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This is my rank for my favorite top 10 that I've visited in San Luis Obispo County (SLO) County, including Edna Valley and Paso Robles. The order and list may change as I continue to explore more wineries. So far, I've explored over 3 dozens in San Luis Obispo County.

1. Tolosa Winery

   Tolosa Winery is the very first winery we visited in San Luis Obispo County because of the high reviews. We were wowed by it from the very beginning and we like to take our visitors here to wine taste as we know they'll be impressed from the drive through their gate, all the way through the wine tasting experience. We really enjoy the ambiance, excellent guest services and views of the vineyards here at Tolosa. They have an indoor tasting room and a nice large outdoor patio area. If you're a wine club member, you have the option to taste in their member-dedicated lounge that is open only on the weekends. Tolosa is open every day except for 2 main holidays. Read more details and see pictures about my multiple visits here at Tolosa Winery on this blog post. Tolosa Winery Address: 4910 Edna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

2. Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery

   Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery is one of the first tasting rooms that we visited in Paso Robles. The place feels so luxurious and spacious in the tasting room. There is also patio seating as well in their courtyard space. We've visited their bistro for lunch a few times and although the menu is small, the food was always amazing. Not all wineries offer lunch menu options so it was a very wonderful thing for us that they do as we do live 45 minutes away and more likely than not, be ready to eat after the wait time to order and for the food to arrive. It is highly recommended to make a reservation to enjoy lunch at the bistro. They also have a very nice attached amphitheater that many famous bands have performed! We were wine club members before the pandemic and had taken advantage of this and were able to to arrive an hour earlier than the other concert-goers as a perk for being a wine club member. This made it less stressful to get there and we were still able to enjoy their wines earlier on. Read more details and see more pictures about my visits at Vina Robles on this blog post. Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery Address: 3700 Mill Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446

3. Tooth & Nail Wine Company

   Tooth & Nail Wine Company in Paso Robles is a castle! The place is beautiful. It is the only winery in Paso Robles that is a castle. It also has a moat that you'll pass by as you head towards the entrance. If you have a wheelchair or stroller, you can enter on the left side of the building instead because the center entrance does not have a ramp. While we were there, only adults could sit in their pretty tasting area inside. Patrons with pets or children could only sit in the patio area in the front. They have a food menu that is available every day so you can enjoy a meal while having a tasting here. They host large special events throughout the year here, which makes them stand out from many wineries in the area. See all of the pictures that I took of Tooth & Nail Wine Company's castle winery. Tooth and Nail Winery Address: 3090 Anderson Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446

4. Sextant Winery in Edna Valley

   There are two Sextant Winery tasting rooms in San Luis Obispo County. The one that we've visited is the Sextant Winery in Edna Valley. The other one is in Paso Robles, which we have not visited yet. They also have a partner winery at the tasting room called Paris Valley Road Estate Winery that serves their wine, which you can read about on #6 below. We particularly like this Sextant Winery tasting room in Edna Valley because they also have gourmet deli that is open every day for lunch. There is no other winery that has a regular food menu like this in all of Edna Valley, at least not yet. They are the only one. Not only that, they have a rustic theme about their decor which represents Old Edna. It's a nice local spot and visitor's spot as well. We always enjoy having a tasting with a salad or sandwich there. There are only a couple of indoor seating tables but there are several options for outdoor seating. They sell seasonal goods and gifts inside that I find very tasteful! Sextant Winery Edna Valley Address: 1653 Maxwellton St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

5. Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards

   
   

   Located near Avila Beach, Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards is an isolated vineyard with peacocks! You can see many of these beautiful peacocks roaming around as you're just sitting around, wine tasting there. They make a unique crow that's quite loud and entertaining. Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards also grow apples so you can see all of the apple trees around there as well. All of the seating is outside with many patio seating and umbrellas to pick from. Therefore, watch for the weather before coming here so that you may enjoy the outdoor tasting experience here. In the past, we have brought a picnic with us while doing wine tastings there with friends and there was no minimum bottle purchase requirement. Just make sure to clean after yourselves when you're done. The peacocks really made wine tasting here extra special. Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards Address: 1947 See Canyon Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

6. Paris Valley Road Estate Winery

   Located in Paso Robles, Paris Valley Road Estate Winery is immaculate! Their tasting room inside has a spacious and a very new luxurious design. They have a paved parking lot and two large buildings that you can see right off the CA-46. There is a lot of indoor space and outdoor space. They partner up with Sextant and since we're Sextant wine club members, we were able to taste here at Paris Valley Road Estate Winery for free. It's a great perk as not very many wine clubs have multiple affiliations like this and we were happy to take advantage of it. All of their wines were really wonderful and if we weren't so stocked from our wine club commitments, we would have bought a bottle during our first tasting there. There is definitely a romantic vibe about this place. Paris Valley Road Estate Winery Address: 5625 East Highway 46, Paso Robles, CA 93446

7. Eberle Winery

   

   Eberle Winery definitely is unique from long list of wineries in Paso Robles because they have an underground cave and offers cave tours everyday to visitors! They are very pet-friendly and I've seen many pets accompany their owners here on the deck. There is a beautiful view on the deck with chairs that you can sit on while you enjoy your tasting. There is a lot of room to road around. On a very busy day, parking can get really difficult! Their cave tours are definitely worth coming for and they also offer veteran discounts year-round on bottle purchases! You can reserve a nice spot or area in the cave for a special occasion. Eberle Winery Address: 3810 CA-46, Paso Robles, CA 93446

8. Edna Valley Winery

   Edna Valley Winery located in Edna Valley of San Luis Obispo has one of the best views of the vineyards and valley! There's a nice green outdoor area for you to enjoy your wine tastings. However, if you want to sit and taste indoors in their tasting room, you'll have to be a wine club member. You're welcome to stand and wine taste inside or bring it outside and sit but in order to sit down in a chair inside of their beautiful tasting room, you have to be a member. We were thrown off by that because there is not a separate space from the main indoor area with all of the chairs. They're just scattered all around. While tasting here, standing up next to my spouse, I couldn't help but think that Tolosa (another winery that I ranked as #1 at the top) does this so much better. They had a standing tasting room for non-members but it had no chairs in sight and then a large outdoor patio space for members and non-members to sit at with attentive service. There was no perplexing confusion. Tolosa Winery got this right so much better and their wines tastes better in my opinion, according to my palate preference. However, Edna Valley Winery views are so incredible but I have to put it up among my top 10 in this ranking. On a nice day, when outdoor wine tasting makes sense, Edna Valley Winery is a great choice. Edna Valley Winery Address: 2585 Biddle Ranch Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

9. JUSTIN Downtown Tasting Room

   I really didn't want to include JUSTIN among my top 10 list here because of their sexual harassment allegations but a couple of their wines are famous and award-winning and I like their wines. This Downtown tasting room is also very posh and beautiful. It is definitely made for Hollywood and impressionable dates or parties. This tasting room is also centrally located in Downtown Paso Robles and walking distance to many wonderful restaurants. If it doesn't bother you that they've been reported of many management's sexual harassments towards their employees and you have always wanted to visit this award winning place, then be assured that their wines are as great as their wine-making reputation. JUSTIN Downtown Tasting Room Address: 811 12th St., Paso Robles, CA 93445

10. Bianchi Winery & Tasting Room

    The large koi fish pond here is beautiful and memorable. It sets them apart from the hundreds of wineries in Paso Robles and the views of the vineyards are romantic and perfect for impressing a special someone. It has the most perfect backdrop for parties as well. It was the ambiance more than anything that have this on my top 10 list. Many tourists come here to enjoy their wine tasting adventure. Bianchi Winery & Tasting Room Address: 3380 Branch Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Background on Our Wine Tasting Experiences

After moving to San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, my husband and I started learning more about wine tasting as our county has many wineries and tasting rooms throughout the Central Coast. As we were exploring (and still are) our area, wine tasting is usually one of the top suggested things to do in printed travel guides and websites about SLO for the 21 years old and older visitors as there hundreds of different wineries throughout San Luis Obispo County.

At first, we tried the most popular one in Edna Valley named Tolosa Winery and then started going to a few tasting rooms in Paso Robles (northern part of SLO County) like Justin's Tasting Room. We've discovered that trying to catch the distinct tastes and notes of each different wine was really fun so we joined a couple of tasting rooms and continued to go adventuring and discovering tasting rooms at other wineries in our leisure time.

Even after living in SLO County for over 4 years, we've only been able to hit 38 different wineries/tasting rooms. You can find over 200 tasting rooms in just Paso Robles area and 2 dozen tasting rooms in the Edna Valley region (San Luis Obispo City proper). For us to even tackle a hundred will probably take us a decade as a local at our pace. 

I've also written dedicated blog posts on certain wineries. You can read them here under the Wineries category.