Paso Robles Harvest Wine Weekend

Harvest Wine Weekend is the marquee event of Harvest Wine Month in Paso Robles, when participating wineries across all eleven AVAs host experiences you will not find the rest of the year. The format is open and self-directed, with no single venue and no passport, so visitors build a route from vineyard tours, grape stomps, blending seminars, barrel tastings of wine that will not be bottled for months, live music and multi-course winemaker dinners served between the rows. The weekend falls at the tail end of harvest, when most varietals have been picked and crush pads are still fermenting, so punch-downs and the smell of juice are part of the visit. October days typically sit in the mid-70s to low 80s. It is billed as the busiest lodging weekend of the year in Paso Robles.

Our take: Book lodging early and build your own route across the eleven AVAs, since there is no single venue or passport and the crush-pad events are easy to miss.