Inside Paso Robles

Holiday Shopping Sparkles in Paso Robles

by Tina Swithin

While I am not one of the brave ones who venture out on Black Friday, I do love to shop. One of my favorite places to do my holiday shopping is Paso Robles. Brimming over with artisan gifts, amazing wine and cheese clubs, along with a festive Downtown filled with boutique shopping, unique galleries and holiday lights, there is no better place to kick off the holidays.  

This year, Paso Robles is celebrating the holidays in style with giveaways such as wine,  Wine Wrangler Tours, Hearst Castle tickets and coveted holiday recipe cards.  Winners will be drawn weekly from November 8^th through December 20^th. 

Enter to win by signing up on FACEBOOK, or sign up for their e-newsletter using promotional code Stockings2013. Click here to read more.

If you haven’t had a moment to start your holiday gift list, I’ve taken the liberty of creating a list for you!

• Vivant Fine Cheese Club - Many Cheeses if you Pleases!

Sign up a friend or loved one for their amazing Cheese Club! Located in historic downtown Paso Robles, Vivant Fine Cheese is the Central Coast's premier cheese tasting room, featuring premium local and imported handcrafted artisan cheeses paired with the finest Central Coast wine and beer. Experience what their cheese experts have in store to make your cheese tasting experience truly amazing. You can also try their "Wine Parings" and discover which wines pair best with cheese selections from Paso Robles and around the world. For more information visit their online store at www.VivantFineCheese.com.

• Paso Robles Wine Club - Great Way to Get to Know Paso Wines

Become a member and enjoy premium award-winning wines from the Paso Robles Wine Region. This wine club is a premium wine club for the aficionados who love Paso Robles wine, or want to know more about this fast-growing region. It offers a diverse selection of quality Paso wines starting from $80 a shipment. For more information visit the online store at www.BuyPasoWine.com.

• General Store Paso Robles - the Ultimate Artisan Stocking Stuffer! 
  

  The owners of General Store Paso

Paso-made fabulousness including a whole line of olive oil products and everyone's favorite "Paso Chick" t-shirts. Joeli Yaguda, Erin Stuck and Jillian Waters are the proprietors of General Store Paso Robles, bringing a combined 25 years of experience in Paso Robles food, farm and retail. This dynamic three-some loves sharing their finds, from the Central Coast and beyond, with visitors, from local-made jewelry, food and pantry items to lots of odds and ends. For more information go to the General Store Facebook page.

• Find an Amazing Cabernet Sauvignon to Suit Your Fancy

Along with Zinfandels, Paso Robles gained notoriety for its Cabernet Sauvignons. For some of Paso's legendary Cabernet Sauvignons, check out Eberle, J.Lohr Vineyards, EOS Estate Winery, and Adelaida Cellars. For a list of wineries visit www.PasoRoblesCab.com.

• Find Works of Art at Studios on the Park - Witness the Action

Discover art originals and prints, handmade designer jewelry, scarves and home décor at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles. A unique open studio environment where you can witness the creative processes of over 40 local artists as they create their masterpieces, Studios on the Park offers classes, workshops and exhibitions. Proceeds support this non-profit's goal of sharing the creative process with all including local children. For more information visit www.StudiosOnThePark.org.

• Give the Gift of Paso's Rhône Varietals - California's Rhône Zone 

Paso Wine Country is gaining popularity for their exciting Rhône varieties such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvédre. Here are just a few wineries offering Rhône varieties: Robert Hall Winery, Tablas Creek Vineyard, Linne Calodo, Halter Ranch, Clavo and Eberle Winery. For a complete list of wineries visit www.RhoneRangers.org/about/pasorobles.php.

• Pithy Little Wine Company - So Clever

Located in the heart of historic downtown Paso Robles, this charming boutique produces and sells fine California wines, olive oils, sodas and lifestyle products. The winery and mercantile is a great place to taste their collection of reserve wines, extra virgin olive oils and old fashioned cane sugar sodas while exploring a selection of California lifestyle inspired products for home and life. For more information visit their online store at www.PithyWine.com.

• We Olive - Everything Olive Lives Here

For an urban olive oil tasting experience, head to We Olive in downtown Paso Robles to taste more than 30 specialty, extra virgin olive oils, both local and national, vinegars, olives, tapenade, olive oil-infused gifts sets, jams and more. Great gift ideas and corporate gift baskets. For more information and to visit their online store go to www.WeOlive.com.

• Craft Distilled Vodka and Gin from Grapes - Thirsty?

Paso Robles Craft Distilling, a micro-distillery, utilizes a unique distilling ingredient: premium Paso Robles grapes, a luxury that is normally too expensive for most distilleries to use in production. Paso Robles Craft Distillery applies the excess juice from its sister company, Villacana Winery, to its product, resulting in a high-end vodka and gin made with ultimate sustainability. For more information visit www.RefindDistillery.com.

• Firefly Gallery - a Beautiful Boutique

Mother and daughter owners, Emily and Lauren, create holiday magic in their window displays and crafts throughout the store. They feature amazing books, linens, designer clothing, kid's crafts and high end apothecary items. For more information visit www.Facebook.com/pages/Firefly/103839587506.

• Brown Butter Cookie Company - Serious Cookies

Smell the brown butter sea salt cookies in downtown Paso Robles courtesy of the Brown Butter Cooking Company's new location in the iconic Acorn Building at 12th and Park Streets. The popular shortbread cookie company has opened the 1,300-square foot spot, complete with a storefront directly under the brick building's acorn-topped clock tower. For more information visit their online store at www.BrownButterCookies.com.

• Sealed with a Kiss (SWAK) - Retro Cool

The popular store featuring retro, eclectic and, most of all, fun merchandise, has moved to Pine Street. Treasure hunters will find more cool stuff in the new location, right in the heart of downtown with an entrance on Pine Street. For more information visit www.SwakStuff.com.

• Sole Tree - a High-End Shoe Store

Owned by a young woman entrepreneur named Piper, this store is a dream come true for her. She had always wanted to open a shoe and accessories store in Paso Robles; and now she has! Specializing in all leather shoes from brands such as Born, Frye, Corso Como, Me Too and Kork Ease, as well as accessories and handbags, Sole Tree is the only high end shoe store in Downtown. For more information visit www.TheSoleTree.com.

• AndBe Boutique - Wine Lifestyle Goods

This store showcases the Paso wine lifestyle with everything from jewelry to premium leather jackets and linens from all over the world. Also the home of Paso Underground, a collective of small winemakers without tasting rooms. This group utilizes the store's back patio as a collective space to pour their wines for patrons. For more information visit www.Facebook.com/AndBeBoutique.

Tina Swithin is the Blog Manager for TravelPaso.com where she writes blog-a-licious Paso Robles articles.  Tina is also a Huffington Post contributor where she covers family travel and "hidden gems" in California. Follow the Paso Robles Insider to get the inside scoop on all the haps in Paso Robles Wine Country.

Q and A with the First Lady of Paso Robles Wine

Paso Robles is filled with stories of people who came here on vacation, fell in love with the area and relocated. Brigit Binns is a transplant with a rather interesting story to tell - she makes a mean set of oysters, can teach you how to make cheese or butcher meat and is married to arguably the most interesting man in the wine world. She's living happily in Paso Robles and is putting out a Central Coast cookbook soon.

TravelPaso: First, I have to say thanks so much for submitting monthly recipes to our blog, they are very popular and look delicious. Secondly, please accept our apologies for not getting your cooking classes up on our website before a major national news outlet mentioned them last week!  The journalists claimed to know you, is that right?

Brigit Binns: It’s funny—I met Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen about 8 years ago at a dinner party in New York City, during one of those many periods when I was trying to get back to my native state of California. When they came to research their Huffington Post article, I was out of town, selling our house in upstate New York so I could spend more time in Paso.

TP: So you are planning to give up the East Coast and call Paso home full time?

BB: Well, I first leased a house in Paso in spring of ’10, so I’ve been back and forth—mostly here—for about three years. It seems like I’ve spent most of my life moving away from California, and then trying to get back, but that’s not going to happen anymore. After writing twenty-six cookbooks (many of them for Williams-Sonoma) and editing countless others, my goal is to settle down in a place I love (here), and teach cooking classes among the gnarled oaks and towering eucalyptus trees. But a lot of things had to fall into place before I could start the classes.

TP: It sounds like you are embracing the change with gusto by sharing your joy of cooking with the rest of us.  

BB: I’d like to! To that end, I’ve created a new venue to learn about (and enjoy) cooking, entertaining, and award-winning wines: Refugio. The next class is Fermentation and Bread Making on April 14^th at 4:00 p.m.

TP: That sounds interesting, as do the rest of the classes you have planned. Tell us about the name Refugio.

BB: I chose the name because as a kid, I was lucky enough to spend summers and holidays on the Hollister Ranch (my mom was an extended member of the family). We used to swim at Refugio beach and hike in Refugio canyon. That ranch symbolizes everything I loved about the old California, but I believe that place no longer exists anywhere else in this great state except right around here. And this place really does feel like a refuge to me.

So here I am.  

TP:  It’s great to have you in town. Any other exciting things in the works?

BB:  I’m still writing cookbooks (see The New Wine Country Cookbook: Recipes from California’s Central Coast, coming to major book outlets May 7, but available at the new AndBe boutique on the square in downtown Paso on about April 15).  And my next project is to convince my husband to spend more time here. He’s still got a great teaching job in New York City—but I can tell he’s leaning towards being here full-time. And it’s going to be a great summer…. His name is Casey Biggs, but you may know him as “Paso Wine Man.” Yep. I’m the real wife.

 

Brigit Binns is the author or co-author of numerous best-selling cookbooks, many of them for Williams-Sonoma. Although she has lived, cooked, and celebrated the pleasures of the table from New York to London to Southern Spain—and throughout the Mediterranean—her heart always remained true to her home state of California.  All Refugio classes take place in her beautiful outdoor kitchen in Paso Robles.

 

Why Holiday Shopping in Paso Robles is Good for Humanity

by Shonna Howenstine

Over the course of the past few years, many of us have scaled back our holiday celebrations and gift giving. With more and more people concentrating on the joy of being with family and friends during the holidays, a heartwarming trend is emerging...

Thoughtfulness is back in style.

And Paso Robles, in all its authenticity, is a great place to find gifts with meaning and purpose that suit each recipient, all made right here in Paso. Many products are made by hand, and all have a terrific story to go with them.

Does your mother-in-law love to cook? How about a bottle of your neighbor's olive oil and a copy of your favorite local caterer's cookbook?

Does your best friend love wine? Sneak out to your favorite boutique winery and grab a bottle of something that can't be found outside of their walls.

Got a beer lover in the family? Firestone Walker Brewery is right down the street and their 805 Ale is only available in the 805. Pick up a gift certificate for FW t-shirts, tap handles and.... cornhole??  

If you are shopping for someone who has everything, here is a list of unique, Paso-made items to choose from that will make the recipient feel special, keep small business owners in business and keep the thoughtfulness trend going strong:

Paso-Made Goods:

• Art, Sculpture, Pottery, Handmade Jewelry, Fine Crafts: www.studiosonthepark.org, www.piercemodern.com, www.valefineart.com, www.daleeversstudio.com or www.thefireflygallery.com 
• Balsamic Vinegar: www.weolive.com
• Beer www.firestonewalker.com
• Body Care Products made with local olive oil: www.pasolivo.com or www.oluvskin.com
• Books by Local Authors: http://bit.ly/FriendsPasoLibrary
• Cheese or a Cheese Club Membership: www.vivantfinecheese.com
• Cooking Spices and Gourmet Provisions: www.pasospices.com or www.pithywine.com
• Honey www.ntnah.com
• Italian Soda: www.pithywine.com
• Olive oil www.weolive.com
• Walnut Oil www.limerockorchards.com
• Wine, Champagne, Port and Handcrafted Spirits: www.pasowine.com

Paso Robles Experiences:

• Art classes, seminars and workshops www.studiosonthepark.org
• Cooking Class at Dining with Andre www.diningwithandre.com
• Lodging or Dining Gift Certificates www.travelpaso.com
• Hunter Ranch Golf Course www.hunterranchgolf.com
• Massage/Facial/Spa Day www.replenishmassage.com, www.twistway.com and www.travelpaso.com or www.riveroakshotsprings.com
• River Oaks Hot Springs Spa www.riveroakshotsprings.com
• Steinbeck Vineyards Crash Course www.steinbeckvineyards.com
• Wine Tours www.travelpaso.com

The recipients of these thoughtful gifts will be thrilled by the human touch that went to each of them and the heartwarming stories behind each one. Support small business and give thoughful gifts, it's good for humanity!

Here is a quick video about shopping in downtown Paso Robles. 

 

Shonna Howenstine is the Tourism Coordinator for the City of Paso Robles and vows to shop thoughtfully and locally this holiday season. If you have an item that you think should be on this list, she can be reached at [email protected].

 

Experience Spring Wildflower Tours with Ancient Peaks Winery

by Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins

The renewing spirit of spring is always reflected in the vineyard. The skeletal vines of winter come alive with fresh green shoots, and in later spring, little “flower” clusters begin to appear. During this flowering stage, the process of pollination and fertilization sets the crop for the coming vintage.

At our estate Margarita Vineyard on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, the real springtime flower show is found in the surrounding hills and meadows, where more than 30 different species of wildflowers have been identified.

For this reason, we offer our Ancient Peaks Winery Spring Wildflower Tours every Saturday in April from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., departing from the Ancient Peaks tasting room in Santa Margarita.

These guided tours include a gourmet boxed lunch and a Central Coast Wildflower Book, and they conclude with a sampling of Ancient Peaks wines at the tasting room. The cost is $40 per person ($30 for Ancient Peaks wine club members), all inclusive.

Santa Margarita Ranch spans more than 14,000 acres of mostly open space across numerous habitats, elevations and soil types. Our sustainable ranching and winegrowing practices have accelerated the restoration of native flora in the surrounding landscape.

The result is a striking blend of wildflowers and other intriguing plants. Indian paintbrush, lupin, buttercups, Johnny jump-ups and poppies are among the flowers that flourish at the ranch. The pink-red Indian warrior also abounds, feeding on the abundant chaparral. Another interesting find on the ranch is soap weed, a fibrous plant Native Americans used as a natural soap. They also dried it out to make rope. The ranch was home to indigenous peoples for more than 10,000 years and currently offers visitors a glimpse into what life was like in this untouched part of the world.

Don’t expect to see waves and waves of color on our tours—our landscape is too diverse for that. Our tours are more educational in nature. Yes, you will see plenty of pretty flowers, and since our guide is a local horticulture major at Cal Poly and a local horticultural fanatic, you will also be exposed to flowers and plants that you wouldn’t notice at first glance. 
 
The past winter in Paso Robles and across coastal California was unusually dry, but we’ve been blessed with a few March rainstorms that have greened up the hills and boosted the wildflower season. I hope you can come out and see the show with us.

Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins is a fourth-generation Paso Robles native with deep family roots in local agriculture and ranching. As the vice president of sales and marketing for Ancient Peaks Winery, Amanda oversees the national distribution and direct sales of Ancient Peaks wines, as well as the winery tasting room and visitor experience.

 

Small, Undiscovered Wineries in Paso Robles

by Coy Barnes

Looking forward to holiday gatherings, it might be nice to think about bringing a wine from a winery that has yet to be discovered. 

Paso Robles is well known for its powerhouse boutique wineries such as Tablas Creek, Terry Hoage Vineyards, and Booker Wines.  Each of those wineries currently has a tasting room where you can visit and taste some of their wines.  However, there are many tiny wineries that exist under the radar that are making high quality small lot wines here in Paso Robles that don’t have tasting rooms. 

A few examples of great wines come from producers such as Twin Coyotes, St. Hillaire, Del Real, Sharp's Hill, and Clesi, among others.  You can bet that the friends and family gathered around the holiday buffet will be impressed if you pull out a bottle of Chateau Lettau Rockstar, especially when you tell them you got it from Ron himself. 

People who appreciate great wine can find them from the unknown unheralded wineries in this region.   So if you’re looking for the next cult Syrah, Rhone blend,