The End of the Line…last bit of Bodega Bay and Paso Robles Wineries

Our last day in Bodega Bay we hiked a trail called the Pinnacle Gulch Trail which passes through a break in the mountains and ends at a small beach on Bodega Bay. The trail runs through a residential area; it is built into the side of the mountain and surrounded by fields of shrubs and grasses and wildflowers.

From Bodega Bay we headed to Paso Robles for our final stop of this trip.

While in town we visited 6 wineries and 1 downtown tasting room. I’ve been going to Paso Robles for more than 7 years now and I’m amazed every time I visit by how much it has grown and how the wine industry there continues to evolve.

As was the case when we visited Sonoma, I did quite a bit of research in advance of our trip to Paso Robles to select the wineries we would visit. Generally, I was a bit disappointed with the larger, more well known and highly regarded wineries, and pleasantly surprised by the lesser known ones that remain a bit under the radar.

The most consistently good wine we tasted in Paso Robles came from two places: the first, a winery I had not heard of before our trip, called Midnight Cellars and the second, a downtown tasting room I’ve visited once before, called CaliPaso.

Midnight Cellars has actually been making wine for decades; the history of the winery can be found on their website and its a fun read if you are interested. The building in which the tasting room and winery are located is rather modest and is adjacent to the smaller of their two vineyards. The outdoor space in the back of the building is beautifully landscaped, with terraced gardens and several different seating areas and a stage. The stage is used for acoustic performances on weekend afternoons and for a special Sunday night concert series held at the winery from August through October, which looks like it might be worth attending. I’ve got the inside scoop on that if anyone is interested.

As for the wines, everything we tasted was well done, balanced, and worth drinking, and the price point was very reasonable. Midnight Cellars produces a wide variety of wines, including Grenache, Syrah, Zinfandel, several blends and unusual varietals like Tannat and Petite Verdot. I was particularly impressed with these two, which can be really intense as single varietals, but in the hands of their winemaker, they were rich, earthy and delicious without being overpowering. I bought a bottle of each.

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Another of our favorite Paso wineries on this trip, especially of Frank’s, was Lone Madrone. I loved the name before I had any idea of its significance, and once I was told the story of the name, I loved it even more. Summary version: The owner was once a vineyard laborer in the area, and there was a single Madrone tree (I have no idea what a Madrone tree is) on the property, under which the workers would gather for shade during breaks and meals. The tree became a symbol of rest, comfort and unity for the man and his fellow workers. He would tell people that, if he ever had a vineyard of his own, he would name it Lone Madrone.

So, eventually the man achieved his dream and Lone Madrone was established. To me, several of their wines were good but the rest were just okay . It could be that the wines were a bit young or high in alcohol for my taste; we did buy a few bottles, so I’ll try them again at home to see if my assessment changes. The winemaker is very well known for his work at a much larger & well known winery; apparently there is a sharing arrangement between the two wineries. We discovered that this is not uncommon in Paso Robles, which I didn’t know anything about until this visit. Lone Madrone produces a wide variety of wines at a moderate price point and the setting of the tasting room is lovely. Patio seating is in the front of the building and there is a vineyard across the street, providing a beautiful view.

We also visited Denner Vineyards, which is a very well known and highly regarded winery on the west side of Paso Robles. They were recently the featured winery at a dinner hosted by The Winery Restaurant in Newport Beach, which is an amazing restaurant, heavily focused on wine, with an enormous glass encased wine room in the middle of the restaurant and the most comprehensive wine list I’ve ever seen. I considered that to be a significant endorsement.

We first tasted a White Rhone blend, which was absolutely sensational (and you know I’m not a big white wine fan). It was crisp and balanced and had a wonderful finish. I also really enjoyed their Zinfandel, and we purchased both. However, as we proceeded down the tasting menu, the wines were very young and very high in alcohol and very expensive and I just didn’t think they were particularly good. I could smell and taste the alcohol as though it was a separate and distinct component, which is not the way great wine is supposed to be. Frank felt like a bit of age may make these wines worthy of revisiting and he may be right. Still, I was a bit disappointed, but the property was lovely and the service was excellent. I’ll probably go back again sometime to see if things have improved.

We visited two other wineries that I’ll mention briefly: J Dusi and Cordant. I have mixed feelings about both of them so I can’t necessarily recommend them but I purchased wine from both so I guess I found something I liked. Each was the last winery of the day on days when we visited three wineries, so that could have some bearing on my perception and recollection, or lack thereof.

Finally, on our last night in town, I went to the CaliPaso tasting room in downtown Paso Robles, which stays open until 7 or 8 PM, depending upon the night of the week. The server allowed me to select the wines I wanted to taste and I enjoyed every one of them, so much so that I ended up joining the wine club. In addition to Grenache and a Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, I purchased a Touriga Nacional and a Tinta Cao, both of which are very hard to find Portuguese red wine grapes varieties that are used to make Port and can sometimes be found in red blends. They were both sensational and I can’t wait to enjoy them.

So, that’s the end of the trip. We returned home on Monday, June 24. But not to worry. We’ll be on the road again in a few short weeks.