Justin Vineyards in Paso Robles debuts remodeled tasting room, restaurant, inn

I’ve been to a number of wineries that had their own restaurants, mostly in Europe, though. The Chianti estate Badia a Coltibuono has a restaurant with recipes from cookbook writer Lorenza de’ Medici, whose family owns the winery. I’ve had some wonderful meals at Brunello di Montalcino producer Poggio Antico’s restaurant, too. Some winery restaurants are just casual places to get a bite. Others are highly ambitious like one-star Michelin restaurant in the Frank Gehry–designed Hotel Marqués de Riscal in the Rioja region of Spain.

We’ve got one right here in the Central Coast, too, at Justin Vineyards in Paso Robles. They’ve just renovated both the Restaurant at Justin and JUST Inn. The inn has four guest suites where you can luxuriate in the wine country lifestyle (without picking grapes or cleaning out tanks). From $375 a night with a two-night minimum on the weekends. Dogs are welcome, but cost $100 per visit.

Whether you decide to spend the night or not you can always visit the restaurant and tasting room. The latter has been greatly expanded and outfitted with a zinc-topped bar and an expansive outdoor terrace. You can order some updated picnic fare there, or bring your own picnic.

That’s pretty generous. So is the idea that the wine list isn’t all Justin Vineyards wines, but includes wines from some of their neighbors.

Still, the point of having a restaurant is to showcase the estate’s wines with food. And that’s so much better than a fleeting taste and gives you a much better idea of how their top Cabernet blend, Isosceles, works with food.

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Twitter: @sirenevirbila