Paso Robles, California: Cheese, winery tour, and wine reserve tasting - Day 2

As the morning sunshine starts to peak through the windows, the aroma of bacon and eggs slowly start to rise through the hotel as the kitchen starts to prepare the breakfast spread in the Indulge Restaurant downstairs. The breakfast buffet opens at 7am. The breakfast buffet includes bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, waffles, pancakes, danishes, muffins, English muffins, toast, fresh fruit, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, coffee, juice, soda, and more.

• Savings Tip: Hot breakfast buffet is complimentary to hotel guests.

After breakfast, a great way to plan for a day in the wine country is to procure some food items that will complement your wine tasting. Only a few wineries have an on-site restaurant so being prepared with a picnic lunch of sandwiches, cheeses, bread, and/or charcuterie is a great way to enjoy your time and savor the flavors of the wine. Vivant Fine Cheese is located in Downtown Paso Robles and opens at 10am daily. The staff can assist you with picking out the best cheeses to pair with your wine tastings and prepare a picnic lunch to take with you. Here are some cheeses you might want to pick up:

Central Coast Creamery’s Ewenique is a hand-crafted sheep’s milk cheese. Each wheel is aged a minimum of four months. It has an ivory-white color with earthy and sweet flavors. It tastes like a combination of aged parmesan reggiano and Swiss. It pairs well with buttery white and light red wines. Goat Cheddar is made from 100% whole goat milk. It is a semi-hard white cheddar cheese with a smooth, velvety texture. This would pair well with a Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay.

Alcea Rosea Farm’s Templeton Gap is a soft-ripened cheese that is aged three to six weeks. The texture varies from velvety creaminess to a spreadable nougat. The flavor is rich and buttery on the palate. It would pair well with a wine with berry notes like a Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. Marinated Chevre is fresh chevre marinated in Olea Farm EVOO, spices, and organic herbs grown at Alcea Rosea Farm. The fruity notes of the olive oil complement the tanginess of the cheese. It is beautifully packaged. This would pair well with a Sauvignon Blanc.

Once you have your food items situated, you’re ready to take a drive in Paso Robles wine country. Once you leave the downtown area, the road opens up to rolling hills, oak trees arching above the road, and vineyards as far as the eye can see.

JUSTIN Vineyards and Winery is a beautiful place to stop for wine tasting, lunch, and a winery tour. The tasting room and restaurant stands out like a contemporary ranch house amongst the surrounding vineyards. Row upon row of vines stretch across the land and hills like fine stitch work. If you decide to stay for lunch, here are a few suggestions from the menu:

A great way to try the wines while enjoying a meal is with a flight. The White Wine Flight includes 2014 JUSTIN Sauvignon Blanc, 2014 JUSTIN Rosé, and 2013 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay. The Sauvignon Blanc has a pear nose. Green apple and peach flavors are experienced on the palate with a light, clean finish. Rating: 3.5/5. The Rosé has a blackberry and cherry aroma. Strawberry and grapefruit flavors are experienced on the palate with a nice, clean finish. Rating: 4.5/5. The Chardonnay has a white grape and pear aroma. White grape, pear, floral, and mineral flavors experienced on the palate. Rating: 2.5/5

Windrose Farm Lamb Tartare is topped with garden greens, preserved lemon aioli, and crostini. This was a fantastic take on tartare. The lamb was sweet and minced perfectly. The use of shaved egg yolk added a richness to the dish without the mess of a runny egg yolk. The fresh greens from the garden paired nicely. Rating: 4.5/5

JUSTIN Fries are tossed with truffle salt, parmesan, and JUSTIN fine herb blend. The fries were light and crispy. The truffle flavor was just right so the parmesan and herbs could shine as well. Rating: 4.5/5

Bucatini Pasta tossed with Alle-Pia sausage, wild mushrooms, bitter greens, smoked butter, and parmesan. This was an excellence lunch dish, light yet satisfying. The sauce had a rich creamy texture. The flavors of the succulent mushrooms and lean, meaty sausage balanced perfectly with the sauce and pasta. Rating: 4.5/5

JUSTIN Brownies topped with caramel, cocoa nibs, and served with lemon balm ice cream. The brownie was served warm with rich, decadent chocolate flavor. Caramel sauce made the dish more luxurious. The lemon balm ice cream was refreshing with unexpected herbal notes. It was different and made a nice contrast to the brownie. Rating: 3.8/5

After lunch, a walking tour is a great way to burn some calories. JUSTIN Vineyards and Winery offers tours of their facility. Be sure to call ahead for a reservation as the tours are limited to 10 people per tour. Our tour guide, Larry, took us around the winery, showing us the machinery used to mill and press the grapes during harvest and the large stainless steel tanks used for the fermentation process. He then walked us through the caves where the different wines are aged in French Oak barrels. You will also be tasting wine along the way – Rosé, Merlot, Petit Syrah, and Reserve. You’ll also notice that scattered around the vineyard are poles with metal boxes on top. They sort of look like large bird houses. They are homes for the owls who rid the vineyards of rodents and snakes. They let nature take on the job of pest control so chemical pesticides are not used.

After the tour, head back to the tasting room to sample and purchase your favorite wines. Take a walk around the on-site vegetable garden where they grow the produce that is ultimately going to end up on your plate in the restaurant – kale, different varieties of lettuce, edible flowers, Swiss chard, and more. Lady bugs and praying mantis are also natural pest controllers and are on patrol here as well.

A great way to make a road trip more fun is to schedule a vacation during a festival. Paso Robles has many throughout the year. One of the largest is the Paso Robles Wine Festival and takes place at City Park in Downtown Paso Robles. At the Reserve event, wineries share a single wine with the public from one of these categories: library wines, reserve, white/rosé, or futures. There is also a great mix of local restaurants serving up bites that pair well with the different wines served.

Villa Creek Restaurant served up scallop in a mignonette on the half shell. The scallop was sweet. The mignonette had the perfect balance of acidity for a balanced bite. Rating: 5/5

Thomas Hill Organics served up Brioche Toast Points topped with cold smoked king salmon, crème fraiche, chive batons, and white sturgeon caviar. Since having the Cold Smoke Salmon Sandwich the day before, we knew that this was going to be great. The salmon was buttery and so soft. The crème fraiche added a little creaminess. The caviar added the right amount of salty flavor for a balanced bite. Rating: 5/5

The Kitchen at Niner Wine Estates served up Three Cheese Bisque with poblanos, chorizo, and pimento. The soup was thick and creamy. It could have been a little spicier to cut through the cheese flavors. Rating: 4/5. They also served up their Future Cabernet Sauvignon straight from the barrel. It was very young with a very light flavor and still a bit sweet like grape juice. Can’t wait to try it once it is ready!

Vivant Fine Cheese served up Goat Cheese drizzled with TheraBee Infused Culinary Honey with Thai Chile   and Central Coast Creamery’s Ewenique sheep milk cheese. The goat cheese was soft and velvety. The thai chile honey gave it more depth with a sweet and spicy kick. Rating: 5/5.

Seaventure Restaurant served up Prosciutto and Artichoke Flatbread. The flatbread had more flavor than expected and overpowered the ingredients inside. Maybe a tortilla with a more muted flavor would allow the prosciutto and artichoke to shine through. Rating: 3/5

The Farm Winery served up 2010 Cardinal. This wine comes from very old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a beautiful dark ruby hue. The aroma of dark cherry comes through. Blackberry, black currant, vanilla, dark chocolate and licorice flavor are experienced on the palate. Rating: 5/5

Robert’s Restaurant served up Beef Stroganoff. This would have been better if the meat was mixed into the sauce. The sauce on its own was very bland. Rating: 3/5

Paso Catering Co. served up Croque Monsieur (gruyere cheese and black forest ham “sammies”). Served like an open-face sandwich with gooey gruyere on the top and in the middle, it had the perfect flavor notes for pairing with wine – buttery cheese and smoky, salty ham. Rating: 5/5

Panolivo served up Mini Desserts (Lemon Tarts, Vanilla Puff, Chocolate Éclair, and Chocolate Cake). The lemon tart was slightly tart and had an amazing crust. The chocolate éclair was filled with chocolate mousse and the chocolate ganache was to die for! The chocolate cake was layered with light chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache. These desserts were just amazing! A cup of cappuccino would have really hit the spot. Rating: 5/5

Jeffry’s Catering served up Southwestern Style Meatballs (made with locally raised grass fed beef & ground pork, black beans, corn, tomatoes, garlic, and onions simmered in a red pepper-tomato sauce) with Cilantro-Brown Rice Salad (made with organic brown rice salad with cilantro-lime vinaigrette). The meatball was pretty good but needed more seasoning inside the meat mixture. The red pepper tomato sauce was excellent. It would be perfect on pasta. The brown rice salad was good, but did not really pair with the meatball. The rice salad would be better paired with poultry or seafood. Rating: 3.5/5

Apple Farm served up Burrata cheese with tomato confit, EVOO and 18 year aged balsamic vinegar. It was almost dessert-like with the sweetness from the tomato confit and aged balsamic vinegar. The burrata added a cloud-like creaminess. Rating: 5/5

A day of merriment with fine foods and drinks, made for a relaxed nap back at the hotel. After a light snooze, we slowly making our way downstairs. We opted for a late dinner at Indulge as we knew there were a few more items that we wanted to try on the dinner menu.

Beautiful brioche rolls with honey lime butter were served. The bread was eggy and tore with ease. The butter tasted more herbal than honey lime. A tad more honey would bring the lime flavor forward. Rating: 4.5/5

Carrot Ginger Soup was reminiscent of butternut squash soup. It was rich, succulent, and more on the savory side with a refreshing peppery zing. Rating 4/5

Mary’s Free-Range Duck Breast is served with risotto of the day, and arugula salad. The duck was cooked perfectly with golden brown skin, and tender on the inside. You can tell when duck is cooked correctly as the fat between the skin and meat will render. Although the skin wasn’t crispy, it was delicious! The risotto, however, needed a bit more liquid in it as it was a little too dry. The arugula added a refreshing peppery kick to the mix. Rating: 4.5/5

Cheryl’s Burger is a half-pound beef patty topped with lettuce, avocado, prosciutto, goat cheese, and a sunny side egg atop a brioche bun served with French fries. The patty was a good size and flavorful but the burger needed a sauce, maybe chipotle aioli, sweet chili sauce, or balsamic aioli to balance out the all the other overpoweringly savory ingredients. Otherwise, this is a really good burger. Rating 4/5

Experiencing Paso Robles’ food and wine culture was an amazing journey! Tomorrow, we head out on a new adventure, but can’t wait to plan our next visit to Paso Robles.

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For more information:

The Oaks Hotel and Indulge

3000 Riverside Ave

Paso Robles, CA 93446

+1.888.298.4141 (Hotel)

+1.805.237.8700 (Restaurant)

Restaurant hours: Wednesday through Monday from 5pm to 9pm (closed on Tuesday)

Vivant Fine Cheese

821 Pine St Ste B

Paso Robles, CA 93446

+1.805.226.5530

Hours: Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 5pm; Friday and Saturday from 10am to 6pm

JUSTIN Vineyards and Winery

11680 Chimney Rock Rd

Paso Robles, CA 93446

+1.805.238.6932

Tasting Room Hours: Daily from 10am to 4:30pm

Restaurant Hours: Dinner served Tuesday through Saturday with seatings at 6pm, 6:30pm, and 7pm (reservation only); Lunch served Friday and Saturday from 11am to 2pm; Brunch served Sunday from 11am to 2pm

Paso Robles Wine Festival

Save the Date for May 19, 2016! Tickets for next year’s event will be available in December 2015.

Trip was sponsored in part by Travel Paso.