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Alta Colina winery in Paso Robles – It’s the reds!

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Alta Colina winery

Alta Colina winery in Paso Robles on Adelaida Road

Alta Colina winery

New since our last visit to Paso Robles in 2014 is the Alta Colina winery on the scenic wine country backroad of Adelaida Road. We had a very pleasant mid afternoon at Alta Colina winery enjoying a picnic lunch and sipping a delightful Rhone red blend. The new tin structure, which you can see from the photo, opened at the beginning of this year. The winery is owned by the Tillman Family. Bob Tillman found this property in 2003 and began his quest for making the finest Rhone-style wines in Paso Robles. The vines are high above Adelaida Road on a hillside, thus the name of the winery Alta Colina (high hill). The winery was completely sold out of all the white wines, so we had no chance to taste or review those wines. Obviously, they must be popular. In just a few days they will begin to bottle the 2014 vintage of the white wines. We were able to taste the red wines, and we can aptly review them as big, bold and beautiful. We tasted the four red wines produced at Alta Colina, the GSM, Toasted Slope Syrah, the Old 900 Syrah and the Petite Sirah. They were all 2011 vintage, and alcohol levels edged over the 15% mark. The wines rest in French Oak barrels in 60-gallon and 120-gallon sizes. We must say in tasting the wines, neither the high alcohol nor the heavy presence of oak was detected. The wines are rich in aroma and character, with a generous rounded mouth feel. The GSM, no doubt, was our favorite wine. The red wines we tasted ranged in price from $45 to $55. The winery has two Tesla Electric Vehicle charging stations, but plans to remake one of those into a standard EV charging station. One of the best ideas in the Paso Robles wine zoning laws is to allow wineries to offer wines by the glass. Alta Colina does just that. Their picnic area is very comfortable and the views across the way are of the beautiful hillside vineyards of the Denner Winery. Currently, the Alta Colina winery is opened Thursday to Monday, from 11am to 4pm.

Additional Paso Robles wine country details

Alta Colina Winery Slide Show

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Wine Country Backroad Vineyard Drive Paso Robles

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Rangeland on the Paso Robles backroad near Vineyard Drive

Wine Country Backroad Vineyard Drive Paso Robles

This is another great wine backroad through the beautiful countryside of Paso Robles heading to the west toward the Pacific Ocean. This is the Vineyard Drive wine country backroad. Along the way, you not only see wineries and vineyards but an array of oak woodland forests and grasslands. To begin this wine country getaway, leave downtown Paso Robles and head south on Highway 101 to the Highway 46 West exit toward Cambria.  Drive along Highway 46 West four and a half miles and turn right onto Vineyard Drive. On the map below, you will see the pin drops for several wineries you can visit. However, for this trip let’s just pick three very different wineries,  all making great wines. At the Thacher Winery, winemaker Sherman Thacher is making some delicious Rhone-styles wines plus other exciting red wine blends. The interesting tidbit at Thacher is that Sherman Thacher is a former brewmaster. Now Sherman is a rising winemaker. Next is Tablas Creek Vineyard. This is the winery in Paso Robles that determined that this western location of Paso Robles was best suited for growing Rhone grapes. It is historic and worth the drive to see this winery. Tablas Creek also has a nursery where they grow and sell cuttings of various Rhone grapevines. The final stop on this wonderful backroad excursion is Rangeland wines. You definitely need an appointment to visit and receive detailed directions. Rangeland is not too far as the crow flies from Tablas Creek. Getting there, however, is tricky but a beautiful and a rewarding jaunt. Once at Rangeland you will be able to taste some amazing wines. The Cabernet Sauvignon is outstanding , but every Rangeland wine we tasted was a wonderful delight. At the Rangeland Ranch, cattle and sheep are grass fed and you can buy meats here to go along with the delicious wine. Check the Rangeland Website for complete details on wine tasting and buying the grass-feed meats.

Vineyard Drive wine country map

Important Paso Robles details

Castoro Cellars in Paso Robles

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castoro-pasorobles

Castoro Cellars in Paso Robles is an old standby winery

Paso Robles wine country has 200 plus wineries to visit. How does one decide on a weekend visit which of these wineries are the best to visit? Take it from two seasoned Paso Robles wine country travelers. We have taken many trips since 2001 to Paso Robles. For us, it is a 200-mile drive from our home on the San Francisco Peninsula and one well worth the drive.  We have seen many changes and many big and palatial wineries open. But some things remain constant for us and one of those is Castoro Cellars. Castoro Cellars in Paso Robles is an old-standby winery and one you should put on your list to visit when in Paso Robles wine country. We like many things about Castoro: It is one of the oldest in Paso Robles with a starting date of 1983. It has a lovely scenic picnic area that overlooks the Castoro Vineyards. We also like the tasting room atmosphere. It is always friendly and fun. We have visited on several occasions and have yet to encounter any hifalutin wine snobbery. Castoro makes many labels from inexpensive to the high end, with something for every wine taste. The winery is family owned and practices sustainable farming. All the wines are made from estate-grown grapes. The current winemaker is Tom Myers and he’s been there since 1991. Finally, we like the convenient location of the winery. From downtown Paso Robles, jump on Hwy. 101 South and exit at Hwy. 46 West towards Cambria. Very soon, you’ll see Bethel Road and Castoro signage. We always pack a picnic lunch when visiting Castoro; the serenity is just too good to pass up. There are many other wineries along Highway 46 that are close to Castoro. Here is a list of our favorite wineries near Castoro.

Additional Paso Robles wine country details

Meet Tobin James

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meet Tobin James

This is Tobin James – the man behind the Tobin James winery in Paso Robles

Meet Tobin James

Back in August on the Wine Bloggers pre-conference trip,  Janelle and I met winery owner and winemaker Tobin James out at the Dusi Ranch where he buys many of his grapes for his label, Tobin James Cellars. We would like you to meet Tobin James because he is a character and lover of wine and life. This is all reflected in his tasting room on Highway 46 East, just about eight miles from downtown Paso Robles. The tasting room is a saloon style atmosphere. You almost feel like a real cowboy as you saunter up to the bar. No one takes themselves seriously at Tobin James Cellars; it is all fun and wackiness. Each time we’ve been in the tasting room, the place has been mobbed. It just shows how comfortable people feel in a casual atmosphere. There is absolutely no wine snobbery going on at Tobin James. The Tobin James wine club has a serious following, and many of the wines made by Tobin James go exclusively to the wine club. There are still plenty of different wines available for visitors in the tasting room. Tobin James makes so many different varietals, it is hard to imagine how it is done. However, it is Zinfandel where Tobin James rules. They make several from many different vineyards and in different styles. If you like big, bold, and fruit forward Zinfandel, you are bound to find several to your liking at Tobin James. Here is one Zinfandel label that very much sums up the Zinfandel style, “Fat Boy” Zinfandel. The tasting room is open daily from 10am to 6 pm. Check the Tobin James Website for the latest information and happenings: Tobin James.

Additional information on the Paso Robles wine country

Highway 46 East Wine Route – wineries close to Tobin James
Dining in Paso Robles  – best restaurants in town
Paso Robles wine map  – more wine routes in Paso

Tablas Creek Tasting Room

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tablas creek tasting room

Two wineries worlds apart with similar terroir

About Tablas Creek Tasting Room and Winery

Deep into the west side of Paso Robles we find this winery producing exciting Rhone style wines. The trek to the winery from Highway 101 in Paso Robles is through some very pretty backroads and very much worth the effort of getting to the Tablas Creek tasting room and winery. Tablas Creek has a most interesting history. The Perrin Family, owners of the famed Domaine de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf de Pape, France, visited California to meet their importer Robert Haas. The Perrin Family thought that in California there must be a spot, a growing area, similar to what they had in Chateauneuf de Pape. They found similar climate and soil conditions (limestone) in this western area of Paso Robles. They formed a partnership with Robert Haas to create Tablas Creek. The most important ingredient to this mix were the grapes. In California in the 1980’s there were no Rhone varieties of grapes they could use. And so they began the tedious task of bringing over cuttings from their Rhone winery to plant. Around the Tablas Creek tasting room deck area, visitors can view  several of the original vines brought to the U.S. Tablas Creek maintains a nursery on the property and provides cuttings for a variety of wineries throughout California. The Tablas Creek tasting room is open daily from 10am to 5 pm. There are tours available; check the Tablas Creek Website for complete details.

Additional Information about the Paso Robles wine country

Paso Robles – Highway 46 East Wineries – Quick Getaway

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Highway 101 divides the Paso Robles wineries from East to West. Many of these wineries are located on spectacular backroad country on both sides of 101, very scenic and peaceful. Those wineries are mostly far off and take a bit of exploring. If you are short on time, try the wineries that parallel Highway 46 East. We paid a visit last Sunday to four wineries on the very busy Highway 46 East.

The first winery we visited was the Broken Earth winery that took over the facilities vacated by the EOS Winery. EOS Winery was purchased a couple of years ago by Foley Family Wines. The group moved the winery operations to another area of Paso Robles. The Broken Earth winery redid the color scheme and the picnic area, and it looks beautiful. The tasting room is spacious. We tasted several of the wines and felt that they were good but none that wowed us enough to purchase any for home. Although the picnic area is beautiful, the traffic noise from Highway 46 is somewhat unsettling.

Picnic area at Broken Earth

Picnic area at Broken Earth

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CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY REGIONS:

Carneros • Livermore • Lodi • Mendocino • Monterey • Napa Valley • Paso Robles • Santa Barbara County • Santa Cruz Mts. • Sierra Foothills • Russian River • Sonoma Valley

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