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22 TRAVEL+LEISURE | JUNE 2020
Clockwise from top left: The Airstream trailer at Malene
Wines; the Pismo Beach Pier; rosé on one of the guest-room
balconies at Hotel San Luis Obispo.PASO ROBLES
This historic wine region now has some
200 wineries, many cult favorites, with an
experimental bent that sets them apart from
those in Napa and Sonoma. At the solar- powered
Niner Wine Estates (niner wine.com), the on-site
restaurant pairs fruit-forward Pinots with
ingredients from local purveyors (and Niner’s
own kitchen garden). Up the road at Kukkula
(kukkulawine.com), owner Kevin Jussila grows
walnuts, olives, and 50 acres of vines for his
unfussy natural wines. Find more off-the-wall
bottles at Tin City (tincity pasorobles.com), a new
complex of tasting rooms and pop-ups where
you can sample a Chenin Blanc at Desparada
(desparada.com) and grab a sheep-milk ice
cream cone at Negranti Creamery (negranti
creamery.com). At the 12-seat Six Test Kitchen
(six test kitchen.com; tasting menu $150), chef
Ricky Odbert serves inventive courses like spider
crab with sorrel and pomelo. The 24-room
Piccolo (the piccolo.com; doubles from $429),
an urban offshoot of the winery resort Paso
Robles Inn (paso robles inn.com; doubles from
$169), debuted downtown in October.SAN LUIS OBISPO
The relaxed town affectionately known as
SLO—ranked among the country’s happiest in
recent years—is flanked by beaches and dramatic
mountain peaks. Hotel San Luis Obispo (hotel-
slo.com; doubles from $309) features white-oak
floors, handmade textiles, and private terraces
in each of its 78 rooms, and the 65-key Hotel
Cerro (hotel cerro.com; doubles from $360), built
to LEED Silver specifications, has a 4,000-square-
foot spa. This is a gateway to the Edna Valley
wine region, which has grown to encompass
more than a dozen wineries since emerging in
the 1980s. With some of the oldest vines in the
area, Wolff Vineyards (wolffvineyards.com)
stands out for its exceptional Rieslings. Edna
Valley Vineyard (ednavalleyvineyard.com)A Place in the Sun
California’s bountiful Central Coast is much
more than just a scenic stretch of highway
between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Today, it’s home to offbeat hotels, inventive
restaurants, stunning beaches and hiking
trails, and some of the most delightful wines
in the West. BY TANVI CHHEDATAL0620_Discoveries.indd 22 FINAL 4/21/20 6:45 PM