Nadeau Family Vintners is a micro-winery specializing in huge, mountain-grown Zinfandels and intriguing Rhne varietals. Our tasting room is also our laboratory, so if youre into Pyrex and periodic tables, youll feel especially comfortable here! Open Saturday-Sunday and most holidays, noon to 5:00. 3860 Peachy Canyon Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446. Just 12 minutes west of town. (805) 239-3574.

Sometimes building a winery looks less like an episode of Falcon Crest and more like an episode of This Old House. Just ask Robert and Patrice Nadeau of Nadeau Family Vintners. Together they renovated a stout, albeit small, old barn into a micro-winery producing award winning wines. There wasnt even any plumbing says Patrice, of the structure which was once a walnut processing building.

This tiny operation specializes in hand-crafted single-vineyard Zinfandels and a medley of Rhone varietals. Our wines are hand-madeand taste that way says Robert Nadeau when asked about their winemaking style. Inspiring wines are truly made in the vineyards It would take an arrogant winemaker to claim credit for great wine crafted from great fruit. Its with this philosophy that Robert quips We start with stellar fruitour job, simply, is to not goof it up!

The Nadeaus are quick to credit growers who were anxious to help them get started. Patrice is thrilled to describe the generosity of the old-school growers who shared their lifetimes of experiences with the young couple: People like Richard Sauret, Frank Nerelli, and Beni [Benito] Dusi bent over backward to help us establish our vineyards the way theirs werehead-pruned and dry farmed. Robert adds: Beni Dusi even left two of my favorite blocks of his ranch unpruned so Patty and I could take fresh cuttings from those vines to propagate our own plants.

The Nadeaus ranch, located in the mountains west of Paso Robles, is a no-nonsense vineyard planted primarily to Zinfandel, with a small amount of Grenache and Petite Sirah. The fact that their tasting room is also their laboratory emphasizes the utilitarian nature of their winery. In fact, while picnicking on their deck visitors are surrounded by grapevines and processing equipment.

The Nadeaus invite you to visit their tasting room on weekends and most holidays from noon to 5:00 (or darkwhichever comes first.)