In a quiet strip of Railroad Street, near Paso Robles’ downtown square, the recent addition of Bottle Shop has added a hip vibe that might just launch a vibrant wine-and-food scene for locals and tourists alike.
Photos: Mira Honeycutt
Dubbed the Paso Railroad District, the three-block stretch is populated with businesses ranging from plumbing and heating/air conditioning services and to the California Coast Beer Co. The street may soon experience a different kind of foot traffic.
It did begin a while ago with the Eleven Twenty-Two Speakeasy Lounge which opened in 2017. Three years later, Ted Ross took a bold step and established his Hayseed and Housdon Wine Tasting Garage, across from the Speakeasy in a non-descript but invitingly intimate space.
Hayseed’s Tasting Garage soon became a popular hub for aficionados who enjoyed his small-lot artisanal wines ranging from Burgundian and Bordeaux to Rhône style wines. One feels good about drinking here since Ross donates 50% of his sales to various local charities.
Within that compound, what was once the home of the Lush Limousine company now stands Bottle Shop, a marketplace collective launched by Bill and Julie Lapp. Currently, there are two wine tasting rooms, mid.point and Rockbound Cellars, with future tenants signed up. Among them are Nenow Family Wines, Goshi restaurant, Rachel Ponce’s Staviary restaurant and Eric Ponce’s Cellar Fermentations. All these businesses are spaced around a central communal seating area which allows for a friendly shared experience.
mid.point wine
Bill, a cyber security professional from the Bay Area, and Julie’s Paso journey began when they acquired Hollyhock vineyard and vacation rental in 2015. In 2020, they purchased the historic Rotta Winery (founded in 1908).
“Our first legally bonded wines and production were with the small Hollyhock label which started in 2016,” explained Bill. “We retired that brand once we acquired Rotta.”
Rotta was initially re-named mid.point, a fun hip approachable brand with its 2021 vintage. Rotta’s sizable wine club membership was rolled into mid.point. While mid.point continues with its new home at Bottle Shop, the Rotta property is now re-branded as Radial Estate which will produce luxury premium wines starting with a summer 2025 release.
Production of mid.point is done at Radial Estate and its fruit sourced from Radial vineyard, supported by grapes from Hollyhock, Glenrose and Caelesta vineyards. The 1000-1500 annual case-production of mid.point is crafted by winemaker Brett Curren.
On my visit to mid.point’s attractive tasting lounge in the Bottle Shop, hospitality director Paul Zuniga offered a lineup of seven wines starting with the 2022 Spirit of Distraction, a refreshing 100% Grenache Blanc. This was followed by 2024 February’s Bouquet, a fragrant Provence style Rosé of Grenache and Mourvèdre.
The non-vintage No Forwarding Address is a Rhône blend produced annually. The 2021/2022 vintages are a blend of Counoise Carignan, Grenache and — in homage to Rotta — some Zinfandel; an ideal summer red wine, served chilled.
The tasting continued with the 2021 Irreverence, a 100% Cabernet Franc, rocking with violets and raspberries; the 2022 Kickover, a well- structured blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc; and the brambly 2022 Rotta Zin. Across the tasting it was clear that winemaker Curren’s approach is one of elegance and restraint, focused on a low alcohol and high acid style.
Each artful label comes with a story, for example the 2022 Why Not, a lush Portuguese blend of Tinta Cão, Souzão and Touriga Nacional shows a photo of Julie on her wedding day and the bridesmaids jumping in the pool in the spirit of ‘why not’?
Rockbound Cellars
Rockbound Cellars is another family project, this one belonging to Fiorella (Fio) and Colby DeRodeff. The couple produce estate grown, small-lot wines with winemaker Molly Lonborg as their consultant The couple discovered Paso on weekends visiting from the Bay Area.
“The first time we pulled off the freeway we saw a sign — Free Wine Tasting,” recalled Colby, founder of Abstract Security, a cyber security start-up. “That was in 2008, a long time ago. The winery was Castoro.”
Looking back, Fio remarked: “We never thought we’d make wine. We always enjoyed coming here so we were just looking for couple of acres.” On their search, they came upon a rundown cattle and pomegranate ranch in the Adelaida District. In 2018, they acquired the 35-acre ranch which came with a distressed log cabin.
“We spent two to three years cleaning up,” recalled Fio, a native of Peru who studied International Business at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Drawn by Paso’s charm, Fio’s parents followed them from San Jose and became very much a part of the winemaking process. “It’s a family affair,” said Fio. After years of preparing the ground with help of vineyardist Aron Navarez, 20 acres of the ranch are now planted to Rhône and Bordeaux varieties.
From its humble 150-case production of its first 2021 vintage, Fio and Colby are looking at 500 cases for their 2024 vintage. Production is done at the Parrish Family Vineyard. The couple introduced a five-wine lineup to me at their attractive tasting counter perched atop an artistic cage holding rocks collected from the ranch.
Fio poured an aromatic 2023 Rosé of Grenache, a burst of strawberries labeled R.A.W. which translated to “Rosé all Weekend.” A fragrant 2024 Viognier sourced from Alta Colina vineyard was robed in stone fruit aromas and citrus notes. The 2022 Correlated, a classic GSM with a touch Cinsault, expressed a delicious pot-pourri of juicy red fruits.
A balanced, well-structure 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon was a bolt of vibrant red fruit framed by balanced tannins. The 2021 Allpa, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (sourced from Denner vineyard), showed a rich complexity with waves of dark cherries and just a whisper of sage.
The wines express a sense of elegance and balance, evocative of an Old-World style. The Rhône program uses neutral oak while the Bordeaux wines get some new oak, with 18 months aging for all wines.
Fio and Colby are grateful to Paso’s winemaking community for sharing tips on everything from farming and wine making to tasting room management and clonal selection.
“Me coming out of tech, you don’t collaborate with anybody,” Colby mused.
“I don’t think we’d be doing what we’re doing now if it weren’t for the wine community,” Fio continued. “It’s part of our journey — reaching out to other people who have more experience. We’ve received a lot of help from many people over the years.”
That sense of comradery should play into the spirit of Paso’s new Bottle Shop.
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