We are planning to visit Paso in October and we wanted to see if there were any recs for wineries, etc in the area?

Haven't been but one of my best friends is friends with Gary Kramer. If you're familiar with 80s guitars that is the Gary Kramer of Kramer guitars. His most famous and it's owner is attached. He owns Gary Kramer Guitar Cellars. My buddy visits him and stays there a couple of times a year.

I have no idea if the quality of his product.

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https://www.garykramerguitarcellars.com/

There is a place called Sycamore Springs with hot spring water fed hot tubs on the side of a hill, all very private and spaced apart on a trail up the hillside. Go at night, BYOB. It's awesome.

I like San Luis Obisbo a lot (wife went to college there). Great downtown with dining/bar options. I can't remember any specifically. Also a mission that is worth visiting.

Pismo Beach and Morro Bay are really pretty. It can be really cold even in the summer.

Calcareous and Law have great wines plus beautiful facilities. Calcareous probably has the better view but Law has a stunning facility.

Frankie & Lola's at Morro Bay is worth a morning trip. Plus the drive there is nice.

If you get the morning flight in, Mr Pickle (in San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, and Paso) is a quick affordable lunch that's better than most chain sandwich shops.

Robert Hall has some very good wines,

For beer, Firestone Walker has some really good beer and the brewery has some great food too. Can get very crowded so get their early if possible

Here is a good list of wineries
Paso Robles Wineries

BigfootYancey said:

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Pismo Beach and Morro Bay are really pretty. It can be really cold even in the summer.

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Can confirm. Morro Bay was a chilly 62 degrees at 3pm.

I work in the Central Coast area. I'm convinced You cannot find a bad winery here. If you make the trip a bit further south, I really recommend a trip to Los Olivos/Santa Ynez/Solvang.

I live out here and concur with all that's been said. Los Olivos to the south is a big time stop for wine folks but can and often does turn into a drunken **** show on the weekends. I'm by no means a wine snob but we joined Presquile and really enjoy it. Good wine (Syrah is my favorite) and really pretty tasting area, you can sometimes see all the way out to the ocean on a really clear day. https://presquilewine.com/

For beer Firestone barrel room in Buellton or the OG spot in Paso are both good stops. My go to is valley brewers/the back room in Solvang. It's a beer store up front with probably the best selection in the area, a home brew shop, and a membership tap room in the back. If they're not at capacity and Sandy (the proprietor) deems you to be good people she will let you buy a "day pass" for 5 bucks to go drink. She's a trip and real fun to talk to. If you wind up going tell her the tall Texan sent you.

If you're able to time it right watching a launch is a pretty cool experience. The last Delta IV heavy is currently scheduled for 24 Sept but there's always a decent chance that it slips to the right. Firefly is launching their second rocket on Sunday after their first was terminated and blown up a year ago after an issue with the first stage and started tumbling. SpaceX is working toward having a launch every other week and they're getting close.

I'd personally avoid pismo as it's often a **** show, we much prefer Avila.

Los Alamos is a cool little food town, https://www.bellsrestaurant.com/ is a Michelin star restaurant there if you are into French. I'm not adventurous enough to do the dinner menu but their steak frites on the lunch menu is damn good. There's also a BBQ guy here, Nick Priedite who runs a BBQ pop up behind Bells a couple times a month that is really damn good bbq, some of the best I've had out here. I'd put it up against many of the top 50 spots back home. https://www.prieditebbq.com/

Oh yea, also surprisingly enough Oct is often one of the warmest months here on the central coast.

Another rec for Los Olivos.

As far as wineries Daou has an awesome setup overlooking the whole valley. I really liked Justin's wines as well.

We stayed at the paso roble inn. Right at the square and each room has a hot stub that is spring fed.

Austin's Hope, Daou & LeCouvier (sp?) are really good. Stay at the Paso Robles Inn & there's a lot of local restaurants right across the street. There's also a cool speakeasy downtown as well. We really like Paso Robles!

Love Paso - A few of my favorite wineries:

Villa Creek, Adelaida, Daou, Jada, Linne Calodo, Clos Solene, Booker, Denner, Austin Hope

Pack a sandwich and chips from Red Scooter Deli before heading out. Go to the speak easy behind Pappy Mcgregor's

For dinners - BL Brasserie is a really good French spot. Yanagi if you like sushi. The Hatch for more comfort foods and craft cocktails.

Enjoy

Pirate04 said:

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BigfootYancey said:

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Pismo Beach and Morro Bay are really pretty. It can be really cold even in the summer.

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Can confirm. Morro Bay was a chilly 62 degrees at 3pm.

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South facing beaches, like avila, cayucos, and pismo are significantly warmer with more sun than north facing beaches, which are cooler with more wind and cloud cover. I've spent a ton of time in all those towns and San Luis Obispo, and it's amazing how consistent this is. I love all those beach towns for different reasons, but if you want warm and sunny, Morro isn't the place for you. That said, I adore Morro and would live there in a heartbeat. I spent many many days playing with my dog on that beach and have so many happy memories from my time there.

To be honest, I can't think of a more perfect place than central coast of california based on scenery and weather. The people, on the other hand, well…that's relative. And San Luis Obispo is definitely going downhill. Tons of homeless now and downtown is dirtier and not as welcoming compared to pre-covid years. I tend to spend most of my time in pismo, Morro, and cayucos.

Regardless, one of my favorite areas. And hard to go wrong.

Thank you all for the suggestions. We went in October and had an amazing visit. I'll try to give the best highlights that I can on each area.

Wineries Visited during trip:

Lone Madrone (Friendly Staff)
J Dusi (Great Zins)
Adelaida (Beautiful Property)
Firestone Walker Brewery
Tablas Creek (Knowledgeable staff)
Daou (Great Views, Food Served)
Calcareous Vineyards (Great Views, Food served)
Hearst Castle Winery (Ocean Front Views)
Chamisal Vineyards (SLO) (Great Wine and Staff)
Saucelito Canyon (SLO) (Skip this place)
Biddle Ranch Vineyards (SLO) (Nice Tasting Room)


The highlights for us in Paso were:

Sensorio light exhibit
Hearst Castle
Elephant Seals (just down the road from Hearst Castle)

We stayed at the Stables Inn located in downtown Paso. It was a cute property, but it did have a noisy air conditioner.


The highlights for us in Pismo Beach were:

Guiseppes (great Italian food, but they do not take reservations. We went across the street to the wine tasting room and waited there)
Splash Cafe for the clam chowder
Pismo Beach Pier was a nice walk

The stayed at Vespera Hotel on the beach and it was one of the nicer Marriott properties we have visited in a long time.