El Paso de Robles or Pass of the Oaks
Paso Robles is located in the Central Coast of California. The town’s heartbeat is centered around City Park Plaza with restaurants, wine bars/tasting rooms, lodging, and speciality shops around the park. Our visit to Paso Robles was two-fold – 1) check out the wine region & 2) attend the Olive Festival.
One Big Chicken (Photo by RSheridan)
Where Pastoral & Bucolic Meet Vineyards & Olive Orchards
Wine
There are more than 200 wineries in Paso Robles and continues to grow.
Favorite Wineries
- Tablas Creek Vineyard
- Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden
- Cass Winery
- Kenneth Volk Vineyard
- Halter Ranch
Point the Way! (Photo by RSheridan)
Cheese
A side trip to Vivant Fine Cheese was so worth checking this place out. Tried a Sheep’s Milk Hard Cheese called Ewephoria – loved it so much that I bought a wedge. Tried some other Cow’s Milk & Goat’s Milk Cheeses – soft and hard.
Olive Oil
Checked out the 8th Annual Olive Festival on our trip to Paso Robles. The festival is held in the City Park Plaza from 10 am to 5 pm. The festival offers participants bread for olive oil tasting.
I tried olive oil ice cream for the 1st time made by We Olive – 1st bite you taste the olive oil and then it just gets better from there with its creaminess – YUM! We tasted olive oils for about an hour and then took a break before having palate overload – tried some balsamic vinegar, olives, dips, hummus too.
Enjoyed the olive oil from Alta Cresta Orchard and bought a bottle of their Coratina – a balanced olive oil that can be served cold or cook with it.
Olive Oil (Photo by RSheridan)
Camping
Stayed at Wine Country RV Resort – received some wine tasting/purchase coupons upon check-in. The RV Resort hosted a Friday night wine tasting by Daou Vineyards – loved their Zinfandel.
Wine Swag Upon Check-in (Photo by RSheridan)
I enjoyed the Adult Spa area with hot tub and fire pit – great way to relax on a Summer evening. The main pool area with hot tub was a great afternoon spot to cool off and escape the heat – loved the shaded seating area.
The pop-up loves to hang with the big rigs!
Welcome! (Photo by RSheridan)
CRAVESAdventure 
September 15th, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Must agree Ken Volk rocks! On my short list! As much as I love olive oil and cheese, these tend to take a back seat on my trips. Glad to see it from the comfort of my office with a glass of wine 🙂
September 15th, 2011 at 6:58 PM
Shawn –
I especially love Kenneth Volk’s red wine varietals – Touriga, Mourvedre, Negrette – YUMMY:) If I have a table with wine, another with cheese and another with olive oil I would be running for the wine table first and watch out. Have a Great Evening.
Take Care – Renee