California's Central Coast: The Ultimate Winery Guide: From Santa Barbara to Paso Robles

While this book has excellent reviews of some of the larger wineries in this area, I was surprised to see the omission of some smaller, very notable wineries on the Central Coast. For example, Per Pacco Cellars in San Luis Obispo isn't mentioned, and they have one of the finest Pinot Noirs on this strip of coastline. Aron Hill Vineyards is another small, family owned winery with a Cabernet Sauvignon that's outstanding, and Cayucos Cellars has a Syrah that's a powerful contender for the perfect wine with a holiday Prime Rib roast.That said, the reviews given in this book are very informative and extremely well-written. I loved the section about local foods and how that plays a role in your Central Coast wine country tour. The book gives many tips on where to eat, where to find picnic supplies, and lists various events at the wineries highlighted. For those elements alone, I'd love to give this book a higher rating.My concern is someone planning a trip here will overlook some outstanding, smaller wineries... all of which have tasting rooms, very friendly staffs and remarkable wines. If I may be so bold, buy this book for a list of the bigger wineries, but try to stop all along the way during your stay on the Central Coast to scout out others, and be sure to ask the locals for tips on where to uncover hidden gems.

This book was great! Amazing pictures, insightful, informative narratives about various wineries from Santa Barbara up through Paso Robles. Yes, it hits only a fraction of the vineyards in these wine regions, but it gave a wonderful starting place in knowing a little about some of them! We ended up making a point to hit 6 or 7 of these vineyards because of the write ups about the history or uniqueness of them. This book is fairly accurate--Beckman, Clautierre, Eberle, Rideau, etc...all great wineries. Don't take this book for an end-all guide to the only must see wineries, but it's a great starting point!

What I really wanted was more like a traveler's guide that literally lists all the wineries and a short bio on each. Instead, this book features a few author-selected wineries and provides some great photos and a lengthy narrative on each. Aside from it not being exactly what I wanted, it's still a lovely coffee table book and has some great info. I couldn't find a comprehensive wine traveler's guide for the region so this is the next best thing.

Shame on me for not checking the copy write date on this book. Not as up to date as I had hoped. However it lists and describes many wineries presently in operation in Central California.

It was informative as to where it covered. I am much more interested in the area around Paso Robles, which is more Central and less Southern. I'll look elsewhere.

Mira's book has been one of my best buys on wines. Not only does she provide insight into the range of wines from the region, she also dives deep into the ontogeny of the culture that surrounded the birth of the wine-making ideology and existing processes.This book makes for an informative and enjoyable read - Mira has a charming, engaging and easy literary style.

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Received the book quickly, and the product looked brand new. Highly recommend this vendor.