Paso Robles Wine Tour May 5-9, 2024

 

 Paso Robles Wine Tour

with Phillis Carey—“The Casual Gourmet”

May 5 to 9, 2024

 Nestled in the heart of California’s Central Coast wine country sits Paso Robles, or just “Paso” to the locals.  Brimming with good taste yet always down to earth, Paso Robles is rich in history against a backdrop of vineyards, olive orchards, farms and ranches that inspire its local culture. Paso is as warm and vibrant as its residents with its welcoming attitude and reputation confirms it as one of California's unique, easily accessible gems.

This trip is the perfect opportunity to explore several of the over 200 wineries in this area.  We will visit 9 wineries for tastings as well as Tin City where you can taste more—if you dare!  We will enjoy a wine country BBQ at an award wining spot in downtown Paso as well as a wine country Cooking Class held at one of our winery stops.  There will also be 3 lunches included at wineries during our travels and one Mexican food truck to visit on Cinco de Mayo at Sensorio.  Oh, yes, we can’t forget the Pasolivo olive oil tour which takes us out into the grove and then back in for tastings. You will have some free time both in Tin City as well as downtown Paso and our days will be full of great tastes, beautiful scenery and fun times.

 Our group will meet up at the Oxford Suites in Paso Robles on Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 3:30 pm. Find your own way to Paso by car or plane (Alaska Airlines flies from San Diego to San Luis Obispo once a day and then you can uber ($80 each way) or rent a car for the 35 minute drive to Paso) or even train north (warning--it’s a long 9 hour train trip).  It’s about a 5 to 6-hour drive from San Diego and is doable in one day but you might want to make a stop Saturday night somewhere along the way and make a more relaxing trip out of it. Once you check into the hotel in Paso you really won’t need of a car unless you want to travel around on your own during your evening off.  Transportation will be provided by two 14-passenger vans to drive us on our daily tours.  If people want to car pool to Paso I can get the word out to see if others would like to as well.

 I have left it up to you to book your own hotel room but I have reserved rooms at Oxford Suites in Paso which is where all the activities will start and end each day.  This is probably the best place to stay but you can actually stay anywhere you would like. You will, of course, have to get yourself to and from our hotel each day.  I chose this hotel for its central location, its easy access to the freeway, the fact that they provide breakfast each day (and everyone needs to eat breakfast before we start tasting!) and it’s only a 15-minute walk to downtown Paso Robles.  It’s also clean and friendly and you won’t be doing much more than sleeping there anyway.

Please note: There will be lots of walking but not for extensive distances.  You will need to be fit enough to enter and exit the van with ease and be able to walk around tasting rooms and vineyards.  While this is a first class tour, dress is casual and comfortable shoes are a must.

 Cost for the trip which includes everything I mentioned is $1475—again you must book and pay for your hotel and travel separately as well as dinner on our night off. This price includes the tour only.  Reply to this email to register as soon as possible to hold your spot. There are only 26 spots available for this tour.

A $500pp deposit is due on registration and is totally refundable until final payment on 4/15/24.  After that the deposit refund will depend on someone taking over your spot.  You might want to consider trip insurance just in case.

 Payments are best made by Zelle through your bank.  Once you have emailed Phillis to sign up for the tour simply go to Zelle online for your account or in your app and choose to pay by Zelle. Then search for me by name (Phillis Carey) and my email address (philliscarey@aol.com).  Then it's easy, just put in the amount and it will go to my account.  You can also mail me a check (I will hold your reservation for only 4 days waiting for a check). If you prefer to pay by credit card I can send you a paypal link but there will be a 3% fee for this service.

 Time to get excited!  Below is the day-to-day itinerary for the trip. As usual something might come up and cause the need to move/change an event. Stuff happens but we are not planning on any problems.  As we get closer to the date Phillis will send each participant more information about the Paso Robles area, the wineries we will be visiting and restaurants to try.

Paso Robles Tour Itinerary

Sunday, May 5

          3:45 pm—Meet the group in the Lobby at Oxford Suites and board buses

         4:30 pm—Tasting at Tobin James 

          5:45 pm—Arrive at SensorioLight Show with Terrace Seating and

 Mexican meal; No-host bar

          8:30 pm—Return to Oxford Suites for the night

 

Monday, May 6

          9:30 am— Group #1 board bus at Oxford Suites for 10 am tasting at

                   Austin Hope/Treanna 

          10:30 am— Group #2 board bus at Oxford Suites for 11 am tasting at

                    J Dusi 

          Noon—Both Groups meet at Epoch for tasting and grazing table luncheon

          2:30 pm—Group #1 leaves for 3 pm tasting at J Dusi

          2:30 pm—Group #2 leaves for 3:15 pm tasting at Austin Hope/Treanna

                    After tastings buses will drop you off in Paso Robles for free time to

wander around the town on your own.

          6 pm—Then meet up in town at Jeffry’sWine Country BBQ for dinner

          7:30 pm—Walk (15 minutes) or Uber back to Oxford Suites

Tuesday, May 7

          9:30 am—everyone boards buses for 10 am cave/winery tour and tasting at

Halter Ranch

Noon—board buses for 12:30 pm tasting and buffet lunch at Calcareous

          2:30 pm—board buses for 3 pm tasting at Lone Madrone 

          4 pm--Return to Oxford Suites

          Dinner on your own in Paso Robles (make your own reservations for this)

 

Wednesday, May 8

          9:30 am—board buses to Pasolivo for 10 am Olive Oil Tour and tasting

          Noon—board buses for 12:30 am for tasting with 3 coarse-lunch at Niner

2:30 pm—board buses and travel to Tin City for free time to wander the

area on your own for more wine, beer or even ice cream!

4:30 pm—board buses and travel to Cass Winery for tasting and

Wine Country Cooking Class which includes dinner

          7:30 pm—return to Oxford Suites for the night

 

Thursday, May 9

          End of Tour with breakfast and check out by 11 am--travel home safely.