RSVP
(619) 295-3939

COST
$1,675 per person based on double occupancy
Single occupancy upcharge is $330

Price includes all breakfasts, all lunches (except Thursday), all dinners (except Monday night), four nights of hotel accommodations, hosted happy hours at the hotel on Sunday and Monday night, all winery tours and tastings, luxury bus transportation with an on-board restroom.  Air and taxi fare is not included.

INCLUDED IN COST:
1. Four nights lodging in San Luis Obispo at Quality Suites
2. Hosted happy hours at the hotel on Sunday and Monday night
3. Transportation to all wineries via motorcoach with on-board restroom
4. Transportation back to the airport for those flying back
5. All breakfasts
6. All lunches except Thursday
7. All dinners except Monday night
8. All winery tours and tastings 

NOT INCLUDED IN COST:
1. Transportation to and from our starting and ending point in San Luis Obispo (SLO) at Quality Suites Hotel.  Alaska Airlines now has direct flights from San Diego or you can just drive up.  (It’s about a five-hour drive from San Diego and I have made arrangements with the hotel so you can leave your car in the hotel parking lot while we’re in Paso Robles.)  Amtrak is also an option but it takes longer than driving.
2. Airport shuttle from the SLO airport to the hotel if you’re flying in.  I will make arrangements for a shuttle and we’ll divide the cost equally among everyone flying in.  Plan on about $20 per person.
3. Gratuities for the winery lunches and dinners.  Total comes to $30 per person which will be collected in cash upon check-in at the orientation meeting Sunday evening at the hotel.  We will disburse those tips so you don’t need to deal with them.
4. Gratuities for breakfasts and hosted happy hours at the hotel.  Plan on about ten bucks per person for all four days.  (Bring lots of ones!)
5. Dinner on Monday night.  There’s a nightly BBQ at the hotel and there are plenty of restaurants within walking/Uber distance from the hotel (if you’re even hungry after our late lunch at Stolpman Vineyards).

DATES
TOUR #1: May 15 - 19, 2022 ~ SOLD OUT
TOUR #2: May 22 - 26, 2022 ~ SOLD OUT
TOUR #3: May 29 - June 2, 2022 ~ SOLD OUT
TOUR #4: June 5 - June 9, 2022 ~ SOLD OUT

 >>> Please SCROLL DOWN for the hour-by-hour itinerary below, but here’s an overview of the highlights:

SUNDAY
Everyone will meet in the pool courtyard at Quality Suites Hotel in SLO at 5:45 for a quick orientation meeting.  Why 5:45?  Because the hotel’s hosted happy hour starts at 5:30 and we want everyone to get a free glass of wine or beer to drink during the orientation, of course!

Right after the orientation meeting we’ll have a casual “meet ‘n’ greet” BBQ in the courtyard to give everyone a chance to meet their new best friends. Grilled chicken sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches will be served to order along with more wine and beer until 7:30.  You’re on your own after 7:30 or you can purchase a bottle of wine and continue socializing in the courtyard or around the fireplace as you wish.

MONDAY
Breakfast is included at the hotel all four days.  And it’s a good one with a great selection of options and made-to-order omelets as well.  The bus will pick everyone up after breakfast and we’ll head south towards Santa Barbara.  The first stop will be at Margerum Winery for charcuterie and barrel tasting with Doug Margerum in the barrel room.  Next stop will be at  Stolpman where we’ll meet up with Pete Stolpman in the vineyards for an authentic “La Cuadrilla” style carne asada lunch under the 500-year-old oak tree.  He’ll take anyone interested on a vineyard trek afterwards to show you some of the cutting-edge plantings they’re doing ... including a fascinating Syrah vineyard that is just one vine that has been replicated into hundreds more by burying canes into the ground so they create a new own-rooted vine that is part of the original vine.  (You’ve got to see this one to believe it as it’s pretty hard to explain!)  Next we’ll start heading north with a stop at the architecturally stunning Presqu’ile Winery before returning to San Luis Obispo.  Presqu’ile is a state-of-the-art gravity flow winery that specializes in the cool climate Chards, Pinots and Syrahs of the area.  After that we’ll head back to the hotel for the night.  This is the only night that dinner will be on your own (if you’re even hungry) but there are plenty of great restaurants within walking/Uber distance of the hotel.  The casual BBQ at the hotel is also available until 7:30 if you want to stay close to home.

TUESDAY
After breakfast we’ll leave SLO and head north to Paso Robles where we’ll explore the west side on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and the east side on Wednesday afternoon.  First stop will be L’Aventure for a tour of the caves and a private tasting of their premium wines.  I had to pull a lot of strings to pull off this group visit to L’Aventure as this is not something they normally do but, thanks to our long-term relationships with Stephan and Chloe, were able to pull it off.  You’re welcome!  Next stop will be on York Mountain at Epoch Winery where we’ll enjoy a tasting of their premium wines along with a simple box lunch (because we want to save room for dinner!)  After that we’ll head to Adelaida in the westernmost part of Paso Robles for a tasting.  Founded in 1973, Adelaida is one of the most respected pioneering wineries in Paso Robles.  After that we’ll head back down the hill to J. Dusi Winery where we’ll enjoy a braised short rib dinner with all the fixings.  We’ll actually be showcasing three wineries here: Janell Dusi of J. Dusi Winery, Mac of McPrice Myers Winery and Billy Grant along with Janell and Mac of Paper Street Vineyards.  Several of the Dusi family members will also be there so there’s going to be a lot of Paso history going down here!  Should be a night for the record books!  After that we’ll head back south to the hotel in SLO for the night.

WEDNESDAY
After breakfast we’ll leave SLO and head north to Paso Robles again.  First stop will be at Tablas Creek Winery where proprietor Jason Hass will greet us and give us a tour through the vineyards (with a special stop at their original grafting shed for a grafting demonstration) and winery before ending with a special tasting.  Tablas Creek was instrumental in bringing Rhone varietals to Paso Robles in the early ‘90’s.  So much so that almost all of the Rhone varietal cuttings in Paso originated from the Tablas Creek Nursery where they were grafted onto disease resistant rootstock.  After that walk through history we’ll go literally next door to Halter Ranch.  Upon arriving we’ll get a glass of Rose and hop on the owner’s private miniature railroad for a train tour through their vineyards!  How cool is that!  Next will be a quick tour through the caves before exiting for a tasting along with a gourmet pizza lunch with a mind-numbing variety of pizzas made to order from their giant outdoor pizza oven.  After that we’ll leave the west side and head to our last two stops of the day on the east side.  First stop will be at Chateau Margene for a tasting of their uber premium Bordeaux style wines.  The next and final stop for the day will be at Cass Winery for a tour and tasting hosted by the colorful Ted Plemons.  You’re in for a real behind-the-scenes treat here as Ted has already told me that he going to break out the “special stuff” for our groups.  Dinner will be an entire roast suckling pig served next to the vineyards.  Should be a great finale to an already awesome day!  Then we’ll head back down to SLO for the night.

THURSDAY
After breakfast, those of you who are flying back to San Diego will need to check out and bring your luggage with you on the bus.  Those of you who are driving back can leave your luggage in your room and check out later when the bus drops you off back at the hotel around noon.  The first and only winery stop will be at Ancient Peaks, the southernmost winery in the Paso Robles AVA in Santa Margarita a mere ten minutes north of SLO.  Here we’ll take a four-mile bus tour through the vineyards (with wine poured on the bus, of course!) with a winery representative narrating along the way.  There’s lot of history here as this entire area was under water years ago and there are fossilized oyster shells everywhere.  At the end of the vineyard drive we’ll end up at the Oyster Ridge barn for a tasting of their premium wines before heading back (on the paved road this time!).  For those of you flying back to San Diego, we’ll get you to the SLO airport in plenty of time to make the flight back.  The bus will then take those of you driving back to the hotel.

Here’s the hour-by-hour itinerary:

SUNDAY
04:00ish  Arr Quality Suites SLO (Alaska leaves SAN 1:10 PM; arrives SLO 2:45 PM
05:45 PM  Orientation meeting at hotel (grab a glass of wine or a beer first at the hosted happy hour)
06:00 PM  Casual “meet ‘n’ greet BBQ at hotel with hosted happy hour until 7:30
07:30 PM  On your own for the rest of the evening

MONDAY
07:00ish    Breakfast included at Quality Suites SLO
08:30 AM  Dep Quality Suites SLO
09:45 AM  Arr Margerum Winery >>> barrel room tasting + charcuterie
11:30 PM  Dep Margerum Winery
12:00 PM  Arr Stolpman Vineyards >>> tasting w/ lunch in the vineyards
02:30 PM  Dep Stolpman Vineyards
03:30 PM  Arr Presqu’ile Winery >>> tour + tasting
05:15 PM  Dep Presqu’ile Winery
06:00 PM  Arr Quality Suites SLO
06:15 PM  Hosted happy hour at hotel until 7:30; non-hosted BBQ at hotel
06:30 PM  On your own for rest of evening (dinner not included)

TUESDAY
07:00ish    Breakfast included at Quality Suites SLO
08:30 AM  Dep Quality Suites SLO
09:15 AM  Arr L’Aventure >>> cave tour + tasting
11:00 AM  Dep L’Aventure
11:30 AM  Arr Epoch >>> tasting + box lunches
01:15 PM  Dep Epoch
02:00 PM  Arr Adelaida >>> tasting
03:45 PM  Dep Adelaida
04:15 PM  Arr J Dusi >>> tour, short rib dinner + tasting
07:00 PM  Dep J Dusi
07:30 PM  Arr Quality Suites SLO
07:30 PM  On your own for rest of evening

WEDNESDAY
07:00ish    Breakfast included at Quality Suites SLO
08:30 AM  Dep Quality Suites SLO
09:15 AM  Arr Tablas Creek >>> tour + tasting
11:30 AM  Dep Tablas Creek
11:30 AM  Arr Halter Ranch >>> train, tour, tasting + pizza lunch
02:30 PM  Dep Halter Ranch
03:30 PM  Arr Cass >>> tour, tasting, suckling pig dinner
07:30 PM  Dep Cass
08:30 PM  Arr Quality Suites SLO
08:30 PM  On your own for rest of evening

THURSDAY
07:00ish    Breakfast included at Quality Suites SLO
08:30 AM  Dep Quality Suites SLO (those flying out need to check out and take luggage with them)
08:45 AM  Arr Ancient Peaks >>> vineyard tour + tasting
11:15 PM  Dep Ancient Peaks
11:45 PM  Arr SLO Airport to drop off folks flying back; bus back to hotel to drop off folks driving back
01:25 PM  Dep SLO on Alaska Airlines for those flying back to San Diego