Off the top of my head, Monochrome (whites only) in Tin City, Niner, Midnight, and Grey Wolf on 46W (close to each other), and if you are going for BBQ, Costa de Oro has a tasting room in Santa Maria off the 101. We like their tempranillo.
@Mark_L Tablas Creek is also the best for my tastes. The menu and format seems rather constrained but the people there have been very nice and accommodating to those (like us) who truly wanted to taste and evaluate. I came very close to joining the club this time around.
Diablo Paso is in downtown Paso just north of the central park/square. Wines were fun but nothing special. I did enjoy their dessert wines.
Turley is also a good stop if you like their style of wine. They may have their whites, pink Zin, and Bechthold Cincault, which are all light and totally unlike their mainline Zins.
On the east side we’ve enjoyed Eberle.
And if you get a good pourer at Tobin James they can also point you to more wineries that align with your preferences. They have so many things from the bombastic to the more classic.
One other place came to mind that we visited 7 years ago: Chateau Margene. I’m not sure if things are still the same: Google Maps shows it at 4385 La Panza Rd, Creston, CA 93432 (which is where we visited), but the website shows something different (845 Embarcadero Road, Morro Bay, CA 93442). The two locations have slightly different phone numbers, so maybe you could call and find out more. It definitely fit the “small” category, but had very good wine, and the owner (or winemaker) came by as we were tasting (sitting outside) and spent quite a bit of time talking with us. A very enjoyable visit.
Off the top of my head, Monochrome (whites only) in Tin City, Niner, Midnight, and Grey Wolf on 46W (close to each other), and if you are going for BBQ, Costa de Oro has a tasting room in Santa Maria off the 101. We like their tempranillo.
@davirom Niner was nice. Agreed on the recommendation.
@davirom Not a winery, but try to eat at Paso Terra in downtown. Strongly suggest reservations.
@davirom Thanks
Not necessarily small, but Tablas Creek was probably my favorite of the places I visited. I also enjoyed Adelaida Vineyards.
@Mark_L Tablas Creek is also the best for my tastes. The menu and format seems rather constrained but the people there have been very nice and accommodating to those (like us) who truly wanted to taste and evaluate. I came very close to joining the club this time around.
@klezman @Mark_L thanks
Diablo Paso is in downtown Paso just north of the central park/square. Wines were fun but nothing special. I did enjoy their dessert wines.
Turley is also a good stop if you like their style of wine. They may have their whites, pink Zin, and Bechthold Cincault, which are all light and totally unlike their mainline Zins.
On the east side we’ve enjoyed Eberle.
And if you get a good pourer at Tobin James they can also point you to more wineries that align with your preferences. They have so many things from the bombastic to the more classic.
@klezman thanks
One other place came to mind that we visited 7 years ago: Chateau Margene. I’m not sure if things are still the same: Google Maps shows it at 4385 La Panza Rd, Creston, CA 93432 (which is where we visited), but the website shows something different (845 Embarcadero Road, Morro Bay, CA 93442). The two locations have slightly different phone numbers, so maybe you could call and find out more. It definitely fit the “small” category, but had very good wine, and the owner (or winemaker) came by as we were tasting (sitting outside) and spent quite a bit of time talking with us. A very enjoyable visit.
@Mark_L Thanks