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Wine barEdna Valley
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.
PourSingle-vineyard Pinot Noir flight
WineEdna Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
TipBook the terrace tasting through Tock; the last seating leaves at 15:30.
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Wine barEdna Valley
Chamisal Vineyards has farmed Edna Valley vines since 1973, and its oak-shaded patio tastings sit fifteen minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo.
PourEstate Chardonnay
WineChardonnay and Pinot Noir from the valley's oldest plantings
TipAsk for the Rhone-variety pours alongside the Chardonnay; they rarely leave the wine club otherwise.
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Wine barEdna Valley
Claiborne & Churchill has made dry Alsatian-style Riesling and Gewurztraminer since 1983 in a pioneering straw-bale winery south of San Luis Obispo.
PourDry Riesling
WineDry Alsatian-style Riesling and Gewurztraminer
TipThe straw-bale building is one of California's first; ask about it while tasting the Pinot Gris.
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Wine barEdna Valley
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.
PourEstate sparkling
WineEstate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sparkling
TipThe last tasting starts at 16:15; time it for the late-afternoon light on the Santa Lucia foothills.
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Wine barEdna Valley
Wolff Vineyards pours estate Pinot Noir and rare Teroldego from a family-run hillside tasting deck on Orcutt Road just outside San Luis Obispo.
PourOld-vine Teroldego
WineEstate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and old-vine Teroldego
TipThe Teroldego is one of very few Californian plantings of the grape; taste it against the Petite Sirah.
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Wine barEdna Valley
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.
PourOld-vine Zinfandel
WineDry-farmed Zinfandel from 1880 vines
TipThe original vineyard hides up Arroyo Grande's canyon; the tasting room saves you the dirt road.