California’s two largest metropolises—Los Angeles and San Francisco—are about as different as two cities could be.
Los Angles is urban sprawl. San Francisco is neighborhoods.
Los Angeles is cars. San Francisco is trolleys.
Los Angeles is smog. San Francisco is fog. (Although if you’ve ever been stuck at LAX, waiting for those “late night and early morning low clouds” to clear out, you may disagree with that comparison.)
Which city is “better”? There can be no “right” or “wrong” answer to such a question. We at Vinesse happen to love both cities. (Hey, with a statement like that, maybe we’ll run for office!) We also love a town that’s situated about midway between them along California’s famous Highway 101: Paso Robles.
Once known as a place where bandits on the run could escape the long arm of the law, today Paso Robles has gained a reputation for growing grapes that are transformed into world-class wines.
And over the past 15 years, it has grown by leaps and bounds—particularly when it comes to acreage devoted to grapevines. There now are so many wineries that touring Paso Robles in just a few days… or even a few weeks… has become next to impossible.
That’s why enterprising vintners in specific sectors of the Paso Robles viticultural area have created their own “wine trails.” These “trails” are groups of wineries in close proximity to one another that are few enough in number that they can all be visited over a span of just a few days.
“The “Far Out Wineries” near the area’s western boundary were among the first to organize. The latest: ten wineries closer to town that have unified under the banner of the “Pleasant Valley Wine Trail.”
We’ll take a look at that trail, including the estates you’ll encounter along the way, over the next two days.
A visit to Paso Robles not only is a fun experience for a wine drinker; it also enables you to take a “Pas-o” in the great Los Angeles-versus-San Francisco debate.
