Loving life on the Central Coast | Kathy Marcks Hardesty | Wine

In 1996, when I left San Francisco to relocate to San Luis Obispo County, I was filled with high hopes. During my first visit to the Talley Vineyards tasting room, our server asked, “Don’t you regret leaving San Francisco?” I said no, despite admitting it was my favorite city in the world.

Now in my 25th year on the Central Coast, I can honestly say Dan and I have never regretted this move. And while we once thought we would return to the Bay Area, we no longer feel that way. This is a great home that we consider akin to paradise.

After all, we live in the heart of Central Coast wine country, halfway between Paso Robles and Solvang where the nearest wine tasting room is a short drive away. We’re only 7 miles away from Edna Valley, and an easy 20 miles from Santa Maria. This gives us access to so many great tasting rooms, even those barely 2 miles away in the old town of Arroyo Grande.

Last week, we were driving past Timbre Wine tasting room, and suddenly decided to park and visit them. We have always loved their wines, and they had some new releases to try.

We were so glad we stopped; they are always worth a visit. Winemaker Joshua Klapper’s wines are consistently excellent across the board. After tasting through the lineup of five wines, plus one bonus since they had the rose 2020 “Opening Act” open, we bought a case of wine on our way out.

While we admired the depth of each wine, we always buy our favorites, riesling, rose and pinot noir. And upon tasting them again over the following week, we could only say we wish we had purchased more. Fortunately, they are easy to get to, should we want to. As of July 1, they are open daily and a reservation isn’t always necessary unless you’re coming with five or more guests.

Their tasting flights are provided on two patios, in the front and back side of the tasting room. A tasting flight of five wines is normally $20 per person, but a couple could share one tasting, as we did. The nice thing is that each tasting fee is removed with every purchase of $50.

We had no problem reaching that goal with a case of mixed wines. The staff is terrific, there’s no snobbism or attitude, they are genuinely glad you took the time to visit them. Open daily from noon to 5 p.m., and open until 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, they have full service and you can call ahead to schedule curbside pick-up. Visit timbre winery.com or call 805-270-4308. You can make a reservation, but that’s no longer necessary.

Close by is the Verdad Lindquist Family tasting room, which is also open daily (but you need to make an advance appointment on Tuesdays). Like Timbre, their tasting fee is $20 for five wines, which you can taste indoors or on the patio.

They are almost beside the popular Sidewalk Cafe in the same shopping center. I have ordered lunch at the cafe and enjoyed it with the wines at the tasting room. Now I can assure you, this is another outstanding tasting room with a large number of wines from Verdad and Linduist Family Wines.

If you aren’t familiar with the Lindquist Family Wines label, it’s owned and created by founder Bob Lindquist, a pioneer in the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys. He originally created Qupe wines, one of the Central Coast’s most popular brands for Rhone wine varietals.

While Bob always favored Rhone wines, he also made a chardonnay, which is still quite popular. Many times when we visit we see both Bob and his wife, Louisa Sawyer Lindquist, in the tasting room.

Louisa founded Verdad in respect to her love of traditional Spanish varieties. She was dubbed the queen of Albariño by a wine magazine, and it’s well-deserved. I can’t tell you how many Central Coast wineries I’ve been to that claim their Albariño is just like Verdad’s, but it never proves true. She is the queen when it comes to this delightful white variety.

Her crew is also excellent; we always enjoy talking with Treeva and Scott in the tasting room.

Another great aspect of following all these brands, they frequently offer tasting seminars, unique sales and events like happy hour.

At Verdad/Lindquist tasting room, they have brought back happy hour Fridays from 4 until 6 p.m. You will be offered special wines by the glass and gourmet cheese plates at very reasonable prices.

Coming soon, but you may still have time to sign up, is the GSM wine blending seminar led by Bob Lindquist. His GSM is a blend of grenache, syrah, and Mourvèdre, and he’ll teach you how to make it. This one is sold out as it included lunch in Santa Maria Valley at the winery alongside Bien Nacido Vineyard. But follow their webpage and you’ll learn all about these events well in advance so you can get a reservation. Sign up at verdadandlindquistfamilywines.com.

There are so many reasons these brands are popular with wine lovers from all over the country, we love them.

Cheers!