LXV Wine & Pairings Downtown Tasting Room — Attraction in Paso Robles

Wine novices, enthusiasts, oenophiles alike go check out LXV Wine in downtown Paso. You will not regret it. Dont mistake the simple and unassuming tasting room for just another tasting room. Our experience was truly lovely. First rather than a typical tasting room where the goal is to simply tell you more about the wines they offer and or sell, LXV takes a journey with you. Notice I said with you rather than take you on a journey. There is a difference. The experience seamlessly meandered through various regions, stories, life experiences of the founders, the host, ourselves, and of course the characteristics of the wine itself adapting in the spur of the moment. Second there was a spectacular and ‘unlikely pairing’ of spices. I say unlikely because most folks refute the ability to successfully pair spices with red wines. Not the case at LXV and I love that they affirm our long held belief that a wine spice pairing is an absolute joy if done right. They embrace it full on and in fact it’s clear that they have spent years developing the match. And the pairings are a match made in heaven. The true depth and passion to bridge between a simple tasting and the little pieces of Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bordeaux that they have brought to the wizardly and no rules attitude of the CA central coast (read maverick winemakers) results in pure magic from the simple yet elegant Sangiovese ‘Jewel’ to the mouthwatering Cab Franc. Check it out. Say Hi to Matt (our outstanding host) who never let us feel like we had a limited booked time at our tasting. Then, sit back and enjoy. Thank me...

Not a pleasant experience or maybe we went on the wrong time. Took a video of how wine tasting experience but host seems irritated and obviously not fond of someone taking video. She should have told us the first time that video is not allowed. She even quickly asked and checked my phone what’s on the video. Everybody served water in fine glass but us, and when asked if we can get water we were served in cheap clear plastic soft disposable cups. Now maybe she got irritated coz I’m wearing a souvenir NYPD baseball cap and I was asked why I’m wearing it. Even joking sarcastically I’m wearing it maybe to scare people. I was like whats wrong with this lady. Its just a cap and I dont want to be political. We’ve been to 2 other wineries that day and both we had a blast and no toxic environment. Bottles for reds and whites cost +$30 but here $65 a bottle. Kudos though, the Indian owner went out and greeted us earlier on our table and she seems very nice and even graciously told us short story why she acquired ownership of the wineries and the tastes behind the pairing cheeses served. We like her but other than that it was not a pleasant experience. We still left good tip to the host server if...

UPDATE: I was immediately contacted by the owner within a couple of hours of posting this review. I very much appreciated that. Glad to know that customer service & feedback still matter for some businesses. Thank you!

Review written 10/5: We just got back from Paso Robles where we visited several vineyards (6 to be exact) and one in-town wine tasting room. LXV was one of our 'must' visit based on a glowing Wine Enthusiast article as being one of the best. Well, we thought it was a MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT! We went on Saturday and the tasting room was not busy and yet, we felt the experience wasn't engaging at all. The pours provided were hardly a pour, you can barely taste the wine (ok - maybe 2-3 small sips)! We also did the cheese pairing, That was ok - tasty cheese cubes with Indian spices. That was unique but for the price point we paid ($112.55 for 2 tastings with cheese pairings) I expected more. The picture attached shows what we did, pour + cheese.

Bottomline, we were initially very excited about LXV as evident on how early be made our reservations [as soon as we booked our flights]. For the money and the underwhelming experience, go to Daou or...