– With the holiday season upon us, we invited our local wineries to help us with their best wines. We were impressed with their submissions. When you celebrate this season and plan your holiday parties, Christmas dinner, and New Year’s Eve celebration, consider pouring some tasty local wines.
White wines are wonderful options for holiday evenings, meals, and even gifts. Luckily there is no shortage of fantastic white wines in Paso Robles. We received so many delicious white wines that we created a separate list of recommended sparkling wines and rosé wines. Here are the local white wines we recommend to you.
Top local white wine recommendations
Aron Hill 2021 Chardonnay — $35
This stainless chardonnay is a crisp, clean expression of the popular Burgundian grape, revolving around luscious flavors of apple and pear.
Austin Hope 2021 Chardonnay — $47
This beautiful chardonnay displays aromas of fresh honeysuckle, stone fruit, and a spritz of citrus. On the pallet, tropical notes are integrated with fresh lemon and a hint of creamy vanilla. The wine finishes with a beautiful weight that lingers.
Barton Family Wines 2021 Holiday Clairette Blanche — $40
Comforting with notes of warm honey, macadamia nut, and fresh-cut straw, this wine greets the palate with orange, dried apricot and candied ginger taking center stage with whispers of Asian pear.
Brecon Estate True Acacia Head Albariño, Central Coast — $41
The uniqueness of fermenting this wine in Acacia wood barrels brings elegant white peach, nectarine, and citrusy nuances alongside the nicely-balanced structure. This white is luscious and mouthwatering. It earned a double gold medal at the 2022 Sunset International Wine Competition and 95 points at the 2022 California State Fair Wine Competition.
Broken Earth Winery 2020 Fiano — $30
This limited-release wine has the weight and presence of a great chardonnay but has the added depth of much more fruit. This gives it the ability to suit a variety of occasions and food pairings.
Derby Wine Estates 2019 ‘Fifteen 10’ White — $26
This wine is a delicious Rhone-style blend of viognier, marsanne, grenache blanc, and roussanne. It offers a bouquet of white nectarine, lemon pith, and fresh yellow pear leading to a full mouthfeel, citrus flavors, a hint of reductive minerality, and balanced acidity. This wine was awarded 94 points by the Wine Enthusiast.
Donati Family Vineyard 2021 Reserve Viognier Templeton Gap District — $30
Ripe melon, honeysuckle, and gardenia aromas greet the nose. The palate is clean and focused with wet cement minerality framing the yellow melon flavors.
Halter Ranch 2021 Grenache Blanc — $42.50
This wine features aromas of white peach, stone fruit, and white flowers. The entry is clean and crisp, with flavors of melon, Meyer lemon, and a hint of pear. A textured mid-palate is rich and weighty, layered with finishing flavors of honey and cream.
Harvey & Harriet 2021 White Blend — $28
This delightful blend of chardonnay, albariño, viognier, and pinot grigio greets the palate with hints of tangerine, pineapple, and honeydew with nutmeg undertones and a slight saltiness. It’s a burst of brightness with a creamy finish. A great find!
Jack Creek Cellars 2020 Concrete Blonde Chardonnay — $40
A delicate yet abundant nose hints of flinty stone, lemon grass oil, and ripe golden apple. The palate presents rich layers of pressed pear, melon, and honeyed tea with wet rock. It has a refreshing acidity.
Kula Vineyards and Winery 2021 Golden Blend — $30
A wonderful Rhone-style white wine blend with grenache blanc, roussanne, picpoul blanc, and viognier grapes grown in the Paso Robles area. Starting with beautiful fruit-forward aromas of peach and pear, this medium-bodied wine follows with delightful flavors of honeysuckle, apricot, and citrus.
Loma Seca Vineyards 2021 3-Sum — $34
This white blend is dry and crisp with racy acidity. It has floral and citrus notes on the nose. On the palate, riesling shows through, with peach and pronounced minerality. The acid provides a long finish to this wine. Only 46 cases of this co-fermented blend of grenache blanc, vermentino, and riesling, were produced.
Midnight Cellars 2021 Aurora Reserve — $39
This Rhone-style white was one of our favorites. It has beautiful straw color with a nose dominated by honeysuckle and flinty minerality. The mouthfeel is full and complex with flavors of tropical fruits, vanilla, Asian pear, and stone fruit on the palate. The finish is framed with firm acidity, minerals, and fresh fruit. It earned a double gold medal and was awarded best white and best of class at the Central Coast Wine Competition.
Riverstar 2019 Sauvignon Blanc — $18
With tropical pineapple aromas, citrus and grapefruit with bright acidity, this wine pairs well with green vegetables, seafood and white meats. It’s light and refreshing and a great value.
Sea Shell 2021 Viognier – $25
This popular delightful has a floral and fruity nose full of orange and jasmine blossoms. The palate has pleasant minerality with perfect acidity. It hits the tongue with plush marshmallows, vanilla, and orange creamsicle, and a hint of French oak.
Shale Oak Winery 2020 Grenache Blanc — $ 28
This lively grenache blanc is full of lemon zest and bright citrus. It is bigger in body than previous vintages. It sings with crisp acidity. It earned a gold medal at 2022 Central Coast Wine Competition. It was one of the best whites we tasted. Highly recommended.
Sculpterra Winery 2021 Sauvignon Blanc — $32
A refreshing light wine that’s crisp, fresh, and vibrant. Its starts off with fresh-cut flower notes of clover and daisies. The palate delivers flavors of Meyer lemon, ripe peaches, and grapefruit. This is an impressively complex wine for an easy-drinking white. A pleasant contrast of fruity apricot and peach is persistent through the finish. It was one of our favorites.
Stilson Cellars 2021 The Reverie — $33
The nose of this delightful viognier ushers nuances of citrus blossom, Golden Delicious apples, and lemongrass tea. Delicate elements of honeyed chamomile, pineapple, and apricot ride upon a soft acidity. The finish highlights banana custard, Meyer lemon, and lime pith. This wine is a real treat and a great way to kick off your holiday party.
Summerwood 2020 Grenache Blanc — $30
A Rhone-style white exhibiting aromas of Bartlett pear, green apple, dried apricot, and lemon zest. Balanced acidity on the palate is paired with lemon-lime and a touch of minerality followed by a crisp finish. It was awarded a double gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Tobin James 2019 Chardonnay Radiance — $20
Partially aged in neutral oak barrels and stainless steel tanks producing a light-bodied, crisp, bright wine. This cooler climate chardonnay expresses citrus notes, acidity, and minerality with Meyer lemon and citrus blossom zest. It’s a great value.
Victor Hugo Winery 2021 Estate Chardonnay — $26
This Templeton Gap white offers aromas of apple and ripe pear intertwined with hints of nectarine. It has a rich, silky mouthfeel from fermentation and eight months of passive lees contact in Hungarian oak barrels. It culminates with a long, rich finish.
Vina Robles 2021 Albariño — $25
A golden straw-colored wine with aromas of peach, pear, honeysuckle, and lemon-lime. It’s a medium-bodied wine with flavors of honeydew melon and lemon, hints of salinity, and a quenching finish. It’s a wonderful presentation of this delicious variety.
See more Paso Robles wine recommendations
- Best local sparkling wines
- Best local rosé wines
- Best local white wines
- Best local Pinot Noir
- Best local zinfandel wines
- Best local Rhone-style red wines and red blends
- Best cabernet, Bordeaux-style, and red wines
- Best local dessert wines
Publisher’s note: For the ninth year in a row we thought it would be a great idea to recommend local wines for the holidays. Once again, we received an amazing amount of participation from our local wineries. Over the last few weeks, we received more than 100 entries. After tasting them, there were many solid, well-made wines to recommend. We have created several lists of top local wines into categories. The recommended wines above are in alphabetical order.
