I know I often mention how much we love going to small boutique wineries where we have the opportunity to speak with the owner/winemaker. It is always a joy to listen to their stories because how they got into making wine is really a labor of love.

One that we have enjoyed for many years is Jack Creek. Just the thought of it makes us smile. Jack Creek is a big, juicy, chewy pinot noir. They have a couple of different pinots including the estate pinot noir and the reserve pinot noir. They also have wonderful chardonnays and other wines but we love their pinots.

Another one that we like is Windward Vineyard Monopole estate bottled pinot noir.

It is a newer vineyard and their wine is simply wonderful. They specialize in 100% estate grown pinot noir.  Their wines are big and fruit forward, just the way we like them. We were so glad we happened to drive by on our way to Pasolivo olive oil. What a great stop while in Paso.

Back to our love of little boutique wineries, in Paso Robles, one of our favorites is RN Wines, where we sat in the chef’s dining room tasting wines. We discovered we needed to set up an appointment and get the gate code so we could drive into the estate. Once in there, we were told about how he wanted to start a winery after being a successful chef. We love those experiences!

There are so many funky things to see in Paso and you find wonderful places around every bend. We were driving along and saw a tepee.

We couldn’t resist going to see what that was about so we stopped off and found out it was an Inn as well as a winery called Wild Coyote. Wild Coyote only makes red wines and mainly blends but they are delicious. They are big and bold in structure and flavor. We don’t save wine glasses from places we tasted but we did save this one.

Gianni Manucci is the owner of the winery and the Inn along with his wife and family. In a former life, he was an architect and they designed a winery and pueblo bed and breakfast. It is definitely worth a stop just to see what they envisioned and created. Of course we had to buy at least one or two bottles of wine.

Denner Estate is an amazing winery. It’s architecture is breathtaking. We passed it by and decided to visit. At that vineyard, you sit at tables and they bring the tasting over to you. That was a bit different but the wines are delicious and we couldn’t resist buying something to bring home. It is definitely worth the visit for the views alone (let alone the wonderful wine).

Chateau Margene is a producer of only Cabernet Sauvingnons, Cabernet Franc, and Meritage wines. We stumbled past this beautiful winery and decided to try it. By all means, enjoy the views and the wonderful wines.

While in Paso Robles, we always stopped by the Pasolivo Ranch which grows and mills olives. They have an interesting history as the property was once owned by King Vidor, one of the true movie director legends (He was known for silent, early talkies and a host of great movies). We love visiting the beautiful property with its tasting room. We were delighted to have the opportunity to be there when they were milling the olives into olive oil. We even got to taste the green oil as it was coming out of the press. If you like olive oil, it is a must stop. I personally love their lemon flavored oil.

There is so much more to say about Paso Robles but we will just say bye for now. Love Paso!