A Visitor's Experience on the Central Coast, Part I

I know I'm in the middle of my Tourism By Numbers serise, but really want to take a quick break and put the first five parts of the Tourism Infrastructure into context. The next few posts will examine our weekend trip to California's Central Coast.

Fear and Loathing on the Central Coast

We were somewhere near Paso Robles on the edge of San Luis Obispo County when the wine began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive…” And suddenly there was an incredible change in temperature all around us the air became breathable and cooler. It was almost noon and we still had more than 40 miles to go. They would be tough miles. Very soon, I knew, we would both be completely twisted. But there was no going back and no time to rest. We would have to ride it out…

My wife and I had taken off from Clovis at 10:00 AM with the plan of spending the weekend enjoying California’s Central Coast’s cool weather, great food, nice people, and wine. An hour and a half later, we were at Tobin James Cellars.

Tobin James is a favorite wine tasting room for people exploring the Paso Robles wine experience. Its location also helps make it a very popular stop; it happens to be the first real recognizable winery as tourists make their way out of the Central Valley and into Paso. A colorful façade and fun decorations are eye-candy for the Fresno and Bakersfield folks trying to escape the 105-degree heat for a little coastal R&R.

The tasting room is not what you would typically find when searching for wine. You walk out of the sun, into the cool, dark, wood-laced room and stop. Your eyes adjust to the lighting and everything changes. It’s a party. Rock and Roll music, laughter, fun, excitement and, of course, wine. But, even the wine is fun. With names like Fat Boy, Pinot Envy and Cash Flow, even the snobbiest wine snobs have to take notice.

The staff seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much as the guests. They were singing and pouring, joking and answering questions, dancing and ringing up orders. The menu of wines being poured that afternoon summed up the culture of Tobin James. “THE ONLY RULE IN OUR TASTING ROOM IS—HAVE FUN!!” We did.

We left the wine room and headed west on Union Road and stopped at several more tasting rooms. Each was fun in their own way and each one was pouring interesting wine. But one place in particular, Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery stood out for another reason. There was no “party” atmosphere. There was no Rock and Roll, and there was certainly no dancing. But, they had a story.

The tasting room at Steinbeck is stark, bright, and, quite frankly, boring compared to Tobin James and some of the other rooms we visited, but proprietor Cindy Steinbeck Newkirk painted a picture for us that was totally unique and made the stop worth every minute. We learned the history of Paso Robles’ wine industry, how marketing for the region is organized, and a little about her family’s history on the vineyard property. We also learned about the history of a blend that they produce called The Crash. It’s way more than 72% Cabernet Sauvignon / 14% Merlot / 7% Viognier / 5% Petite Sirah / 2% Zinfandel, it’s a wine that commemorates the crash of a B-26 bomber that took place in a field on their property back in 1956.

“On April 11, 1956, my dad was in high school,” Cindy explained, “Major John Fortner, Captain S.W. Wiggley, First Lieutenant Robert Nilsson, Staff Sergeant Fred Kilby and Staff Sergeant O.J. Fazio were on a flight to retire an old B-26 when lightning struck the plane and it went down in our field.. Out of the crew of five, four survived the crash and Lieutenant Nilsson and Sergeant Fazio are both still with us today…”

A scale model of the plane hangs from the ceiling in the tasting room. There are several other items in the room that came to life and Cindy told their stories. There was a family wine press from the 1800s, musical instruments, and a variety of old tools. And, there was the building itself: an old blacksmith shop.

As my wife and I made our purchase – a bottle of The Crash – and made our way down the road, we decided that first impressions are not always accurate. It was a great experience.

So what did Tobin James and Steinbeck have that the other place that we visit didn’t have? It certainly wasn’t wine. Most of the tasting rooms had adequate signage and were fairly easy to find. They were all listed on a wine map and in visitor’s guides. They all had very friendly staff and were clean and had restrooms and were safe. Why were they two places different? Well, it was because they were different. There were two distinct cultures that created a unique “sense of place”.

This is what set them apart and loosened us of a little cash.

(next: Beer and Food on the Central Coast)