Where should you go in California for delicious food, sprawling vineyards, and the satisfying audio of a freshly uncorked vino bottle?
Let me guess, you're thinking of Napa.
But what if I told you there's a hidden gem on the chief shoreline anywhere you can get all of the complete alongside small crowds, lesser prices, and cooler tasting experiences?
Welcome to Paso Robles.
A vino for everyone
Growing up in the Bay Area, Napa Valley quickly became a particular location for my family. With no relatives living in the US, my Greek parents took us there all Christmas to create the holidays awareness special.
I've visited Napa complete 20 times, but complete the former few years, Paso Robles has taken my heart.
Paso Robles is nearly exactly in the center of Los Angeles and San Francisco, concerning 200 miles all way. Parallel to the mountains and the sea, the area has a distinctive terroir because of big heat swings. The topography's distinctive microclimates are ideal for expanding a assortment of grapes, assisting Paso differentiate itself in a crowded California vino market.
"The assortment of this area really separates itself from the monoculture that Napa has become," Andrew Jones, the owner of Field Recordings Winery, told me.
Adding to that assortment is the low obstacle to admission in the Paso Robles vino industry. Most of the wineries are small and family-owned, and the winemakers are frequently on-site to guide you. This refreshingly laid-back method makes tastings awareness close and approachable, and they're at a far additional accessible cost item than Napa, anywhere the elevated disbursal of winemaking has trickled downward to tourists. Silicon Valley Bank's 2026 direct-to-consumer vino report established that the average tasting fee in Napa is $79, during it's $27 in Paso Robles.
"Napa has a taller order; they have to live up to a brand that's worldwide," stated Neeta Mittal, among the archetypal Indian women to open a winery in the US. "Where we thrive in Paso is we're capable to etch our own identity, and that's a awesome nimbleness that we're allowed."
Tasting experiences alongside a twist
Mittal and her husband, Kunal, own LXV Wine, which offers the lone wine-and-spice pairing in the US. I visited LXV on my archetypal trip to Paso Robles and was delighted that my tasting included cheeses covered in assorted spices. I learned how ginger and dreary truffle sodium chloride can bring out the flavors of Cabernet and why Szechuan peppers and Nebbiolo brace so well.
I additionally affection the tastings at Field Recordings, which prides itself on making wines that "are all concerning the sensation — alongside none of the pretension," as its website reads. Jones specializes in small-batch, single-vineyard wines. They're fun and funky, adorned alongside colorful labels and names akin "Kitties" or "Super Gnario."
Field Recordings is in Tin City, my favorite part of Paso Robles. The converted manufacturing hub features complete 20 wineries, all inside strolling extend of all other, anywhere tastings typically disbursal between $20 and $30. It's ideal for a vino crawl, but there's additionally a brewery and the extremely fun Tin City Distillery if you're craving cocktails instead.
Where you can vino and dine
Another logic I keep going rear to Paso Robles is the awesome eatery scene. I never skip a meal at The Alchemists' Garden, which has a fun cocktail catalog and several of the finest fries.
My parents motionless rave concerning the meal we had at Il Cortile Ristorante. Its pappardelle is handmade and paired alongside a rich, luscious Bolognese, and the branzino is light, bright, and cooked to perfection. But the celebrity is the risotto covered in pale truffles, a holiday splurge I've never forgotten.
The Restaurant at Justin, which earned its archetypal Michelin celebrity in 2022, bested any fine-dining cognition I've had in Napa. I motionless have pictures saved from that dinner, anywhere my fiancé and I feasted on maple-leaf duck breast, premier filet, and assorted veggies picked from their 26-acre farmstead.
And no sojourn to Paso is complete without a halt at Brown Butter Cookie Company, which has mastered the salty-sweet combo in a small treat. The hand-rolled cookies are made locally and accessible in a assortment of flavors.
On my final visit, I grabbed a dozen bags for my family, friends, and myself, of course.
A destination for any season
Blessed alongside California sunshine, Paso Robles is a awesome holiday year-round. I've gone in the fall, summer, and winter — where it's festively decorated for the holidays — and have continually been charmed by the small-town vibes and affable locals. (Don't young female karaoke nights at the Pine Street Saloon.)
The winemaking earth is gradually starting to study concerning Paso Robles, but the town itself remains a hidden gem.
For now, at least, this is California's best-kept secret.
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Anneta Konstantinides is a manner equal at Business Insider and has spent nearly 10 years reporting in the manner space. Her concentration is on food and travel, anywhere she's known to obtain readers inner Michelin-starred kitchens or to the hottest new Las Vegas hotel. Sometimes it's Anneta doing the cooking, foremost readers through the finest recipes by Gordon Ramsay or Ina Garten. Anneta has also been deeply reporting on the pageant industry since 2019, interviewing dozens of Miss USA and Miss Universe winners. She was a two-time finalist at the LA Press Club Awards for her inquiry into the 2022 and 2024 Miss USA scandals and was featured in The New York Times Presents event "How to Fix a Pageant" on Hulu in September 2023. After graduating from UCLA alongside a B.A in English Literature and a insignificant in movie & television, Anneta worked as a newsman in London, Sydney, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
