Wine Traveler Visits Norman Vineyards in Paso Robles

Norman Vineyards is one of the wineries on a wine trail called “The Far Out Wineries of Paso Robles.” These wineries were so hidden off Highway 46 West that wine visitors were few and far between. With a great PR move, the wineries banded together to form this association complete with a great little brochure guide that you can pick up at the visitor center in town. We highly recommend following this trail, the roads are beautiful and each winery on the trail offers something a little different to the wine traveler.

From Highway 46 West take a right onto Vineyard Drive and after you pass Opolo winery look for Norman Vineyards. Norman is family owned and famous for the Zinfandel that they have aptly name Monster Zin. Stop here and taste for $5 some very good wines. The $5 fee is waived if you buy a case. That one, is a first for us.

The Monster Zin is a big bold Zinfandel that is as big as its name. You can find it at many supermarkets and fine wine shops, it is Norman’s flagship wine. Perhaps a bigger Zin is the Norman Old Vine Zinfandel that actually comes from old vine grapes grown in, if you can believe it, Cucamonga. Yes, that area way down south where is hot and dry. Of the two wines, the Cucamonga-grown Zinfandel was more to our liking than the Monster Zin. The Syrah was also quite tasty and impressive.

The winery has a beautiful picnic area and we suggest you bring your picnic lunch here and grab one of the Norman wines and just take an hour or so to enjoy the peacefulness of the area.

By the way, they also have an Elvis cardboard cutout in the tasting room that is very lifelike. We shot this photo of some young ladies who, after tasting the Monster Zin, thought that they were actually hanging with Elvis.

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Wine Traveler Visits Harmony Cellars in Paso Robles

Harmony Cellars is in the Paso Robles wine region but it is so far west you need to travel to end of Highway 46 West to Highway 1. The winery is located in the tiny town of Harmony, population 18.

The best thing about Harmony Cellars is its location at the top of a hill. The view here is very spectacular. There are picnic tables and an arbor where one can sit and enjoy the view of the countryside below. It is a very peaceful setting on a warm day and the ideal spot for a picnic lunch with a glass of chilled white wine.

Harmony Cellars does not have any vineyards to view. All the grapes come from the inland areas of Paso Robles. The winery offers tastings of all of its wines for a tasting fee of $3.00. The prices of the wine range from around $10 to $36. The best of the wines we tasted was the Chardonnay. The rest were nice wines but nothing we wanted to purchase. The tasting room has lots of wine related merchandise for sale and it is fun to browse around.

After visiting Harmony Cellars we retraced our path on Highway 1 and headed north to the ocean town of Cambria. The town of Cambria has many interesting boutique shops and one can easily spend half a day here. As far as eating there are lots places in Cambria or you can have a wonderful lunch overlooking the ocean on the deck of the Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill, which is just on the outskirts of Cambria.

If you are spending a few days in the Paso Robles wine regions, this day trip is a one way to cool off when the days are hot inland.

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Wine Traveler Visits Vina Robles in Paso Robles

Vina Robles is a very new winery in Paso Robles wine country that just opened a new mission style facility last summer. We found Vina Robles about 3 miles from downtown Paso Robles on Highway 46 East. Vina Robles is quite an impressive winery. The tasting room is perhaps one of the most elegant and beautiful that we have ever visited. That is saying a lot because we estimate we have been to at least 400 tasting rooms throughout our travels.

One of the things that took us totally by surprise is that the Vina Robles facility here on 46 East is solely a hospitality center and not a working winery. We thought for sure, because of its size, we would find a barrel room, fermenting tanks, and all the equipment that goes into winemaking. Not so. All the winemaking is presently done at a custom crush facility. The winery is planning on building their own winemaking center in a couple of years. It will be at another location in the Paso Robles area and not open to the public. The hospitality center is large enough to host all types of events, indoors or on their beautiful outdoor patio. Everything about Vina Robles is grand. Even the parking lot is immense.

We tasted several wines and found them to be very well made. The prices of the wines range from moderate to expensive and in line with those at other Paso Robles wineries. Our three favorite wines were the Roseum, the Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Petite Syrah. We did find ourselves a fantastic deal. The dry Rose, the Roseum, was on sale for $7.15. There were making room for their next vintage and this is quite a bargain. We purchased one case and if we'd had room in our car, we would have purchased two cases. That is how much we liked this wine at that price.

If you are in Paso Robles, take time to visit this winery. The tasting room is worth the time. Next door to Vina Robles is the Robert Hall winery. This is another beauty and this facility opened a couple of years ago. Visiting both these wineries is quite an experience for Paso Robles wineries. Most of the wineries in Paso Robles are small and quaint, not Napa like. These two would definitely fit into the Napa mode.

One more interesting tidbit for this California winery, a Swiss man, Hans Nef, owns the winery and he also has a Swiss winemaker, Matthias Gubler.

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Paso Robles - Where to Eat

The best area for restaurant selection in Paso Robles is around the City Park. There are a number of excellent choices to dine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

On our last trip we tried Artisan Restaurant for dinner for a second time. The restaurant has been open about 18 months and the place is hopping, and for good reason. The food is outstanding and the service terrific. The menu is varied and is matched by a splendid list of local wines. The Artisan is definitely our top choice for dining in Paso Robles.

Our second night on our recent trip we dined at the Buona Tavola restaurant. This is a small Italian restaurant that has been there since we have been making Paso Robles a regular wine country getaway. The food is very good and the prices are definitely a value. So is the wine list that has many local wines. We have eaten here six times and have never been disappointed; you cannot go wrong at Buona Tavola. The atmosphere is not the greatest, but this doesn’t stop the locals from gathering here.

Another favorite of ours is Bistro Laurent. This restaurant offers up great French food in a formal setting. The food is a little more expensive but the meals are delicious. Our other recommendations are Villa Creek, Berry Hill Bistro, and the Basil Thai restaurant.

For lunch, breakfast, or to pick up a deli lunch for a wine country picnic, the Odyssey Café or Panilvo offer the best fare and high quality food. Please feel free to comment on these restaurants or any other you think should be on the list. Go to Wine Country Getaways for a complete listing of Paso Robles restaurants and links to their Web sites.

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Wine Traveler in Paso Robles Wine Country

We have been traveling to the Paso Robles wine country since 1999. From that first trip to the present, the Paso Robles wine region has changed remarkably. First and foremost, the wineries have increased in number from just a handful to over 100 wineries. The downtown area now boasts fancy and chic restaurants, boutique shopping, and several lavish tasting rooms around the famous City Park plaza. The earthquake of December 2003 was devastating but a rebuilding has resulted in a chic little downtown area reminiscent of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. We visited again in March 2008 and found more wineries and restaurants to explore and visit. Based on our travels to Paso Robles wine country, here are our recommendations.

Where to Stay in Paso Robles

We always stay at the Paso Robles Inn. The rooms are clean and well-equiped. We stay in the new area of the Inn that was rebuilt after the earthquake. The prices are very reasonable especially during the week. Best of all, you can walk out your door to enjoy your breakfast and dinner at one the several gourmet restaurants around the City Park downtown area. There are no worries about drinking and driving.

There is also a new fancy hotel in the downtown area by the name of Hotel Cheval Inn. This is a totally upscale place to stay and the room rates are above $300 per night.

The Marriott just opened a new Courtyard hotel, but it is not within walking distance to the downtown area. Take a look at the lodging list on Wine Country Getaways for more lodging listings.

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Wine Traveler visits the Dry Creek Inn - Healdsburg

Healdsburg’s Best Western Dry Creek Inn recently opened a completely new section to its inn. The section is Tuscan style and has 60 rooms that are quite a step up from the older rooms. The room we stayed in was spacious and equipped with a gas fireplace, flat screen TV, jetted tub, and wireless Internet access. Outside our sliding door were a patio, spa, and an outdoor fireplace. The weather was so cold we could not take advantage of the outdoors but we sure did love the gas fireplace.

The new section contains the Krug Event Center, a fitness room, and a large room where breakfast is served to guests. The Krug Event Center (no relation to the Charles Krug Winery) is a facility for business conferences, weddings, and the like.

Every thing was wonderful about our stay, especially the price. We paid $90 for our room. But, there is one major mistake in each room like ours that is sure to make guests unhappy. Our first thought was what a blunder, what a nightmare! The problem is there is no way to turn on the shower without getting sprayed with cold water. The shower is tiny by any standard but in order to turn on the hot and cold water you must be in the shower. Unless you have unusually long arms, there is no way around this. We asked the management about it and he said it would be taken care of soon. Wow, what a gaffe.

Healdsburg has become quite the popular wine town and you can bet that these rooms will be hard to come by on weekends beginning in the spring and through the fall months. Winter is a good time to find deals here. Lodging in Healdsburg is expensive and it is extremely hard to find a good value in this town. Perhaps the addition of this section to the Dry Creek Inn will ease the crunch and bring the prices back to a reasonable level. I am not holding my breath.

The Dry Creek Inn is located on Dry Creek Road just east of the Dry Creek Exit off Highway 101 in Healdsburg. It is one mile from the main part of town and there are many wineries within east driving distance.

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Wine Traveler Visits Stryker-Sonoma Winery

Stryker is fairly new winery in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County. The first impression when you walk toward the entrance is the elegance. The owners obviously spared no expenses. The building is a beauty nestled among the vineyards of the Alexander Valley. The tasting room is a large and spacious open room. Picture windows behind the tasting counter fill the tasting room with light and gorgeous views of the vineyards.

Best of all, the elegance of Stryker extends to their wines. Stryker has a good selection of estate vineyards, like their old vine Zinfandel just outside the door. But many of their wines are produced from grapes purchased from specific vineyards, like Speedy Creek in Knight's Valley. Stryker makes a large number of different wines. They have around 15 different labels of wines and most of them are made in small size lots. In total they make as much as 20,000 cases annually.

The wines we tasted on our visit were all tasty but two absolutely blew us away. The first was a Sangiovese with a screw top. The price is $25 for this delicious full-bodied Sangiovese. The second wine was a Petit Verdot from the Speedy Creek Vineyard in the Knights Valley. This is a 100 percent Petit Verdot and it has layers of juicy flavors throughout. The price is $32.

If you like to enjoy a picnic lunch, we highly recommend Stryker. Their picnic area is among the best and most attractive in the Alexander Valley.

Stryker is located on Highway 128. See Google Map for directions.


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