One of the things I love about this area is that we have been unable to keep up with and visit all the wineries. This plays perfectly into our ongoing adventure in the San Luis Obispo County wine world! On our way down to Santa Maria for family fun a couple of weeks ago we decided to stop off in south San Luis Obispo and visit Claiborne & Churchill Winery. We had been recently reminded of them when we saw them at the Gourmet Mac & Cheese Festival in Paso Robles. To be totally transparent, I’ve also been meaning to get down there because they are SIP Certified and I do some social media work for the Central Coast Vineyard Team which is responsible for SIP Certifications.
I digress…
More on Claiborne and Churchill
We really enjoyed Claiborne and Churchill’s quaint little spot. Once you pull off the road into their parking lot you kind of feel like you’re off away from everything. They have vines growing around the parking lot and some great seating areas back behind some of the vines; it would actually be a great spot for a picnic. The staff in the tasting room was awesome…one of the ladies started pouring the wine for me and then one of the owners, Clay Thompson took over. He was a super nice guy, very genuine and down to Earth.
As for the Claiborne and Churchill wines, I’m not typically a big fan of Rieslings or Gewurtzraminer, but I have been really trying to push my stereotypes on wine. When I tasted a couple of their wines at the Mac & Cheese Festival I became quite intrigued because I really enjoyed them. The dry Reisling and Gewurtz were both very nice, and they also had some awesome Pinot Noirs.
Due to the fact that I’m not a wine critic or a “scientific wine writer”, I will just say that I am a huge supporter of people trying every wine they can get their hands on…it’s the amazing adventure of wine. These wines surpassed my expectations and I really enjoyed the overall experience of the facility and the customer service. We bought three or four bottles and have since enjoyed a couple of them at home.
Be sure to check them out if you’re in their neck of the woods and keep rockin’ your wine explorations. And if you come across anything we should check out, by all means let us know!
Cheers and thanks again to the folks at Claiborne & Churchill!! Well done!
Be sure to check out their “wine story” here…
Hi Annie –
Found your site while looking for something for my blog – http://vinewright.blogspot.com. I’m fairly new to blogging and to the Paso area, though did wine business here for years. Trying to figure out if you live in the area or in Colorado, where I lived and had a wine company for quite some time. Saw you Long’s Peak climb and that got me to wondering, I actually worked in a sort of intern role in Rky Mtn NP many moons ago and some great climbing memories.
I’d like to mention your blog on mine etc. and if in the area, exchange some chat and wine.
Best,
Ken