🍇 Where Wine Takes You: Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with Phil Lamontagne, owner and winemaker of IIWII Wines, and Taylor Mathiesen, owner and winemaker of Cutbow Wines, for a conversation about the space between paychecks and passion.

Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, the episode brings together two emerging Paso Robles brands from what Phil calls the “good draft class of ’22.” Both launched in 2022. Both are earning serious respect. And both are still being built around full-time jobs, long cellar days, supportive partners, hard-earned relationships, and the belief that a small...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You: Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with Janis Pelletiere, owner and founder of Pelletiere Estate Vineyard & Winery; Riley Roddick, founder, owner, and winemaker of Hubba Wines; and Morgan Stepp of Pelletiere Estate for a conversation about family names, inheritance, independence, and what we choose to make permanent.

Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, the conversation brings together two very different approaches to building a wine legacy.

For Janis, that legacy is rooted in place. She took her family name, Italian heritage, and decades of ent...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You, Episode 175 Highlights 🍷

Legacy and Lift-Off: OGs & New Blood

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam brings two generations of Paso Robles wine together for a conversation about roots, risk, reinvention, and what it takes to keep building when the business gets complicated.

Paul Hoover, owner and winemaker at Still Waters Vineyards, brings the long view. Paul is a Cal Poly agriculture guy, farmer, former hospitality executive, longtime business leader, home-winemaker-turned-estate-winemaker, fisherman, and one of the most approachable voices...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam heads downtown, not just to taste wine, but to dig into the people helping shape the downtown Paso Robles tasting room experience.

Recorded at SLO CAL Studios, this episode brings together two winemakers and brand owners with very different stories and a beautifully shared hustle: Ray Smith of Indigené Cellars and Enrique Torres of Diablo Paso.

Enrique’s journey starts in Guerrero, Mexico, and continues in Paso Robles, where he arrived in 2001 and began working at the former Martin & We...

🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE 173: THE HIGHLANDS DISTRICT 🍷

Everybody knows Willow Creek. Everybody knows Adelaida. But venture east into Paso Robles and you’ll find one of the region’s most fascinating, and least understood, wine-growing areas: the Highlands District.

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with two people uniquely positioned to tell the story of Paso’s highest-elevation sub-AVA.

Natalie Brown, owner and winemaker of Rococo Wines and Willow Creek Wine Co., shares her passion for old-vine Chenin Blanc and the remarkable Highlands District vineyard that continues...

🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam explores one of Paso Robles’ most unique success stories: Tin City.

What began as a collection of industrial buildings on the edge of town has evolved into one of California wine country’s most creative destinations—home to winemakers, distillers, brewers, chefs, artists, and entrepreneurs who continue to shape Paso’s culture one idea at a time.

First, Adam sits down with Patrick Brooks, founder of Tin City Distillery, and Vailia From, founder and winemaker of Desparada Wines. Together they re...

🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 🍷

This episode of Where Wine Takes You comes to you LIVE from Paso Wine Fest 2026, the biggest celebration of Paso Robles wine country and one of the fastest-growing food and wine events in America.

Adam hangs out inside the madness of Wine Fest with a lineup that perfectly captures the spirit of Paso: collaboration, creativity, hospitality, and a little beautiful chaos.

First up, Chef Rachel Ponce of Pair With Chef Rachel talks food pairings, palate balance, and why the wrong bite can comp...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam heads deep into the heart of Paso Robles agriculture with two guys who live the rhythm of the land every single day: Daniel Sinton of Avanales Ranch and Sinton & Sons, alongside Chad Taber, ranch manager for HMR and Viking Vineyards in the Adelaida District.

This conversation goes far beyond wine.

Adam and the guys dive into the realities of farming in Paso Robles: early budbreak...

🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam hangs with three guests who are helping shape the next wave of Paso Robles wine culture, not just through the wines they make, but through the new spaces and experiences they’re building.

First up is Juan M. Contreras, owner and winemaker of V1NO JUAN, whose story might be one of the purest Paso stories out there. Juan came to the United States from Mexico in the early ‘90s, started working in the vineyards, moved into the cellar at Ro...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam Montiel sits down with the driving force behind one of the most ambitious initiatives Paso Robles has ever launched, Paso Wine Month.

Leading the charge is Linda Sanpei of the Paso Robles CAB Collective, the architect behind this national campaign set to roll out in May 2026. Joined by Krista Smith of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and Neeta Mittal of LXV Wine, the conversation explores how Paso is rethinking the way...

🍇 WHERE WINE TAKES YOU – EPISODE 167 🍷
ROC PART 3: ROOTS, RESPONSIBILITY & THE FUTURE OF FARMING

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam closes out the three-part deep dive into Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) farming with two powerhouse voices helping lead the movement in Paso Robles.

First up is Hilary Graves of Booker Vineyard, grower, educator, vineyard strategist, and one of the most respected minds in California viticulture. Hilary shares why ROC matters, how farmers can help capture carbon, and why consumer...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

This episode of Where Wine Takes You is Part Two of our Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) series, diving deeper into one of the most important movements shaping the future of wine. After last week’s conversation with Jason Haas and Chris Cherry, Adam continues the journey with two winemakers leading the charge in Paso Robles.

Adam sits down with Clay Selkirk of Le Cuvier Winery and Amanda Gorter of Robert Hall Winery, two voices from very different backgrounds, united by a share...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

Today, we’re talking about dirt.

Not just any dirt, but living soil. The kind that breathes, holds water, stores carbon, and might just be the difference between surviving the next 50 years or not.

Because right now, something big is happening in Paso Robles. If you haven’t heard the term yet, you’re about to hear it a lot more. Regenerative Organic Certified. ROC.

And here’s the thing. This isn’t a buzzword. This isn’t marketing. This is a full-on shift in how we farm...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam heads east into one of Paso Robles’ most quietly compelling sub-AVAs, the Creston District. It’s a place that doesn’t shout for attention, but once you find it, it sticks with you.

Adam sits down with Erin Faulkner, co-owner of Defiance Vineyard, and Josh Morris, owner and winemaker of Ella’s Vineyard, two producers carving out their own identities in a part of Paso defined by elevation, wind, and independence.

🍇 Where Wine Takes You Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode, Adam heads just south of Paso Robles into Atascadero, a town that is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new pockets of the Central Coast wine scene.

Adam sits down with Ryan Kirkpatrick of Ruby Cellars and Marin Wolgamott of Marin’s Vineyard, two winemakers with very different paths but a shared belief in what Atascadero is becoming.

Ryan, born and raised in Atascadero, brings a family legacy forward while evolving Ruby Cellars into a more expressive, story-driven brand. His work...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam Montiel sits down with Michael Emlie of Dark Star Cellars and brothers Matt and Steve Glunz of Glunz Family Winery & Cellars for a conversation about something Paso Robles does especially well, family-friendly wine country. Recorded at Lobro Studios, the conversation flows the way great wine conversations should, with glasses on the table, stories in the air, and a few laughs along the way.

Michael Emlie shares the classic Paso story of how a longtime Los Angeles attorney...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🌊🐎

In this episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam sits down with two Westside Paso farmers who bet on place and trusted the dirt beneath their feet. 

Carl Bowker of Caliza Winery and John Lemstra of Jack Creek Cellars join the show to talk about the power, elegance and diurnal magic of the Willow Creek District AVA, one of Paso Robles’ most compelling sub appellations.

From ripping out 30 acres of Pinot and Chardonnay to replant Rhône varieties.
From 4,000 cow dairy mornings in Tulare to cool climate...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🌊🐎

In this coastal-meets-cowboy episode of Where Wine Takes You, Adam heads west, all the way to the waterline, for a conversation about tasting rooms by the ocean and how proximity to the Pacific changes the wine experience.

First up, Soren Christensen, winemaker for Hearst Ranch Winery, shares what it is like pouring wine across the street from Hearst Castle in San Simeon. With 25 Paso harvests under his belt, including time at Hope Family Wines and Alta Colina, Soren talks about legacy, instinct, and crafting wi...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode 159 

We’re kicking off a brand-new Where Wine Takes You series spotlighting the 11 sub-AVAs of Paso Robles, and first up: the iconic, elevated, ‘limestone’-rich Adelaida District.

Host Adam Montiel is joined by:

Together, they talk terroir, winemaking dreams, and what makes this...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode 158: 

This episode celebrates two people who define what Paso Robles is all about — Brian and Stephy Terrizzi, this year’s Paso Wine Industry Persons of the Year.

Brian and Stephy are the powerhouse duo behind Giornata Wines and Etto Pastificio, both based in Paso’s Tin City. Together, they’ve blended Old World Italian sensibility with the creative pulse of Paso — crafting wines that rival the best of Italy and pasta that’s become a staple from local kitchens to Michel...

🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode 156: 

Part 2: 20 Years of Torrin: From Helping Others to Holding His Own 

In this follow-up to our deep dive with Scott and Viquel Hawley of Torrin, Adam picks up right where we left off. More stories from 20 vintages of balance, grit, and staying true to their winemaking vision and their family. If you loved Part 1, this pour is even deeper.

• Torrin Wines: torrinwines.com
• IG: @torrinwines

🎯 Travel Paso Spotlight

This week’s spotlight takes us to Willow...