lamom, Next time you return to Hearst Castle and Cambria make time for some of the Paso Robles wineries. Having spent my entire life in (mostly) Northern CA, with easy access to the Napa Valley, Paso Robles has some amazing boutique wineries that rival the best that Napa has to offer. Downtown Paso has also got some great dining options.
When we moved back to the Midwest from No Cal, I scoffed at the idea of Michigan wineries. After a few years, I found it is a wonderful place to visit. The Michigan shoreline has wineries, wonderful farm-to-table restaurants and beaches with boating, swimming and festivals.
@jshain – what are some of your favorite Paso Robles wineries?
Yes, @jshain, please! 
Jshain- thanks you are so right also they seem more relaxing than our local but nice Temecula wineries. Plus the Los Oluvos restaurant in the old hardware store is so good.
There are literally DOZENS of wineries in Paso Robles that produce exceptional wines. The limestone in the soil gives Paso wines a truly unique characteristic.
If you only had time to visit one winery, I would recommend DADOU VINEYARDS. Most of the wineries that I’ve gone to in Paso charge $20.00 for their tastings and then credit you if you make a purchase. DADOU winery is up in the hills overlooking the valley, a couple thousand feet above sea level on Hidden Mtn. Road.
If you want to do lunch and a wine tasting all-together, I love CASS! Twenty bucks gets you both lunch AND a nice wine tasting of their whites and reds. Take 101 Freeway and then Hwy 46 East for 7 miles.
Call me tacky or cheap or BOTH (or you can call me smart!) but I will go to Abertsons Supermarket and purchase the wines there. They have a huge wine dept. and you’ll save 30% off the $25 to $50 list prices when you purchase 6 bottles. Paso wines are pricey…
One of the wineries that is good but not great is Villa-San Juliette. I mention it because it is co-owned by Nigel Lythgoe, So You Think You Can Dance producer and judge. Speaking of him, we ate at a wonderful restaurant in downtown Paso on our last visit called Il Cortile that he had hosted a private dinner at the night before. Another good place to dine downtown is Thomas Hill Organics.
Go to Pasowine.com if you want to read about all the wineries that Paso has to offer.