I find myself with a spare afternoon this coming Sunday (May 6th). I land at SLO just before noon and would like to visit 2-3 wineries if possible. Any recommendations close to SLO? I will be renting a car and so can be mobile, but with only a few hours, don’t want to venture too far.
The Edna Valley is just east of SLO and contains quite a few nice wineries (depending on your taste).
SLO wine tasting map:
http://slowine.com/cm/wineries_vineyards/wine_tasting_map.html
Arcadian
others are also next door, in the Wine Ghetto.
My favorite in the area is Talley (Arroyo Grande Valley) also like the wines from Stephen Ross (in SLO).
Nice idea, but it’s a 60 mile drive from SLO to Lompoc. Too far for you, Kevin?
You can either head north from SLO to Paso Robles (about 25-30 miles to some good wineries), or head south to the Edna Valley (about 8-10 miles).
In your time frame, if you were heading to Paso, you’d want to pick a few wineries with walk-in tasting rooms right near the 101, for example Turley and Peachy Canyon.
Edna Valley would be the better logistically. I’d suggest Chamisal (formerly Domaine Alfred – mostly pinot, chard and syrah), Claiborne & Churchill (specializes in cool weather white varietals), and Saucelito Canyon (a good zinfandel producer), but there are others around. Tolosa and Baileyana are also decent pinot/chard producers.
I’d suggest Edna Valley. More tasting, less driving. Plus, you’d be limited by time constraints to only the Paso wineries near the freeways, which rules out most of the interesting places to go taste up in the hills to the west of Paso and their windy little roads.
Yes, certainly want to stay much closer to SLO/Arroyo Grande area.
Certainly, it does sound like Edna Valley would fit the bill. Unfortunately, the rest of the week I’ll be tied up with work and meetings and won’t get a chance to venture out. I purposely planned to fly out earlier on Sunday, just to arrange something.
From where I sit (in my office ~1/4 mile from the SLO airport, at the moment), I’d mostly second Chris’ Edna Valley suggestions if you’re looking for a more-leisurely pace of tasting and don’t want to drive too far. Claiborne & Churchill is a good (and well-priced) multipurpose stop, and Saucelito Canyon can be good if you like zins. For pinot and chardonnay, Baileyana is fairly solid, and some of Talley’s bottlings were very tasty the last time I was there. Stephen Ross (in SLO) and Wolff can be hit-or-miss, but I’ve had good bottles from each of them as well…haven’t stopped at either in a while, though.
If you’re interested in places to eat, just let me know, and I can throw out a few recommendations for those as well.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I’ve visited Talley. It’s another 15 minutes’ drive south of where the other Edna Valley wineries are located. It’s a pretty winery, but it wasn’t much of a tasting experience the one time I went – you only got to taste and purchase the widely-available appellation wines, and the tasting room was fairly Napa/corporate style.
Maybe I just didn’t catch it on the right day or ask the right questions, or I wasn’t the right person, but based on that experience, I’d save the time to chart some new ground in the wineries up in the Edna Valley instead.
It certainly could have been the day - the last time I was there, they had at least two single-vineyard pinots open as well as a couple of older library chardonnays (which, honestly, I didn’t enjoy). And yeah, the tasting room definitely has a “big winery” feel.
To throw out a couple other options… If you’re looking for something smaller, Kynsi has made some nice syrahs and pinots, although their price points have moved up over the last few years. There are also a few wine shops in the area where you can taste wines from all over the central coast…Tastes of the Valleys in Pismo Beach is my favorite by far.
Thanks all, and yes, any dining recs would be nice. I should be on my own for dinner both Sunday and Monday. Will be spending my day Monday in Nipomo.
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I end up tasting in Edna Valley quite often. Would second the recommendations of Talley, Chamisal and Stephen Ross. I have also been to Talley on days where their better SVD are not available to taste but its still worth a try to see if these bottles are open. If I have more time I prefer the Paso Robles or Santa Barbara County area but Edna Valley works when your short on time. For dining Koberl at Blue in SLO is my favorite.
I might also suggest the Gather Wine Bar in downtown Arroyo Grande if you have extra time in the evening . . . Kari Ziegler is the owner and she’s put together a great list from many local wineries . . .
Cheers!
I’ve never been to Gather, but my wife has, and she has spoken very highly of it…gotta get there myself sometime.
For food, SLO has multiple good options for Italian, Thai, burgers, etc. across price points, and a smattering of finer dining options and “small plates” places as well. What do you think you’ll be looking for?
No doubt “small plates” and more regional specific would be preferred. I’ll get plenty of “chain” type places once my boss gets in town on Tues.
On the off chance you don’t know about Jocko’s: go there! (and bring a bottle of red with you)
Um…
I’ve only been to Jocko’s once or twice but have found it to be hit-or-miss…but it certainly is a Nipomo-area institution, and I’ve heard enough good things from others that it might be worth a shot. If you’re going to be coming back up from Nipomo earlyish that evening, you could do far worse than stopping at Tastes of the Valleys in Pismo and then hitting Giuseppe’s a block down for Italian food. (There’s a Giuseppe’s in downtown SLO as well, but I don’t think it’s quite the same.)
For SLO itself, I’ve actually not been to Koberl in years (since it was just Blue), so I can’t speak to that recommendation… Downtown, I’ve had good “small plates” experiences at both Novo and Luna Red (same owner), and there’s another small funky place called Meze which I like, although the tab can add up there if you’re not paying attention. Buona Tavola and Cafe Roma are both good for Italian (in different styles). And just because, I’ll mention two places I’ve not been to but have heard good things about: Ciopinot and Gennarro’s.
When your boss gets into town, try talking him into going to Firestone or Eureka! for burgers and beers instead of a chain… Depending on when and where you go, you might have to contend with college students, but that would be true of any chain anyway.
Oh, Leenda, I figured you’d be further north than I want to venture. 