Wineries fill the lodging gap with style in Paso Robles

On one corner of Paso Robles' main square—a charming place with a park and gazebo at its heart and a sweet mix of historic buildings, wine-tasting rooms and boutiques at its edges—is a clock tower shaped like an acorn. It is meant as a tribute to the oak trees that give the area its high visual drama. And although Paso Robles without its oaks would be, well, pretty boring, you would think someone would have the good sense to monumentalize the grape, at the very least, and maybe even the olive, depending on whether this artisanal olive thing has legs.

By Ann Herold

April 1, 2007