Re-Discovering Our Inner Winos – Paso Robles, CA
At one point in our lives we were pretty dedicated winos. Living only a few hours from wine country will do that kind of thing to you, and it wasn’t just about the wine. Back then every visit to wine country was like going on a treasure hunt. The area was chock full of small family producers, many of them still hippies at heart producing select small barrel runs of their latest invention. You’d drive up there, turn a corner, walk into a teeny little place and taste their story. It was a tale of passion and love.
But this was Napa and that was over 20 years ago, and things have sure moved on since then. These days that area feels more like a big Disney attraction with super-sized wineries and too many (sadly) over-priced wines. I’m sure it’s still got some good stuff and hidden gems, but much of the heart is gone IMHO. So I missed and mourned it, hoping I would find something like it one day in the future.
Coincidentally (or not) we joined Harvest Hosts last year, but just never got around to using the membership. The concept intrigued me (staying overnight at wineries & farms), but the stops were never really on our route, and the whole 1-night only stay limit was too…well…limiting. We toyed with cancelling the membership early this year, but decided to give it another go. Much of our decision to do so was fueled by a single place -> Paso Robles.
This little non-descript wine area lies between Los Angeles and San Francisco, almost smack in the middle of the Central Coast of California. It’s far enough from each major city to retain semi-anonymity meaning there is lots of cool, hidden stuff that no-one else knows about. Or at least that was what we were hoping to find. We knew we were were going to pass through here in Spring and since Harvest Hosts had a few spots in the area we wanted to see if we could combine our love of small wineries with our love of the road. Maybe we’d even re-find the wining passion we had all those years ago?
So it was with great anticipation that we rolled into Rio Seco Winery on a beautifully sunny Saturday morning. The drive itself had been gorgeous. Miles of pleasant 2-land roads through rolling green hills, blooming flowers and rows of vines just starting to spring out from their winter hibernation. Classic stuff. Plus we’d passed at least 15 small wineries coming in, none of whom I’d ever heard about. All this was a good sign, a very good sign.
We squeezed through the somewhat narrow brick entrance, drove up the curved road and stepped out of “the beast” to take in the first panoramic view of our new backyard. I have to admit I was impressed. A pretty red tasting barn on the left with a large inviting patio and tables, endless rows of vineyards rolling towards the horizon and nothing but the sounds of tweeting birds to accompany the lot. Our hosts met us with their most-friendly (and ridiculously cute) doggie, graciously invited us to park where we wished and invited the paws and us in for a tasting right after we’d settled into place. Right on! This was clearly a family winery, and the casual atmosphere reflected that. The good signs were just piling up!
We spent the next 2 days enjoying our fabulous spot (we’d gotten permission to stay for 2 nights) and re-immersing ourselves into our long-lost wino days. It was most wine-enlightening and although our stay was technically “free”, our pocket book was lightened with a few essential buys -> a most excellent Cab Franc from Rio Seco, a delectable Rosé from Villicana and a pretty darn mind-blowing Limoncello from Re-Find Distillery. The latter was heavily endorsed by fellow RVer/blogger (and self-proclaimed Limoncello addict) Robin who, together with hubby Jeremy, 2 doggies and 2 kitties (livebreathemove.com) had randomly decided to stay at the same winery as us. So, not only did we renew our wining roots, but we made new friends too. Score!
But the best of everything was undoubtedly the discovery of Paso Robles itself. Every single spot we went to was run by small-scale producers. Families, guys & gals passionate about their products, living the thing that they love the most. Plus their stories were just fascinating and being small wineries they had the time to tell them…
“That Cabernet Franc changed my life” said the gentleman poring the taster
“Really??!” I replied, observing the fine red liquid with a new appreciation “Tell me more. I’ve got to hear that story”
The story took at least 2 glasses to tell (and needless to say, we bought the Cab Franc), but it was a captivating tale, plus it had real meaning which was perhaps the more important thing. The wineries here still have roots. Personalities and stories, mixed with the earth, lovingly fermented and bottled to share. The wines have individuality, much like the owners and there’s an atmosphere of community and experimentation, like Napa had over 20 years ago before all the “big boys” came in and commercialized it. Plus every spot we tried was dog-friendly too. What could be better than chatting with folks about their story over a glass of wine with your best furry buddy by your side?
With over 200 wineries in the region I know we merely sipped the surface here, but that small taste was enough to know we’d found our inner wino’s again. We had a spectacularly good time and will definitely be back to treasure hunt in the future. This area helped us re-discover a lost part of ourselves, and we can only hope it’ll will never change. I’ll raise a glass to that, for sure!
Bonus Note for Beer Lovers -> You can’t go through Paso Robles and miss Firestone Brewery. We enjoyed their satellite location in Buellton mere weeks ago, and even though we only had 2 days in Paso we couldn’t resist going to their main operation here too. Good lunch, good brews and a lovely dog-friendly outdoor seating area. Just do it. Nuff said.
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Oh my gosh. My husband and I go to Paso yearly on our anniversary in our fifth wheel. We adore it. I’m so glad you “found” it. Several RV parks, though a little pricey. We’ve also had a good stay at Lake Nacimiento. Love your posts!
Oh, nice tip! I’d looked at the RV parks in the area (some really nice ones), but Lake Nacimiento hadn’t shown up in my research. Thanks!
Nina
So wish we were as adventuress as you and Paul and developed a taste for wine and wine tasting. We are only 4 hours from Paso Robles, we envy your life style… Your writings are so descriptive and your travels are exciting to follow…. We are so proud to be a part of your life… Even though it is only reading…..
Nina you really need to write a book….
Safe Travels……… Lee and Shelia
Loved your comment. As you know Kim and I located in yountsville, smack in the middle of the winecountry, and as beautiful as it is, I feel just like you. Too busy, too many tourists. We found an amazing mobilehome park. Awesome small home, right price, however I still feel like I am in the adult disneyworld. Thanks for justifying my feelings. Must be the Scandinavian in us. If you come this way, we would love to see you. Nice RV park at the Napa or Calistoga fairgrounds. I love California, specially Northern California, so this is still perfect for us. Come and check it out. Would love to connect with you and Paul, and all your four legged friends.
We must have just missed you! We also stayed at Rio Seco using Harvest Hosts a couple weeks ago. It was a great stop for us as well. If you ever head back, we can recommend L’Aventure and Aaron wineries. We also picked up a couple nice bottles from Rio Seco. We’re in Napa Valley now. Definitely a different vibe here, but we’re loving St. Helena and scratching our heads about the complete lack of Harvest Hosts in the valley.
Sadly I think the over-developed wineries up in Napa just didn’t sign up to the Harvest Hosts idea. They’ve got too much visitation, and are not interested in attracting more thro the RV community. We noticed the same thing when we signed up for the membership. Zero wineries on the list in either Napa or Sonoma.
Nina
We are so glad that you were able to enjoy the wonderful experience of Harvest Hosts in Paso Robles! We have several Hosts in the area so you could probably coax a couple of more days out of one of the other ones 🙂 And you hit it on the head regarding Napa/Sonoma. The land there is very expensive and out of necessity it needs to be planted. That puts parking at a premium and if there is space for a large vehicle they prefer it to be a bus full of tourists with lots of money to spend. We do however, continue to research locations. If in your travels, you or anyone else finds a location that appears promising and they express an interest in having RVs spend the night, please contact us with their business name and we’ll do the rest! Thanks for posting about your experience and if you continue to head north in California, be sure to check out the Hosts in Mendocino County, Lake County, Anderson Valley, the Gold Country or Lodi. Great Hosts all of them!
Thanks for chiming in Kim and Don. Your explanation of Napa makes total sense, given how the region has grown. I remember the tour buses from our previous trips there (ugh!) and definitely wouldn’t want to be parking in the same area as them. It’s a shame it’s gotten so over-developed, but it’s just what it is I guess. Looking forward to seeing your HH maps grow.
Nina
This was disappointing to us too. There are a lot of small growers up there we’ve been visiting for years. They may not know about the HH program. The Healdsberg Dry Creek region is particularly nice, especially if you love Zins! We recommend Talty. They are a boutique grower and vintner with exceptional wines and Michael Talty’s story touches the heart.
Hi David & Michele, if you could pass along the names of the wineries in Napa that you think would work out for Harvest Hosts (their parking area must be able to accommodate RVs) we would be very excited to contact them. If we sign them up, we’ll make you HH Lifetime Members! Please send the names to contact@harvesthosts.com. Thanks!
Although Ron doesn’t like wine, I enjoy a glass every now and then. It would be interesting to hear the stories and feel their passion for making wine as you taste the love they’ve made. Hope that doesn’t sound creepy… Anyway, there are some small wineries in the Placerville area. Perhaps there is one or two who are Harvest Host members. We live just down the road from there near Sacramento.
LOL…nope, doesn’t sound too creepy 🙂 I totally get you.
Nina
Finding the inner Wino is a GOOD thing. When you are in Washington try the Wineries the Walla Walla area and around Richland/Pasco. Our favorite is Cooper Winery. Great Cabs, Merlots, and the barrel maker red is a pretty good daily wine. BTW if you enter into BC through Tonasket it will put you in the heart of the BC wine region. Small wineries hidden all over the place.
We DEFINITELY want to go and spend some time in Walla Walla. It was on our travel path last year, but we got diverted due to smoke (forest fires) and so we never made it. Hope to make it back there at some point. And yes, wine is definitely on the list for Canada too.
Nina
Sounds like this area is a must visit! I had the same disappointment with Napa and I look forward to visiting this area at some point. In New England I’ve enjoyed a lot of different fruit wines (blackberry, raspberry, even jalapeño) but visiting other areas with traditional wines is really something I am looking forward to.
Our Harvest Hosts experiences have been in Florida, and…for the most part…two day stays have not been an issue, Nina. While a stay can end up costing more than a campsite in an RV park, the host’s goods can be written off from the grocery and entertainment budgets. 😉
We include wine in our grocery budget too, but I had to admit the budget bloats a bit when we stay in wine country. The wise thing would probably be to separate it out (as a separate budget item), but then we’d REALLY know how much we spend on wine, and I think that would be even worse LOL. Sometimes ignorance is bliss 🙂
Nina
One of our favorite wine areas to drink will now have to be an area to visit…Thanks for a lovely and tasty post!
Great post! It sounds like a wonderful place — I’m looking forward to visiting it!
I think me and my love for wine would have a blast there. What a beautiful area too.
I love that area of California! I can’t wait to start our own Full-time RV adventure and visit all of these places! We will for sure join Harvest Hosts. What a great idea. My husband and I vacationed in Morro Bay and visited Paso Robles many years ago. Thanks for sharing your adventures!
I did the same thing this past October! Stayed in Morro Bay and did a side trip out to Paso Robles. Completely fell in love with the area and the wine!
Beautifully written, as always Nina. You’ve painted a very vivid picture of Paso Robles and we can’t wait to visit. We too finally took advantage of our Harvest Hosts membership this summer at the first and currently the only vineyard and winery on Florida’s Central East and Southeast Coast ( https://www.endlesssummerwine.com) This winery has a really cool beach vibe and a very fun atmosphere. The owners are supper friendly and the wine is, well, it’s Florida so there is a lot of fruit wines. But, wine is wine at the end of a long day of traveling. 🙂
We will definitely be including more Harvest Hosts stops in our travels.
Looks lovely!! We’re definitely going to try and hit more HH as we drive Eastwards later this year.
Nina
What a fun post! We love visiting small wineries, craft breweries, and boutique distilleries in our travels. That’s where we get our best souvenirs, too. :-)) We’ve thought about Harvest Hosts….after reading your post, I think we’ll sign up. If you ever have the chance, take a tour through southern Oregon and the Applegate Valley — many gorgeous small wineries and fabulous wines.
Hmmmm….Applegate Valley. That’s a new one for me. I will definitely look it up! We’ve enjoyed several of the wine regions in Oregon (including McMinnville area) over the years, but haven’t been to that one. SOoooo many places to disover!
Nina
Love following your travels. If you ever get to Colorado the Grand Junction/Palisade area has many small great wineries. If you love hiking or mountain biking this is the place to come, also on your way stop in the Moab, Utah area it is gorgeous!
Wineries in Grand Junction? How did we miss that!! We’ve traveled thro’ there a few times over the years (loooove James M Robb in Fruita, plus the Colorado National Monument), but just didn’t notice the wine aspect of it all. Yet another reason to go back!
Nina
Even though I can’t drink wine, I would love to hear the stories from the small wineries. It is always fun to listen to the love:) Sounds like a great two days:)
Wonderful post on a lovely area. We had to cancel our first HH stop at that winery on our maiden voyage because of high temps, but we sure want to get back there now! There is just something so romantic about wineries and vineyards and the vintners always have such lovely stories – sounds like a perfect couple days 🙂
Totally agree. Vineyards (and wine) just bring out the romance in me. Of course, Paul and I spent a lot of time around wine when we first met so I’ve got those “early love” memories to add to the allure. It’s all good 🙂
Nina
Hi Nina: We live in San Clemente and regularly take our RV, or ride our Harley’s up to the Central Coast. We love to stay in the Pismo or Morro Bay area and then go into Paso during the day for a little wine tasting. Our favorites are Niner and Daou wineries. Tobin James is a fun, casual place to stop for every-day type wines. If you are still in the area, don’t miss the Farmers Market in SLO every Thursday – lots of organic produce and other wonderful goodies. The Central Coast is a fabulous area with so much to do!!
Excellent tips! More to add to our list for our next visit. Thank you!
Nnia
Great post! We arrived at Rio Seco New Year’s Eve and spent 3 nights parked there. Carol even invited us to a New Year’s Eve party they were having at the little house. They had lived in the Toronto area (where we’re from) as her husband was the scout for the Toronto Blue Jays when they won the World Series. Just love meeting and chatting up the folks whenever we use Harvest Host. Paso definitely is a lovely area – could easily have stayed a couple of weeks!
What a great stay you had! The family at Rio Seco is indeed wonderful. We were there over Easter weekend and they actually invited us to celebrate with them which was way above and beyond. They were so inviting and friendly. Great first Harvest Host experience, for sure.
Nina
Glad you enjoyed my hometown-at least this is where we live now! Love it here
Sweet spot to call home!
Nina
In your travels near Michigan later this year, you might want to check out the Niagara wine growing region. Very scenic and lots of small wineries. Not sure if you’re bike riders, but you can make a loop wine tour on bikes. The only drawback is carrying all the wine you’ll want to buy! Here’s a link:
http://niagarawinetrail.org/
Very nice tip!! We love biking, and love it even more when we can pair it with either brews or wine. Thank you!
Nina
We just drove through there on the way to Marina, CA and it was beautiful. Wish we could have spent more time. Great story and pictures. We haven’t had Harvest Hosts in a while, looks like we will have to revisit that too.
We gave up on Napa 16 years ago and have been visiting Paso almost every year since, including last year, our first in an RV. When we first started going there were about 60 wineries and it was really casual, thankfully it has retained most of that. The area took a different tact featuring the Rhone varietals and have done a great job. Before your next visit we would be happy to be a winery and restaurant resource. There are so many good wineries that nobody has ever heard of and their wines never see a store shelf. GSM rocks, Cheers
Oh I’ll definitely touch base for some recommendations! I was honestly surprised by how MANY producers there were in Paso Robles. I knew there were quite a few, but I didn’t expect hundreds! There was literally a winery on every corner.
Nina
Love love love Paso! Have been going since they were the size of Los Olivos. A great day trip is to head to the coast and enjoy the town of Cayucos. Busy on weekends but quietly nice weekdays. Cheers
if you can make it in your Fall plans through Michigan to get to the southwest area (St joseph, Coloma, Buchanan) you will find a very similar area to what you have described in Paso Robles and you will also get the bonus of an abundance of micro breweries and distilleries. Spent a lot of time in Napa 30 years ago and then again 10 years ago – I echo your comments.
Love your blog and have been reading for two years – full time since November. Thanks for sharing.
Garry and Theresa Cook
Sounds perfectly yummy and right up our alley! Thanks for the tip!
Nina
Gorgeous picture of the vineyards and hills in the background!
I know you had to miss Walla Walla on your last trip east but what you describe above is why you have to try to get there sometime and why we love Walla Walla – wonderful wine country without the Disney aspect that has infected Napa. We too were astounded when we hit Napa – as our first real stop as full-timers – had just changed too much and become too too pretentious.
Yeah, we really wish we’d made it to Walla Walla last year. Don’t know if we’ll be able to make it thro’ this year either, but we’ll see. I really DO want to spend some time to explore that area.
Nina
My wife and I both went to Cal Poly SLO several years ago (70’s). Paso has grown so much since then. An example: I remember reading in the SOL paper that a gas station in Paso Robles was robbed, by a guy holding a knife, one Sat night. The guy on duty called the sheriffs office. The only deputy on duty at the time, locked up the station and hopped in his car and then found the guy heading south on HWY 101. He pulled him over and made the arrest. Paso Robles has grown quite a bit since then!
We love your writing…
What an interesting story! Wonder if I’ll be lamenting the “over-growth” of Paso in 20 years time? Sure don’t hope so, but you never know.
Nina
If you have not passed this area, I highly recommend exploring Sonoma County.
Sebastopol, Healdsburg and Geyserville are filled with small, family wineries. Try Westside Rd, Dry Creek Rd and West Dry Creek Rd. It does not get better than that for variety of wines and scenery.
There are also a number of highly regarded micro breweries and a few distilleries.
The area is gorgeous this time of year.
Ah yes Sonoma. We have many fond memories of that area, especially some of their smaller “hidden” wineries (although it’s been many years since we went there). We’ll see if we’re able to get over there again. Cheers very much for the recommendations too.
Nina
Wow you are 10 miles south of me.
Not sure where you are staying but I could offer free parking on my beautiful property located between Cotati and Sebastopol. Fenced dog friendly rural spot.
Water available but not power or dump.
Email if interested otherwise enjoy our area.
Nice post and beautiful pictures! This is timely for us as we are also HH members and have Rio Seco on our list of overnights heading north from San Diego next week. We stayed 2 nights at Tobin James last time and that was wonderful. We generally love the Paso region and wines.
The Harvest Host program is great and the hosts seem to really appreciate RVers. It’s a nice way to have more intimate connection with the wineries too.
Excellent! I’m certain you will enjoy your stay there.
Nina
For some reason I have lost my connection to your blog (as of 3/31) and the WordPress site seems to only wish to sell me something without providing a way to regain access.
Suggestions?
Very strange. I didn’t change anything and there’s no charge or anything like that associated with the e-mail delivery. WordPress *might* ask you for a free account sign-up (?) but it’s been a long time since I did it, and I don’t remember that being a requirement before. If you have an RSS feed you can definitely add my blog to that, and it shouldn’t ask you to do anything. Or if you have a 2nd email address I’d try with that.
Nina