collins’ own label. His cider and wines are made at the cider house in Atascadero.


Photos hang at Lone Madrone Winery. Neil Collins (center) is winemaker at Lone Madrone and Tablas Creek
Photos hang at Lone Madrone Winery. Neil Collins (center) is winemaker at Lone Madrone and Tablas Creek

And how fitting it was that two years ago Collins received the prestigious 2019 Paso Robles Wine Industry “Person of the Year” award from the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance.


Indeed, this journey was about connecting the dots.


WHEN YOU GO:


My overnight accommodation: https://www.hotelcheval.com


For more information on Paso Robles, visit: https://www.travelpaso.com




Rose bushes at the end of vineyard row
At Lone Madrone Winery, roses at the end of vineyard rows provide early detection of disease and insects before they can affect the vines. This protective system dates to mid-19th century Europe.


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