Where to drink well in San Luis Obispo by the glass and the bottle: natural, classical, and worth the cab fare.
Wine bars in San Luis Obispo. natural, classical, and the grower-focused rooms worth the cab fare.
Dunites Wine Co. pours its coastal Syrah-led wines in a small Garden Street tasting room, one of the quieter serious stops in San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Estate Syrah by the glass
Wine focus: Coastal Syrah and cool-climate SLO Coast bottlings
Tip: The label is named for the Oceano dunes bohemians; ask for the story with the first pour.
Central Coast Wines runs a bottle shop and pour-by-the-glass bar on Higuera Street, mapping San Luis Obispo wine country one small producer at a time.
Signature pour: Rotating SLO Coast flights
Wine focus: Bottle shop and bar for Central Coast producers
Tip: Buy any bottle off the shelf and drink it in-house; staff steer you to producers without tasting rooms.
Couch Family Wines pours current and library vintages in an evening-hours tasting room on Higuera Street, next door to Woodstock's in San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Library flight
Wine focus: Small-lot current and library releases
Tip: Evening hours make it the natural stop between dinner and a show at the Fremont.
Club Bubbly pours nothing but sparkling wine in the Creamery Marketplace, from Cava and Prosecco to Sekt and Cap Classique, unique in San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Grower Champagne and Cava by the glass
Wine focus: Sparkling wines from around the world
Tip: The rotating list means last month's Franciacorta may be gone; ask what just landed.
Tolosa Winery runs a glass-walled tasting salon over its Edna Valley vines, ten minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo and precise about its Pinot Noir.
Signature pour: Single-vineyard Pinot Noir flight
Wine focus: Edna Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Tip: Book the terrace tasting through Tock; the last seating leaves at 15:30.
Chamisal Vineyards has farmed Edna Valley vines since 1973, and its oak-shaded patio tastings sit fifteen minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Estate Chardonnay
Wine focus: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the valley's oldest plantings
Tip: Ask for the Rhone-variety pours alongside the Chardonnay; they rarely leave the wine club otherwise.
Claiborne & Churchill has made dry Alsatian-style Riesling and Gewurztraminer since 1983 in a pioneering straw-bale winery south of San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Dry Riesling
Wine focus: Dry Alsatian-style Riesling and Gewurztraminer
Tip: The straw-bale building is one of California's first; ask about it while tasting the Pinot Gris.
Biddle Ranch Vineyard pours estate Chardonnay and sparkling in a glass barn ringed by Edna Valley vines, a short drive from San Luis Obispo proper.
Signature pour: Estate sparkling
Wine focus: Estate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sparkling
Tip: The last tasting starts at 16:15; time it for the late-afternoon light on the Santa Lucia foothills.
Wolff Vineyards pours estate Pinot Noir and rare Teroldego from a family-run hillside tasting deck on Orcutt Road just outside San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Old-vine Teroldego
Wine focus: Estate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and old-vine Teroldego
Tip: The Teroldego is one of very few Californian plantings of the grape; taste it against the Petite Sirah.
Saucelito Canyon pours Zinfandel grown on dry-farmed 1880 vines at its Biddle Ranch Road tasting room in Edna Valley, San Luis Obispo wine at its oldest.
Signature pour: Old-vine Zinfandel
Wine focus: Dry-farmed Zinfandel from 1880 vines
Tip: The original vineyard hides up Arroyo Grande's canyon; the tasting room saves you the dirt road.