- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Caparone Winery
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Sponsored Result
You Might Also Consider
Silver Horse Winery
- 4 reviews
- Location:
- San Miguel, CA
"okay.....so this was back in January...I am so behind. We stumbled upon a map with tons of wineries during our sporadic road trip. I…" read more »
7 reviews for Caparone Winery
Caparone is one of the oldest Paso Robles wineries, they were the 6th back when they opened in 1979. When you walk into the tasting room, which is just a bar against the wall in one of the barrel warehouses, you'll realize that they must have hardly changed since then - the tasting glasses are little round things that have probably been there as long as the winery, and all the wines are only $14 each, which is an UNBELIEVABLE steal for their quality.
Caparone's Italian style and background is clear in every wine they produce (all of which are red) - they're all in the 13% alcohol range (nearly unheard of in today's massive California style), incredibly food friendly, with balanced tannins, medium body, and bright acidity throughout. Every wine they produce would go fantastically with any Italian food made - fish, meat, pasta, poultry, you name it. These are highly refined, restrained, complex wines that (apparently) also have great aging potential. They have a library of their wine going back to the beginning, and open some of the older bottles every year to find they've only continued to improve, even after 25 years.
You'll also notice that all the wines are at least 4 years old. They barrel age for at least 2 years, and then age in bottle for some time after that, so the wines are already wonderfully balanced by the time you buy them.
They also make locally-grown pure Italian varietals like Aglianico, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo better than pretty much anywhere else I've tasted in California (and were the first to plant many of them!).
Caparone is officially on my visit-every-time list, and it should be on yours.
I first had this wine, after I bought a bottle of it from Trader Joe's. So when I visisted the winery, I was impressed by their other offerings.
I really enjoyed tasting the Aglianico, it was a very unique wine that has one of the longest histories of any red grape.
But my favorite is still the Cab, and the best thing about these wines, is that they are only $14 each
Possibly my new favorite winery.
They are, imho, the only people in Paso who know how to grow Italian varietals properly. No they're not exactly Borolo or Brunello, but they're not super ripened high alcohol fruit bombs either. They make the only wines in Paso that I've tried which are under 14% alc. shocking for paso!......
The Aglianico and Sagiovese are my favorites. Medium bodied, food friendly, and structured. Something missing in many Paso wines.
I've met both father and son. Dave is total "old school", and I love that. He's been doing things the same way since he started over 30yrs ago, and isn't changing for anyone!. His son Marc is very cool. We chatted a long time about the wines, music, and his fathers old cars.
The main reason their wines are so cheap is simple. Very low overhead. Dave bought the land when it was cheap. They don't have big fancy manicured landscaping. No flowers or trees, no statues or water falls. They don't have a huge staff. The tasting room is simply one side of the warehouse where they store the wine. , no chairs or couches..... just bar, wine, glass, you buy, the end.
These are the kind of people who we as wine drinkers should support more then ever these days. I like the "high end" stuff as much as anyone, but being able to drink wine this good everyday, and have it be so affordable is a no brainer.
CAPARONE I say!, CAPARONE!
This winery is my favorite small winery in Paso Robles. It is an father and son operation. You not only get many great quality wines with distinct characters, the price of their wine is unbelievable reasonable.
During our visit, we got the chance to meet the father and the son. Marc, the son, is a wine maker by day and musician by night. We also found out that the caparone grow and produce aglianico, a not so common style of wine that is general hard to find in united state. The 2002 aglianico i got from caparone reminded me of some expensive bottles of amarone. At $11 a bottle club member price, it was turely unbeatable.
My favorite are their Italian specialty: sangiovese, nebbiolo and aglianico.
This is a great little winery that specializes in Italian grapes. They were the first (or one of the first - there seems to be a heated dispute on this topic!) Californian vineyards to grow nebbiolo etc.
They make strong, pure examples of several grapes, including nebbiolo, sangiovese, aglianico, cab sauv etc.
The prices are extremely fair and the father/son owners are great.
I am still trying to persuade them to make a Super Tuscan blend!
UPDATE: Jean-Georges pours these wines at his bastions of culinary greatness in NY and Vegas, so it's not just me that likes the stuff!
This winery is worth the visit. The wines ROCK. They are very good and you can't beat the price, at $14/bottle. I like going to wineries that are huge corporate places and having a nice glass of wine. This winery put the wine first then the winery, which is a good thing.
Family owned and traditionally made Italian-style reds: unfiltered and unfined. My personal favorites are the Zin, Merlot and Nebbiolo. Helpful hint: Leave yourself some time; it's a bit of a drive, but worth every mile of it!
