Page 105 - SLO Visitors Guide - Fall 2024

slovisitorsguide.com FALL 2024 105
Wine Tasting
Come enjoy fine wines, foods
and spirits at Opolo Winery
Celebrating 25
years and two
generations of
winemaking
When it comes to delivering an
unforgettable wine-tasting
experience, nobody does it better
than the folks at Opolo Vineyards.
Founded by friends Rick Quinn
and David Nichols in 1999, Opolo
recently celebrated 25 years of estate
winemaking in Paso Robles, and two
generations are now actively involved
in the family-owned winery.
Located in the acclaimed Willow
Creek District in the westside coastal
mountains, Opolo offers a range of
tasting experiences from casual to
curated—all with expansive patio
seating and stunning vineyard views.
Here, you can experience Opolo’s
most popular and coveted wines,
including limited-edition bottlings
from the Opolo Reserve Collection.
You can choose to sample wines in
the traditional indoor tasting room
or enjoy a seated tableside guided
tasting. Also consider the new
“Ultimate Estate Tour” offered April
through November, which includes
a tour around the estate vineyard, a
curated Opolo Reserve tasting flight
and delectable food pairings.
Menu offerings include wood-
fired pizzas, gourmet sausages, and
seasonal salads. On top of that,
Opolo’s affiliated Willow Creek Dis-
tillery offers its on-site tasting room
that is always a hit with enthusiasts of
artisan whiskey, brandy, and liqueur.
Opolo is renowned for its flag-
ship Opolo Mountain Zinfandel
as well as its acclaimed cabernet
sauvignons and other wines includ-
ing chardonnay, albariño, merlot,
sangiovese, petite sirah, and more.
Opolo wines routinely score 90+
points in Wine Enthusiast, Tasting
Panel, and other wine journals.
Friendly and knowledgeable
With its friendly and knowledge-
able tasting room staff, Opolo has
garnered a reputation for providing
exceptional hospitality and service to
visitors and locals alike. The owners
have been hands-on with the winery
and tasting room experience since
day one, and they often enjoy their
award-winning wines with guests.
“We believe that you can balance
a fun place to taste with seriously
great wines,” Quinn says. Opolo is
more than just wine tasting; we uti-
lize our property to provide a wide
range of experiences and our staff is
committed to making everyone feel
welcome.”
“We offer one of the most diverse
and immersive tasting experiences
in Paso Robles,” Nichols says. “Our
team is knowledgeable about our
broad range of wines and their goal
is to educate while providing a fun
place to visit.”
Sustainable Quality
Opolo is an avid practitioner of
sustainable farming, and the estate
vineyards are SIP (Sustainability in
Practice) Certified, one of the most
stringent programs of its kind.
Winemaker James Schreiner
and assistant winemaker Skye Bruce
are passionate about fashioning
wines from grapes grown at the
estate vineyard in the Willow Creek
District as well as other notable areas
of Paso Robles such as the Temple-
ton Gap and Adelaida District. The
cooler westside coastal vineyards are
topographically diverse, providing
intense and unique flavor profiles for
zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and
other Bordeaux and Rhône varieties.
On the east side, the warmth and
dryness combine to create an ideal
microclimate for growing petite
sirah, tempranillo, sangiovese, and
others.
For white wines, try the albariño
or rosé – both are perfect for enjoy-
ing with fruit and lighter meals dur-
ing the amazing spring and summer
evenings of the California Central
Coast.
Looking for a red wine? Start
with Opolo’s Mountain Zinfandel, a
Enjoy wine tasting on Opolo’s expansive patio.