This article originally appeared in the October issue of NCGA Golf Magazine
By Ted Johnson
One of the starker climatic contrasts takes place in the 30 miles traveling south on a typical summer day from Paso Robles into San Luis Obispo, what locals call “descending the grade” on Highway 101. There appears to be no change geographically from one place to another, just the same peanut-butter brown hillsides dotted by oaks and other trees. The difference is found in the temperature gauge on your dash.
Each mile south drops the temperature a degree or two. In less than 30 minutes, the readings can slide from 95 to 65. In the winemaking world, that is telling, and very attractive.
Paso Robles is known for its “Rhone-style” reds like cabernet, Syrah, zinfandel which thrive in hot summer days. In the Edna Valley just southeast of San Luis Obispo, the climate suits cooler temperature grapes like pinot noir, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
Whereas vines in Paso Robles are typically picked, depending on the year, in August and September, Edna Valley vines can remain full into early November. Thanks to the moderate-to-cool Mediterranean climate that usually brings no rain, the winemaker there can let the “berries” hang, in what one vineyard manager told me years ago is known as “tweaking the fruit.” That’s allowing the sugar content in the grapes to reach optimum levels, which you can then taste.
“Hang time is crucial,” said Paula Dooley, who along with her husband Stephen operates the Stephen Ross Vineyard in San Luis Obispo. “That’s how we can shape the body and acid for optimum performance.”
Stephen Ross is a relatively small operation with limited distribution mostly to high-end wine stores, and a select number of restaurants around the country. Its 2023 straw-colored Chardonnay is a medium-bodied but soothing vintage with subtle fruit and a mineral aftertaste – what the tongue will register as salt. Indeed, this entire region was underwater thousands of years ago and wine allows us to remember that.
This winery is best known for its pinot noir, with the Estate Arete selling for $80. And though many of the wine operations in the Edna Valley are similar to the Paso Robles, Napa and Sonoma Valleys with large and modern tasting rooms and outdoor settings, Stephen Ross at the time I visited sat in a small strip mall not too far from car repair shops and a plumbing company.
As unassuming that might be, it’s also the charm of the SLO region: personal touch. “If you go for a tasting around here, there’s a 90-percent chance that you’ll run into the winemaker,” Dooley said.
The spine of Edna Valley is serviced by Orcutt Road on which you can find the Wolff, Chamisal, Autry and Saucelito Canyon wineries, to name but a few. Talley sits at the southeast end of the valley, and its rolling vineyards can be seen through its large tasting room windows. The Tolosa winery just east of the SLO airport has a tasting room that seems to have jumped out of the pages of Architectural Digest. Its outdoor tasting area with food service can seat dozens.
All vineyards take walk-ins, that is if they’re not fully booked, so arranging an appointment ahead of time might be best.
Unfortunately, this section of San Luis Obispo County has only a few golf options. There’s the 9-hole Dairy Creek course east of SLO and lists the well-regarded Jon Harbottle as architect. It’s where the Cal Poly golf team trains, and though there is minimal bunkering and very small greens, it does have its challenges.
The Avila Beach Resort has 18 holes and is less than 10 miles as the crow flies from many of the wineries, and yet it might be best known for the tables and umbrellas on the lawn at Mulligans restaurant. The Chalk Mountain course in Atascadero winds through the hills and oaks, but the best layout in the region is about 25 miles south in Nipomo – Monarch Dunes, a compelling 18-hole course designed by Damian Pascuzzo with help from former PGA pro Steve Pate. It also has a very fun 12-hole short course.
San Luis Obispo can be for some quite a haul, making a full day of tasting difficult to schedule. In that case, a solution can be found in Santa Margarita, which sits atop the grade east of 101 about midway between Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo. In a town once dominated years ago by feed, farm supply and equipment outlets sits the Ancient Peaks tasting room.
The modern and charming facility is the focal point of a ranch dating back to Franciscan missionaries in the 1780s. There are five different soil compositions on its property from which the winery makes a full slate of vintages: sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, zinfandel and a full-on Rhone-style blend known as Renegade.
There are few places that offer such variety in one stop, a perfect place to sample the best of what this region has to offer.