Where to Eat in Paso Robles, California

The first responsibility of every wine, says pioneer winemaker Gary Eberle, is to make food taste better. 

He is pouring his elegant Eberle viognier, to accompany crab cakes at Artisan, an earth-to-table restaurant in the small city of Paso Robles, just inland from the central California coast. Eberle was one of the first to plant syrah in his state and, in 1980, he co-founded the Paso Robles appellation.

Unlike Napa, with its crowds and expensive wineries, the lesser-known Paso Robles (Spanish for oak pass), located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, has managed to keep its feet on the ground. It’s less pretentious — casual and friendly — yet is still home to plenty of restaurants and more than 180 wineries. Vintners produce varietal favourites like cabernet sauvignon, syrah and zinfandel, plus the emerging mourvèdre, as well as Bordeaux- and Rhône-style blends. (More than 45 wineries are members of Rhône Rangers, an advocacy group that promotes Rhône varietals.)

There are some exceptional experiences available for visitors. At Steinbeck Vineyards, where Eberle sources grapes, you jump on a 1975 jeep or vintage truck for a superb “Crash Course” tour led by a member of the Steinbeck family, which has farmed the 500-acre property since 1884. In the winemaker-for-a-day program at Still Waters Vineyards, the entertaining Paul Hoover gives you the opportunity to get a little dirt under your fingernails and offers lots of pithy wine wisdom along the way. First Crush Winemaking offers a crush experience at several vineyard locations, where you pick, sort and crush grapes during the fall harvest.

Locavore foodies know the top spots, such as Thomas Hills Organics Market Bistro & Wine Bar, where chef Julie Simon’s deft hand turns the superb local bounty into wonderfully inviting meals. The ingredients come from the Thomas family’s organic farm — heirloom vegetables, fruit and nuts from more than 800 trees, even a pink peppercorn tree. And the by-the-glass (and half-glass) wine list features the region’s best wines.

Check out: Seared Scallops with Squash, Oranges and Arugla Salad

At Il Cortile’s fine dining Italian restaurant, I met Sudbury, Ontario-raised Kevin Jussila, winemaker at Kukkula vineyards, whose red blend, “Lothario,” was a perfect match to chef Santos Macdonald’s lamb osso buco. (The Kukkula name, meaning “hill,” reflects Jussila’s Finnish heritage.) Another Canadian-born vintner, Terry Culton, who was born in London, Ont., has his Adelaida wines on the list. (He proudly showed me his surfboard, embellished with the Maple Leaf flag.)

Also deserving of a dinner reservation is the 19th-century Cass House Inn & Restaurant on the coast in Cayucos. Chef Jensen Lorenzen prepares multi-course dinners built around produce from the inn’s gardens. And don’t leave without picking up a baker’s dozen of brown butter sea salt cookies next door at the popular Brown Butter Cookie Company.

Check out: Paso Robles Wine Picks

Photo: Victor Villanueva