Matthew Talbert and Chris Cameron have joined forces to form Veris Cellars, now home of JanKris and Ben Hogan Wines.
Veris Cellars, named for “Spring” or the “Produce of Spring,” was formed in early 2008 when Matthew, whose background is in international finance, acquired the property.

Vista Del Rey’s Dave King has navigated his life from sailor to vintner

Sitting in his home at Vista Del Rey Vineyards owner Dave King describes his wine label, unchanged since its creation over 15 years ago, as “simple but relevant.”

Eberle Winery is proud to announce its results from the major wine competitions of 2011.  According to the California Grapevine, which keeps track of all medals won by participating wineries, Eberle Winery ranked among the top 4 for four different categories when judged against thousands of other wines from around the world.  In many competitions, Eberle ranked higher than most other wineries several times its size.

Paso Robles Wine Glass Tours

Often, navigating a new wine region can be daunting--one hopes to find not only great wines, but friendly people and beautiful scenery along the way as well.  Even for repeat visitors, having a guide in wine country can help one explore new places and meet new people.  Gee Gee Mainini started Paso Robles Wine Glass Tours as a way to help visitors and locals alike explore and enjoy all that Paso Robles has to offer.

River Star Vineyards

When Ed and Muriel Dutton moved to the Central Coast in 1986 they intended to retire on the property they had purchased in San Miguel, just north of Paso Robles. However, the existing vineyards on the property proved to be too intriguing for the Duttons to ignore, and they found themselves as grape farmers instead of retirees.
The Duttons farmed and sold the grapes for a number of years before selling the property and buying the land that currently houses Riverstar Vineyards. By that time the Duttons had been bitten by the grape-growing bug, and they planted the vineyards that make up Riverstar’s estate vineyards.

Red Soles Winery

Randy and Cheryl Phillips, owners of Red Soles Winery, make only about 2000 cases of wine each year, but farm 250 acres of grapes. All of the wine made at Red Soles is from grapes grown by Randy and Cheryl, and serves to showcase the grapes produced by the Red Soles vineyards. The winemaking aspect of Red Soles is relatively new—Red Soles owners Randy and Cheryl Phillips have been growing grapes in the Paso Robles area for 25 years and started making wine 5 years ago.

Locatelli Vineyards

Locatelli Vineyards and Winery founders Louis and Raynette Gregory have made a space for themselves, their family and their family history in the rolling hills of San Miguel, just north of Paso Robles, CA. Louis and Raynette, along with partners Mark and Jeffrey Gruber, run the vineyards and winery as a family venture: brothers Mark and Jeffrey are Raynette’s cousins.

AronHill Vineyards, located on a hilltop on a prominent slice of land along Highway 46 West at the intersection with Vineyard Drive, has seen the Paso Robles wine industry grow up around it. The winery’s driving force is owner Judy Aron who, along with her husband, purchased the property in 1985 after moving from the Bay Area. They raised their 4 children here, and Judy says they love the natural beauty of the area as well as the freedom it has allowed them; horses are important to the family and they took advantage of the space they have on their property to keep horses.

Hope Family Wines

The name Hope Family Wines is appropriate for more reasons than one: this family-owned and run business is also a collection of distinct brands that make up a family of wines. The 5 labels, Liberty School, Candor, Treana, Austin Hope and Troublemaker, have evolved together under the care of the Hope Family over the past three decades.

Kiler Ridge Olive Farm

At Kiler Ridge Olive Farm it isn’t only the olives that are green; it’s a way of life for owners Gregg Bone and Audrey Burnam. Their journey into the world of olives began with a bicycle tour through the Tuscany region of Italy. While exerting the effort it takes to pedal up the steep road grades of that area they took in the expansive views that included olive trees. When Bone, who has an extensive technical and engineering background, was ready for a totally different career, they decided to look for property on the Central Coast of California. Maybe it was luck or was just plain serendipity, but they found an impressive 60 acres at the top of a hill on the west side of Paso Robles. Here they planted five varieties of Italian olive trees and built an environmentally friendly processing mill and tasting room.

In Earthtones, owners Mary Uebersax and Greg Carroll wanted to create a place for visitors to be able to take a moment to relax and “feel a sense of personal peace,” says Mary, as well as a place to purchase handmade gifts. Earthtones has been at its location in downtown Paso Robles since 2005, and was located in nearby Atascadero before that.

Thomas Hill Organics restaurant, in its romantic alleyway location in Paso Robles, CA, sprung out of the need of owners Joe and Debbie Thomas to find an outlet for the abundance of fresh produce they were growing on their nearby farm. The restaurant was met with such enthusiasm by both locals and visitors to the area that within its first year it had expanded to include additional dining room space.

Most people who are new to the area can’t pronounce it at first and no one is sure what it means. But that hasn’t bothered Atascadero, pronounced ah-task-a-dare-oh, a Spanish name that is roughly translated as “a place of much water” or “a muddy place.”

The Educated Gardener in Santa Margarita

Some of Simone Smith’s earliest and fondest memories are of spending time in her grandmother’s garden. Grandma’s garden wasn’t one of those orderly places where plants and flowers were arranged in rows by color and height. No, it was more of a hodge-podge assortment that made for a kind of wonderland for a small girl.

The California coast is best known for its migrating giants, the gray whales and the Northern Pacific humpback whales. What a thrill to be out on the ocean enjoying a day’s sail and to witness one of these great ocean travelers rise up from the depths or to suddenly see the flash of the enormous flukes.

Visiting the shops and dining on seafood at the restaurants along the Embarcadero in Morro Bay is always fun but it’s even more fun to spend an afternoon or evening at the new wine bar on the bay. Stax, at 1099 Embarcadero, was started by Giovanni DeGarimore, owner of Giovanni’s Fish Market, which is located just around the corner, and has been open for nearly a year now. The building that was once home to a shell shop, a gift shop, and a t-shirt store is now the hottest spot along the waterfront attracting crowds on weekend evenings.

A luffa is a plant with an attitude.” That’s the statement that Deanne starts off with on the tour of The Luffa Farm in Nipomo. She says this with conviction and repeats it. “A luffa is a plant with an attitude, not unlike an orchid,” she explains. “You know how it is with orchids. They don’t do what you expect.” It seems luffas are like that too. Of course for most people finding out that they are a plant and not a sea creature is their first surprise. “But they’re sponges, right?” That’s what Deane and her family hears over and over.

The best souvenirs to bring back from vacation are good stories, and with 14 pool tables, 30 beers on tap, video games, and fried frog legs, Hot Shots Family Entertainment Center is the best place in Pismo Beach for the nightlife and hilarious hijinks that make for memorable tales.

David Bradford says he knows when the wine being made is just right from the look on his winemaker wife’s face as she samples it. “If I see her happy face, I know she likes it.” Andrea Bradford has reason to have a happy face these days. As winemaker for Morovino Winery she is one of a very few successful female winemakers.

Pismo Beach hosts the largest Monarch colony in the U.S.

Monarch butterflies make one of the most incredible journeys from as far away as Canada, across the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada range to winter in balmy Pismo Beach.  In late spring they take wing again and head back north and during the trip mating occurs. Several generations are born and die before a return trek is made.