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.
Wine bar$$Edna ValleyDaily 11:00-17:00
Wolff Vineyards pours estate Pinot Noir and rare Teroldego from a family-run hillside tasting deck on Orcutt Road just outside San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Old-vine Teroldego
Wine focus: Estate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and old-vine Teroldego
Tip: The Teroldego is one of very few Californian plantings of the grape; taste it against the Petite Sirah.
Wine bar$$Edna ValleyDaily 11:00-17:00
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.
Wine bar$$DowntownTue-Wed 13:00-18:00; Thu-Sun 13:00-19:00; Mon closed
Dunites Wine Co. pours its coastal Syrah-led wines in a small Garden Street tasting room, one of the quieter serious stops in San Luis Obispo.
Signature pour: Estate Syrah by the glass
Wine focus: Coastal Syrah and cool-climate SLO Coast bottlings
Tip: The label is named for the Oceano dunes bohemians; ask for the story with the first pour.
Wine bar$$DowntownMon-Wed 12:00-20:00; Thu-Sat 11:00-22:00; Sun 12:00-19:00
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.