Wine bar$$DowntownWed-Sat 16:30-20:30; Sun 16:30-19:30
Couch Family Wines pours current and library vintages in an evening-hours tasting room on Higuera Street, next door to Woodstock's in San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Library flight
Wine focus: Small-lot current and library releases
Tip: Evening hours make it the natural stop between dinner and a show at the Fremont.
Wine bar$$DowntownTue-Sat 14:00-21:00; Sun 12:00-18:00; Mon closed
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.
Wine bar$$$Edna ValleyThu-Mon 11:00-17:00, last tasting 15:30; Tue-Wed closed
Tolosa Winery runs a glass-walled tasting salon over its Edna Valley vines, ten minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo and precise about its Pinot Noir.
Signature pour: Single-vineyard Pinot Noir flight
Wine focus: Edna Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Tip: Book the terrace tasting through Tock; the last seating leaves at 15:30.
Wine bar$$$Edna ValleyBy reservation only
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.
Wine bar$$Edna ValleyDaily 11:00-17:00
Claiborne & Churchill has made dry Alsatian-style Riesling and Gewurztraminer since 1983 in a pioneering straw-bale winery south of San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Dry Riesling
Wine focus: Dry Alsatian-style Riesling and Gewurztraminer
Tip: The straw-bale building is one of California's first; ask about it while tasting the Pinot Gris.
Wine bar$$$Edna ValleyThu-Mon 11:00-17:00, last tasting 16:15; Tue-Wed closed
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.