Hello:
My wife and I are visiting the California Central Coast this July for vacation. We will be spending a few days each in Monterey, Paso Robles, Lompoc and Santa Barbara. All will be first time visits for us with the exception of Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez Valley.
Looking for some recommendations of wineries that are “can’t miss.” We are planning to visit Turley, Tablas Ceeek, Ridge, Clos Pepe, and Stolpmann. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
If you have never spent time in Big Sur make certain you rectify that.
Harold, do a search for those locations here, and you’ll find numerous threads (you can do it just in Travel, but sometimes there are good threads in other forums as well).
Make sure to visit Daou Winery in Paso Robles. The wine is good and the view is spectacular!
Tin City in Paso is interesting.
Point Lobos State Park near Monterey is one of my favorite places in the he world. The Cypress trail is stunning.
If you like sours/stouts be sure to go to barrelworks in buellton
Don’t miss Point Lobos State Park
Firestone-Walker
Just got back from Paso. Tin City +1, in particular Aaron Wines( a lot of Tin City wineries by appointment), Daou +1(reserve pairing ), Halter Ranch has a beautiful new tasting room and their ‘new’ winemaker is turning out nice wines.
In Monterey check out Bistro Moulin for dinner. I’ve enjoyed quite a few meals there. If you haven’t done it you should check out 17 mile drive. Its a great way overall to get to see the area. On your way south do yourself a huge favor and take highway 1 rather than the 101. Stop in at Point Lobos (my favorite place of all time as others have mentioned as well). You’d be a fool to skip it. After Point Lobos continue on to Nepenthe for some food and drinks. Its a great stopping point and the view is insane. After Nepenthe keep heading south until you get to Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park. You’ll want to do the hike in the redwoods on the east side of the highway and do the waterfall hike on the west side. From here keep driving until you get to the Elephant Seal Vista Point in San Simeon. Stay overnight in Cambria at the Cambria Pines Lodge. Have dinner either at Robin’s Restaurant, Linn’s, or the Sow’s Ear. For my money I like Robin’s but Linn’s makes a mean pie. Next morning take a small detour back up the coast to Hearst Castle and take the Grand Rooms tour which is the general tour. You’ll get to see the whole place in all of its glory. Drive back south afterwards towards a small town just a couple miles south of Cambria called Harmony. Its literally a one road town but is really cool. Check out Harmony Glassworks at the end of the road. On your way south afterwards, stop in Morro Bay at Giovanni’s Fish Market for a great lunch. Do yourself a favor and get some smoked salmon bellies and collars to go. They are as good as can be! Be sure to stop by the Shell Shop after lunch before taking a walk by Morro Rock and strolling down the beach for some sand dollars. Then hop on the 41 till you get to the 101 and head north and your in Paso Robles. (Keep in mind the drive from Monterey down to Cambria is an all day drive if you want to take it easy and do all the activities at a leisurely pace, so start at a reasonable hour of the morning)
For Paso Robles i have no suggestions. Haven’t been yet myself. Ive heard good things about Herman Story though…
For Santa Barbara I will highly recommend Los Agaves. Some of the best Mexican food around. Get the Pescado Veracruzano. Its one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever had! Also stop in at the Au Bon Climat tasting room. Their wines are top notch and good values.
Seems like you have everything else decently covered. I have a lot more info on the highway 1 stuff as i do that trip myself at least 3 times a year so don’t be shy if you have any other questions about it.
Here’s a thread I started asking for Santa Barbara help last year that has a bunch of great ideas and a brief report on our trip, which was great.
Arcadian in Lompoc. Raid their library!
Joe’s new rose and chard ain’t too bad either.
Definitely stop at Point Lobos, but please just pay for the parking for your own sake. Too many cars get broken into on Hwy 1 for those who just walk in. Recommendations in Monterey would be YAFA in Carmel for dinner. Other nice options are La Bicyclette, Casanova…lots of solid options. Lafayette Kitchen in Carmel is fantastic for breakfast - the pain perdu was excellent.
Maiden Publick House is a great stop in Big Sur for lunch. Extensive beer list and very good food. Catch it on the drive south.
In Paso, lots of considerations… Tablas is one to keep on your list. Denner is a great option. Villa Creek is solid. Depends greatly on your palate, I’m less enthused by Daou than others but the view is beautiful. Tin City might be convenient although less scenic. Onx is solid and Nicora does modern-esque wines as extremely well. Rangeland is lovely for all sorts of reasons although you’ll find getting there easier with a SUV.
For lunch/dinner, Thomas Hill Organics and Artisan are my go-tos. There are some new restaurants we’ve yet to visit but those both have a solid vibe and great food across the board.
Recently drove from LA (visited older daughter and Pickle the Pup) to SF (to visit younger daughter and Bart the Cat) with stops in Santa Barbara (attended a wedding), Hearst Castle (reserve tickets in advance) and Big Sur (barely pre-fire). Highlight of the trip for my wife and me (other than visiting children) was Point Lobos State Park which I owe to this blog. Thanks to all who suggested here. Word of advice is to arrive at or near opening, since number of cars allowed in at any one time is limited to 150. No limit on bikes or walkers entering. Arrived at 9:30 for immediate admittance. When we left 2 hours later cars were lined up outside and allowed to enter one at a time as vehicles left. Moved our car within the Park several times and walked 4 or 5 of the well marked trails. After this, the 17 mile drive on Monterrey was disappointing, but I am not a golfer. I understand the Park was closed due to Big Sur fire the day after we left.
Today, comprehensive update at SF Gate for the area as regards to the fires, park closures and air quality.