Dying to go to Italy this summer but can’t afford the airfare? Who needs Europe when Paso Robles has everything Italy has except the language barrier — and those pesky Italian men?

Located midway between LA and San Francisco near the Central Coast, Paso Robles has nonstop sunshine, a Mediterranean climate and miles of rolling green hillsides carpeted with organic farms, ranches, dairy farms, orchards — and more than 200 artisan wineries. The 1800s downtown is crammed with tasting rooms, farm-to-table restaurants, sidewalk cafes, farmers markets, museums and antique shops. Paso Robles is also just a short drive from the staggering beauty of Highway 1 and the coast. Here you’ll find more wineries, vineyards and farm-to-table restaurants along the Pacific Coast Wine Trail, drop-dead-gorgeous wine towns like Cambria, miles of pristine beaches pounded by thundering surf, rugged cliffs that crash to foaming surf, a tide pool that will keep you entranced for hours, and the storied Hearst Castle, which towers from its rocky perch over the Pacific.

Five reasons to check out Paso Robles now

Gimme wine, wine, wine: Paso Robles was recently named the Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, and it’s also why esteemed wine critic Robert Parker says that the wines of the Central Coast will “rule America.” During a visit to Paso Robles Wine Country, you can explore wineries that collectively produce more than 40 diverse wine grape varieties, including proprietary Paso Robles blends of Bordeaux, Rhône and Zinfandel varietals. Many wineries host summertime dinners, parties and concerts, and there are guided and self-guided wine tours galore for every palate and budget. www.pasowine.com/wineries

Home, James! I’ve been to Italy several times, but in all my travels there I’ve never stayed anywhere as beautiful as Allegretto Vineyard Resort by Ayres, a castle-like villa surrounded by 20 acres of fledging vineyards, Mediterranean-style gardens and spouting fountains. Modeled after a real Tuscan villa and authentic down to the last nail, the villa is complete with a French-inspired treasure chest of a chapel with stained glass windows that I accessed via the Romeo and Juliet Tunnel, scaled to accommodate a horse and small carriage. With a double staircase for a bride and groom, it struck me as the perfect place to get married — if only hubby and I had known about this place 25 years ago! Inside the inn, my spacious room had 14-foot ceilings — I could have flown a kite in there — and French doors that opened up to a private patio overlooking the inner courtyard. After a tour of the vineyards, I headed to the inn’s intimate Cello Ristorante for Italian-inspired farm-to table cuisine (Cello also serves local wines, one made by Allegretto) and set the alarm for my 9 a.m. vino therapy facial at the inn’s tiny spa. On the long walk back to my room, I took a stroll around the inside of the hotel, whose walls and hallways were adorned with art treasures from all over the world: antiques from India; Russian Impressionist paintings; intricately-carved wooden doors from Asia; and a crystal sculpture in the shape of a woman that seemed to mirror my sentiments as it slowly changed hues — pink for the glow my facial had given me, purple for the tranquility Allegretto had wrapped me in and blue for the way I felt at having to leave so soon. www.allegrettovineyardsresort.com

They call this a motel? Paso is so wine-crazy that even the local La Quinta (motel chain) has its own winery, vineyards, evening wine tasting and even its own label, which was created by the employees. It’s also the only La Quinta on the planet with a separate building outfitted with plush 1- and 2-bedroom apartments equipped with the works — full kitchens, dining rooms with gas fireplaces, and bedrooms with cushy pillow top beds. Balconies overlook the vines, outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, fitness center and more. Rates start at $129 per night and include wine tasting and breakfast — you won’t find a better deal anywhere. www.lq.com

Farm-to-plate eating: Along with vineyards, Paso Robles is also home to a slew of organic farms, orchards, ranches and more, many of which sell their homegrown wares to local restaurants. One of the tastiest places to eat your veggies and more is Thomas Hill Organics, a quaint eatery in downtown Paso where the lentil tacos, grilled artichoke and cheese plate, avocado toast (a Central Coast classic!), and the pork belly sandwich will put you over the moon. Wash it down with a local wine or two and treat your sweet tooth to orange crème brulee for dessert! www.thomashillorganics.com

Work it off! With trails like Cerro Alta, you can kiss your treadmill or stair climber goodbye. The trail starts at Cerro Alto campground in the Los Padres National Forest, halfway between the towns of Atascadero and Morro Bay on Highway 41. There are several options and loops, but if you had that crème brulee for dessert, you may want to go for the summit! It’s a steep climb — you’ll gain 1,500 feet in just two and a half miles, but the view from the top, one of the highest places on the Central Coast, is pure panoramic heaven: Paso Robles’ patchwork-quilt-scenery unfolds in rolling green hills dotted with sheep and cattle, vineyards marching for miles, brilliant yellow mustard fields, slopes carpeted with orange poppies, grassy meadows speckled with wildflowers, and looking-glass lakes glinting from the land like tiny mirrors. On the western horizon where the end of the land meets the edge of the shining sea, Morro Rock stands sentinel over the deep blue Pacific. It’s magic. www.pasoroblesguide.com/outdoors/cerro-alto

Think Ventura is all about that famous highway? Forget it! This is the place where the days are longer and the nights are stronger than moonshine.

And while we haven’t come across any stills lately, we have found something that’s even better: the Ventura County Wine Trail. At these family-owned wineries, many of which are located way beyond the waves on Ventura County’s scenic back roads, you can wine-taste with the owners while getting the inside scoop on how they created their stellar craft wines. As they say in Ventura, you’re gonna go I know.

And we’re not talking about just any wineries. Handpicked by Ventura County’s foremost wine snobs, they run the gamut from Strey Cellars in Oxnard, a hip, edgy winery that echoes the industrial vibe of the neighborhood to Back Patio Cellars, a micro-boutique winery whose story began with about 200 pounds of grapes on the back porch. The owners had no special equipment, so they de-stemmed and crushed the grapes the old way — with their hands and feet.

Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to make your own wine but that stuff you made in the bathtub — bleh! At Camarillo Custom Crush Winery in Camarillo, the winemakers will show you how to make wine you can actually drink; order 60 gallons (that’s 300 bottles) and they’ll even produce and bottle it for you.

Prefer to let someone else do the driving? Or maybe you wouldn’t know a merlot from a pinot noir if you fell in it? Sign on with Explore Wines Educational Wine Tours and you’ll get chauffeured to the best wineries around by those aforementioned wine snobs — the sort of people who know it all and aren’t afraid to tell you about it. Or take a Sip & Savor Wine Tour and sample local wineries, have lunch at a local bistro and stop by a local bakery for a treat.

Wine Country Weekends

Really love wine tasting? We won’t tell if you want to make an entire weekend (or a whole week) out of the Ventura County Wine Trail. Here are our fave places to stay, eat, drink, shop, walk and beach bum near the trail.

Stay

The Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel & Resort: This Spanish villa-type resort overlooks miles of totally empty beaches — try finding that in LA! Nab a gorgeous suite

with a balcony overlooking the sea and ponder your options: Build a sand castle, soak in waterfall-fed heated swimming pools, get lobsterized in the Jacuzzis, get a massage at the spa, play tennis, rent a bike or smear yourself with SPF 30 and catch some serious rays.
Prefer a beach resort that’s close to the action? The Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach overlooks Channel Islands National Park and Ventura Pier and is just two blocks from historic downtown Ventura. The hotel has an outdoor pool, fitness center, beachfront bar and NOM Tequila Grill. Book a cushy room on a top floor for panoramas of mountains tumbling to the sea. www.venturacountywest.com
www.nps.gov/chis

Eat

Hungry? You’d better be ’cause you’re surrounded: See those waves? They harbor one of the planet’s richest fisheries. See those fields and foothills? Add rain and anything grows. Rise and shine (if you sleep till 10 we’ll understand why you overslept!) to a killer brunch at The Waterside Restaurant & Wine Bar in Channel Islands Harbor.

Eggs or crab benedict? A mimosa or Bloody Mary? Have it all — we won’t tell. For lunch, pry yourself off your beach towel and head into Ventura for 4-alarm Mexican at NOM Tequila Grille — don’t miss the salmon asado. For the hippest happy hour around, slide on in to Twenty88 Restaurant & Martini Lounge in Camarillo and nibble on tuna tartare and Angus sliders between sips of a pear lavender martini. Then follow the setting sun to Ventura Harbor Village’s Rhumb Line — The Sunset Restaurant, a unique waterfront eatery/piano bar where you can watch fishermen unload their catch of the day. Order one fresh off the boat, the roasted beet salad with goat cheese (it’s almost too pretty to eat) and the crème brulee cheesecake — calories be double-damned!

Best Wine Walk in Town

After food like this, you’ll be forgiven if you want a little exercise! Ventura Off Market Street, California’s coolest downtown tasting trail, offers bumper-to-bumper wineries, breweries, roasters and more great food. Love craft beer? Coming soon is Surf Brewery, located minutes from Surfer’s Point, or try MadeWest Brewing Company, the result of two lifelong friends and California natives seeking to share quality handmade craft beer with others.

Anacapa Brewery Company has been in Ventura for over 15 years, serving beers they brew directly in their downtown restaurant, while one of the newer breweries is Topa Topa Brewing Company, with 16 rotating taps. Poseidon Brewing Company has creative brews like Blood Orange Pale Ale. For wicked wine, try Labyrinth Winery, a downtown cult fave that serves wine by the glass and bottle, or you can taste everything they have. If you want to drink and hang, try BlendZ Wines, a shagadelic hangout where you can listen to rock and roll and drink stellar wine, or Four Brix Winery, which specializes in internationally inspired wine blends from Italy, France, Spain and California. And don’t miss a slice of their gourmet pizza. Ventura Limoncello Company works directly with Ventura County growers and peels all their fruit by hand to create award-winning liqueurs. Need a buzz? Beacon Coffee sources their beans from the world’s top sustainable coffee farmers. Enjoy their java with a homemade cookie or cupcake from the I Would Rather Be Baking Company.
More info: www.venturawinetrail.com
www.offmarketstreet.com