Anyone have any favorite places to do some casual wine tasting around SLO (or within 45ish minute drive)? I tend to like more….restrained and balanced wine.
Oh and we’ll have kids with us, so kid friendly is a plus.
Thank you in advance for your sage advice.
Talley
i’ve always enjoyed Talley - IIRC they have a picnic area so kids should be ok.
Give Claiborne & Churchill a try too, especially for their whites. Stephen Ross would also be worth a visit and perhaps Wolff too.
In Pismo, hit Sans Liege - a bit ‘bigger in style’ but very fairly priced wines and great folks . . .
In my limited experience, the only winery that fits that bill is Tablas Creek.
Also I really dig the Firestone Walker Brewery if you’re up for some beer.
It’ll take you the full 45 minutes to get from SLO to Tablas. If you do go that way, there are other places you can stop along Vineyard, although you’ll have better luck with “kid-friendly” than with “restrained.” Los Olivos is a bit more than 45 minutes south than that, so that might not work for you either.
I suspect you might be more satisfied to try a few places around SLO - you could loop through Edna Valley by Claiborne & Churchill, head out to Talley, and maybe stop at Wolff on the way back (haven’t been there myself in a while, though). Stephen Ross could also work, although he’s not in a very scenic location…
Also - not sure if Zinfandel is your thing nor how restrained you would find them - but Saucelito Canyon is in the vicinity. It’s been years, but they always made beautiful zins IMHO.
You can either head north to Paso (probably 30-60 minutes from wineries depending on where they are in the Paso area - unfortunately, Tablas Creek is pretty much the farthest one away) for Rhones and zins, or south to Edna Valley / Pismo (20-30 minutes away) for mostly pinot, chardonnay and syrah.
If you head south, I second the recommendations of Saucelito Canyon (zins but in a relatively cool climate restrained style), Talley, Sans Liege (like a less expensive, less pumped up, friendlier version of Linne Calodo, if that description is helpful), Chamisal (on the bigger side for pinot, chard and syrah, but they have a range of styles within their portfolio, and it’s a lovely place to visit and taste anyway), Claiborne and Churchill (riesling and other German varieties, plus pinot, in a significantly AFWE style), and Kynsi.
Kysni might be the best choice of all given your criteria, preferring restrained style and having kids along. A really nice selection of pinot and chard and rose, with a pretty outdoor area that is well suited for kids. I think they even give you blankets to take out onto the lawn. Plus, the weather is much cooler in Edna Valley than Paso, so it might be easier to be out with kids. And from Kynsi, Claiborne & Churchhill, Chamisal and Saucelito Canyon are within a mile or two, I think.
Have fun.
Laetitia for very good sparkling wines, decent chards and pretty good pinots. Arroyo Grande area right off 101. I am going to be up there Easter weekend as well and will check out Claiborne & Churchill.
I live in Edna Valley. Chamisal has a nice back patio for kids. Baileyana has great area with Bocci Ball courts as well. Tolosa has a nice tasting room. Talley has been mentioned. Sparkling go to Laetitia but it is 20 minutes south of SLO off 101. Kynsi has some good lawn space. Could make the loop around Broad to Corbet Canyon to Orcutt to Biddle Ranch. It is a 10 mile loop past most of the wineries.