This Long-overlooked California Region Has Offbeat Hotels, Stunning Beaches and Hiking Trails, and Some of the Best Wines in the West

The lunch menu at solar-powered Niner Estates in Paso Robles reads like a long list of nearby fields, purveyors, mills, and dairy farms: greens from Windrose Farm, lentils and grains from Kandarian Organic Farms, goat cheese from Central Coast Creamery. Not to mention the estate’s own edible garden, chicken cage, and olive groves. At this winery, the crisp Bruts and fruit-forward Pinots are not to be missed out on– but the on-site dining establishment is perhaps even more special.

Though it is among the more recent wineries in the region, Niner represents much of what the Central Coast has actually long represented: family-owned business, constantly pushing to do things in a different way while keeping a strong sense of neighborhood. This sentiment is echoed from centers like Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo to the beach towns even more north. In addition to the exceptional food and red wine, sensational beaches, and abundant treking trails, it’s this sensation that remains with visitors– and brings them back.

The historic wine region around Paso Robles now has some 200 wineries, many cult favorites, with an experimental bent that sets them apart from those in Napa and Sonoma. At Kukkula, owner and winemaker Kevin Jussila dry-farms 50 acres of grape vines, 32 acres of walnuts, and eight acres of French varietals of olives. Jussila’s progressive method concentrates on growing the best fruit and not meddling too much in the cellar. But the development exceeds red wine; up the roadway, at Kiler Ridge Olive Farm, owner Audrey Burnam tours visitors around their 2,700 olive trees, culminating with a tasting including olive oil-drizzled ice cream. Burnam and her spouse were cycling through Tuscany when they initially encountered the grassy, extreme tastes of the regional olive oil– and chose to become manufacturers themselves.

Find more off-the-wall bottles at Tin City, a repurposed industrial complex on the outskirts of Paso now house to a complex of tasting rooms and pop-ups. Very same sample a Chenin Blanc at Desparada, sip cider aged in Bourbon casks at Tin City Cider, and get a sheep-milk ice cream cone at Negranti Creamery. At the 12-seat 6 Test Kitchen, chef Ricky Odbert serves a tasting menu with innovative meals like spider crab with sorrel and pomelo.

Paso’s hotel scene is likewise keeping up. The 24-room Piccolo, a city spin-off of the winery resort Paso Robles Inn, debuted downtown in October with a much-anticipated roof bar. The precious equestrian-themed Hotel Cheval recently included a 20-room across the street from the original inn, just off Paso’s main square. And even if you don’t stay at the Tuscan-style, art-filled Allegretto Vineyard Resort, you can still head to Cello, its on-site dining establishment, for a breakfast of huevos rancheros.

Close-by San Luis Obispo– affectionately referred to as SLO– has actually been ranked among the nation’s happiest in the last few years, flanked by beaches and significant mountain peaks. It’s likewise seen the arrival of 2 game-changing homes in recent months: Hotel San Luis Obispo, the latest project from the household behind Hotel Healdsburg, features white oak floorings, handmade textiles, private terraces in each of its 78 spaces. And the 65-key Hotel Cerro, opened in January, was built to LEED Silver specs and boasts a 4,000-square-foot hydrotherapy spa.

SLO is likewise an entrance to the emerging Edna Valley wine region, which has actually grown to encompass more than a lots wineries since emerging in the 1980s. With a few of the earliest vines in the location, Wolff Vineyards stands out for its remarkable Rieslings. Edna Valley Vineyard showcases Chardonnays and Pinots in a brilliant, just recently renovated tasting space, and families expanded blankets and play yard video games at Malene Wines, which serves Provence-style rosés out of a roaming Airstream trailer.

The Pacific Coast Highway is what roadway journey dreams are made of, and the hippie beach towns that dot California’s craggy coastline are likewise entering their own. In Pismo Beach, the just recently opened 124-room Vespera on Ocean is an ideal household getaway neglecting the Pacific– however still within a few minutes’ drive of Pismo’s famous butterfly groves. Further north in Cayucos, the Brown Butter Cookie Company, opened by two siblings, does brisk company in delicious shortbread-style cookies topped with sea salt. The aromas of brown butter, cocoa, and almond waft down the street from its two-story pastry shop on Cayucos’ primary drag.

Once-sleepy Cambria is flush with galleries, stores, and California cuisine, with standouts like the gluten-free dining establishment Hidden Kitchen area and Robin’s, a 35-year-old legend known for its vegetable-centric meals prepared with local components. Linn’s is understood for its popular Olallieberry pie, which chef Renee Linn started making more than thirty years earlier– don’t leave the Central Coast without tasting a piece!

The essential stop on the PCH is Hearst Castle, in San Simeon, which commemorates its centennial this year. William Randolph Hearst hired designer Julia Morgan to construct the 165-room manor and 123 acres of gardens, pavilions, and pools. The much-photographed Neptune Swimming pool, with its statues and pillars, was recently remodelled and filled up, and is open for buyout on specific dates throughout the year. From there, drive past the estate’s horses and zebras on your way to the Hearst Cattle ranch Winery for aromatic Chardonnays in a brand-new tasting room with sweeping ocean views.