Pour Me Some Paso
By Misty Hall
Ah, Paso Robles. Dubbed by some as the “new Napa,” Paso has exploded into the wine scene in recent years. But despite its growing fame, Paso has managed to keep its rural cowboy charm and laid-back California vibe.
Here are three Paso wineries that have caught our eye — and a few others from across the Central Coast, too.
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Summer Festivals
There’s something glorious about a festival. People from all walks of life gather together to honor traditions, or celebrate regional flavors and products, or just to revel in the sheer, sometimes quirky, joy of their passions. Festivals are part of human civilization the world over and, since time immemorial, they have taken us out of the mundane and given us the spectacle, color, music, and variety we crave in life. We mingle and eat and browse and eat and marvel and eat and eat and eat! In our bounteous region, local foods and specialties are some of the things we celebrate most, but summer festival season is also the best time of the year to soak up the rich diversity of activities and culture the area has to offer.
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Lavender Festival
By Sami Zahringer
When you grow an herb that has been utilized in Ancient Egyptian mummification, used as an Elizabethan substitute for bathing, and as a lemonade flavoring, you know you have a useful plant. In the language of flowers, lavender can mean devotion, luck, success, happiness, and it can be used as a perfume, a flavor, and medicine. As the organizers of this festival, now in its 11th year, say, “Using essential oils enables us to connect to the living processes of earth and thereby rejuvenate, balance, and nourish our mind, body, emotions, and spirit.”
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Soak up the Suds
By Bill Warner
No matter where you are on the Central Coast, there’s a killer craft brewery in your area. Here are some of our regional favorites: The state of California is arguably the cradle of the U.S. economy’s current craft beer phenomenon. That’s particularly true if you trace that phenomenon’s beginnings to 1965, the year in which Frederick Maytag bought and refurbished the faltering Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco. To be sure, the subsequent industry growth was slow for a couple of decades. Anchor’s example was followed by the Sonoma-based New Albion Brewery in 1977, and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. which set up shop in Chico about three years later. By 1990, according to the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA), fewer than 70 microbreweries were operating in the state.
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The Farmers’ Market Trail
So, you are driving down California Highway 101 from San Luis Obispo to Ventura and wondering what to do. How about spending an enjoyable hour outdoors at one of 29 different farmers’ markets? Although we can’t feature all of the markets in this article, here are our top suggestions:
San Luis Obispo County
The San Luis Obispo County Farmers’ Market Association is a mutual benefit not-for-profit organization that manages five of the 14 weekly farmers’ markets in the county. One — the San Luis Obispo Thursday Evening Certified Farmers’ Market — is open from 6 to 9 pm I think this is one of the most fun farmers’ markets in California.