Page 95 - SLO Visitors Guide Winter 2026

slovisitorsguide.com WINTER 2026 95
Wine Tasting
HANDCRAFTED BOUTIQUE WINES
even Angels Cellars
Open Fri-Sun 12-5 and by appointment
2985 Anderson Rd., Paso Robles off the 46 West
805.835.4054 SevenAngelsCellars.com
New
Location!
Bethel Rd Distillery, a journey
of family legacy
Blake Franco, the tasting room
manager at Bethel Rd Distillery,
wasn’t wrong when he welcomed
our tasting party to “the most
unknown, underrated view in Paso
Robles wine country.” The view of
rolling hills and vineyards, with
birds of prey soaring overhead,
along with the spacious, inviting
outdoor seating areas, was perfect
on a Central Coast fall day to enjoy
tasting Bethel Rd’s spirits–and
wine!
Bethel Rd Distillery, opened in
2016, is another dimension of the
vision of environmental sustain-
ability from the pioneering Udsen
family, founders of Castoro Cellars.
During his time in Italy, Niels
Udsen envisioned making grappa,
a distilled spirit created from left-
over grape seeds, skins, and stems.
This idea naturally aligned with
the Udsen family's commitment
to sustainability, regenera-
tion, and respect for
the land. “Why
not transform
winemaking
leftovers into
grappa and
produce
high-qual-
ity brandy,
gin, and
liqueur?” he
asked.
So, he did.
Bethel Rd Dis-
tillery holds one
of the earliest-issued
distillery licenses in the
county and is one of 13 distilleries
on the Paso Robles Distillery Trail,
the only designated spirits trail in
California.
The Udsen sons are spearhead-
ing the distillery, following the
family legacy for sustainability.
Max is the head distiller, and Luke
heads up marketing and entertain-
ment for both venues.
Let the spirits move you
Although the Spirit Tasting
Flight selection may vary at times,
our party was treated to the current
tasting list, which included:
• Neutral Brandy,
a modern, clean
neutral brandy
from organic
estate-grown
grapes, and
the founda-
tion for the
rest of the
Bethel Rd
brandies.
• Grappa
di Moscato,
the spirit that
started the Bethel
Rd Distillery journey.
• House Brandy, cask-
aged, hand-crafted from estate
grown vineyards, and distilled in
small batches.
• VSOP Brandy, aged for six
years instead of the traditional four
years.
• Orange Liqueur, from organi-
Following where
the spirits lead