Pessagno Winery

Stopped here on the River Road Wine Trail. Unfortunately the women I guess was in charge was so rude I would never ever return. The wines were so so and they didn’t even have their food set up. They could learn a thing or two from the other wineries on the trail.

Stopped here on the way back from SLO and had a tasting. It’s off the beaten path, which is our fave types of wineries.
The winetender was pretty cool, but hella persnickety about the proper pronunciation of Lucia. I was saying ‘Loo-​Chee-​Uh’ and she would quickly snap back NO, it’s ‘LOO-​SEE-​UH;.
Ohh.OK *rolls eyes*. not gonna remember. don’t care!
Considering I keep calling their winery Pechanga, I’m not concerned with being right all the time.
They had a great selection of wines and I recall enjoying their 2013 Chard. We still have a late harvest muscat to tend to as well.

I learned of Pessagno when I was at dinner the night before. I really liked the pinot noir I ordered and when I learned there was a winery in the area, with a tasting room, we were in!
We arrived after driving through a not so pretty wine country, where there was just one other couple at the bar. We were served by a lady (can’t remember her name), but it was her first day on the job. Tastings are $ 15 or waived if you purchase a bottle. They have a pretty big selection to taste from, reislings, to red blends, to cabs, as well as some private reserve wines. I started with Riesling which I thought was ok, as I though the pinot noir rose was. My bf and I were switching tastings so I really got to taste about 10. One of my pours was very heavy handed (I think the 4 Boys), but they were all pretty good. We ended up joining the wine club to get discounts as we really liked the Pinots and Merlots.
There is no merch for sale, as mentioned, which I think is a drawback. So, it was cute and we learned a bit about the wine area, but probably not a re-​visit for me.

Stopping at this winery brought back some fond memories of the movie «Sideways», if you have not watched it yet, then I think you should.
Just west of the town of Gonzales, approximately two to three miles of the 101 freeway, you will find this lovely winery nestled on the bottom of the hills with its wide vine fields and relaxing country atmosphere.
After making a quick phone call inquiring about the tasting rooms, hours etc… We headed to Pessagno Winery in search of a wine to satisfy our palette. By the way, by no means that I am a «Sommelier» not even close to it… I am the guy who gushes down squeezed fermented grapes like there is no tomorrow. On the other hand, my companion knew more about wine so I felt safe of not making a fool out of myself. So I kept my mouth shut unless I was taking a sip of some of the delicious wines they produce.
Wine is a personal thing, you might like and dislike some varieties depending on what makes you happy. So we tried five pours of their sampled wine, to be exact, 2 white and 3 red. Also the attendant gave 5 more of his own choices of wine for free. I will list what we have tried:
+++WHITE+++
+2012 Riesling– La Estancia Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands — — Complimentary Pour — —
+2013 Chardonnay– Pedregal Vineyards, Paicines. Steel Gaskets.
+2013 Chardonnay– Santa Lucia Highlands. Oak
+2013 Intrinity Chardonnay-​Santa Lucia Highlands. Oak — — Complimentary Pour — —
+++RED+++
+2014 Pinot Noir
+2013 Pinot Noir– Four Boys Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands — -Complimentary Pour — -
+2012 Merlot-​Pedregal Vineyard, Paaicines —-LOVED IT — -
+Zinfandel-​IdylI Times vineyards, San Benito County — -LOVED IT — -
+2014 Rose-​Montery county — -Complimentary Pour — -
+Perelli101 Port-​Styled Wine —-Complimentary Pour — - Loved IT — –
I really have to say that we enjoyed most of the wine selections we have tasted. I know for a fact now that I am not a Chardonnay drinker or white in general, white Zen is OK when available, its a personal choice. I am much in favor or Reds and for all of you wine enthusiasts, I do enjoy it even with Fish, Poultry or Cheese… lol
FINAL NOTE:
— I wish they offered Cheese, crackers, dips or even nuts to cleanse the palate and to help one decide how the wine pairs with food.
— The tasting room is a nice size, perfect temperature, 3 TV’s, water dispenser.
— I believe they might have a picnic area where you can bring your food basket and enjoy.
— Bill, our attendant was such a gentleman with wealth of information. He was such a good host, easy to talk to while welling to answer any question that might come to mind.
— $ 10 for the five pours that is applied toward the purchase of any bottle of wine you decide to take home with you. Ended up buying 2 Pinot and 1 Merlot, total price $ 24 and change after signing up for club membership. This was a hell of a deal.
— Plenty of parking spaces as you drive down the unpaved driveway.
— Nice winery indeed and for sure I will be going back again.

Awesome winery! Ran by awesome people! Chris and Anthony are the best. If you’re going through the Santa Lucia winerys, this is a must stop. You will not be disappointed. Great assortment of wines ! Cheers.

They appear to be changing hands and they’re not interested in setting the world on fire. The tasting room had a bar with chairs and nothing else. No gifts, nothing else to look at but a bar and a man behind it who didn’t appear to care if you stuck around or didn’t. We didn’t!!!

Wish there was a 10 stars option! Love this place. Great wine, great staff and great location. Also have partnered with a local restaurant, Luigis, to have food delivered to the winery while you taste or drink a bottle outside. Greatness in every sip, highly recommend.

Literally on River Road with the tasting room down the driveway.
Tasting room is much larger than Talbotts with a couple 4 top tables, a long bar and plenty of standing room only space.
Third time visiting and the staff always friendly.
Had a complete tasting and the Four Boys Pinot was the only standout to me & worthy of a glass.
Service: Friendly
Snacks: None — It appears snacks are only available if you are on a Tour of some sort.
Water: Yes, self serve from water jug.
Restroom: Outside of the tasting room in a separate area.
TV: 3

this little tucked away winery is a fine little gem. Good wine. great peeps. nice tasting room and a great cheese pairing platter. Pinot is very bold and big. nice. will be back.

Love the ambiance. The record player playing Van Halen was epic and Josh was very knowledgeable about the wine and a lot of fun. The wine is also good, this place is a home run!

Get the Four Boys Pinot Noir. .the food at the events is amazing. .the staff are friendly and treat you like family

Love this place! The wine is the best and the whole family & staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming, it’s like visiting home.

Great wines, great ambiance! Really nice boutique winery and the staff was super friendly.

Great winery! The wine is great, the dogs roaming around give it a homey feel and the service was amazing! I would definitely come here again. I recommend purchasing some of their glasses; we got some awhile ago and love them!
I haven’t made it back out to this winery again but will definitely try to as soon as possible. I really enjoyed it!
I would probably enjoy it more if this place was closer to the Carmel Valley but it seems the area around here is becoming much bigger in the area of winemaking!

Extremely rude.
We called ahead to arrange tasting and a tour for a group of 10. When we arrived, the person we spoke with was «busy» and we were ignored for half an hour. We decided not to do the tour and left disappointed.

We had a great time taking the behind the scenes tour with Chris at this winery. Unilocal helped us identify this «unlisted» tour. Very cool to tour the barrel and bottling facility and to cork our own bottle! This winery is sophisticated but unpretentious — and very friendly. We walked away with two bottle purchases — buy there was no hard sell, just good conversation and good vibes all around. Worth the visit — plan on hanging out a while, it’s a fun place to be.

Book a tour! Barrel tastings with Chris. Behind the scenes lessons on bottling, labeling and corking while you’re gettin all boozed up…
Calling to book with Pessagno was super smooth and the tour itself was incredibly cheap! $ 10/​person! The tour ran about 90 minutes, which included a wine tasting. The property was not big, but the personality of our tour guide Chris was huge; what a nice, generous fella!
Huge tasting room– with records playing for background music. How original! Loved it. We were told we can even bring your own ’45; if the staff approves, they will play it. They also had cheese platters available with Brie, Manchego, other varieties, nuts and dried fruits.
Great Pinot Noirs, Ports and Port Varieties (some could not officially be called Port because the vines used were not from Portugal.) This vineyard’s production is low, but quality is significantly high, especially for the price point.
We were offered generous pours per each tasting and had more than a few favorites:
+2011 Four Boys Pinot Noir. Impressive!
+2012 Four Boys Pinot Noir is going to be divine! (we had a sample of this from the barrel.) My name is on the email list for it’s release, which may be later this year or the beginning of 2014…
+2005 Perelli 101 was one of my favorite «Port variations.»
This winery uses many different combinations of their own, as well as other grapes from vineyards in the area to make their wine. We sampled many different styles of Pinot and Port, a majority of them being completely take-​home worthy. The wallet not having an endless supply of cash, was a determining factor as to why we didn’t come home with more than a few cases of Pessagno wine.
Pessagno’s humble, friendly staff and quality of wine, made this trip well worthy of five stars! Definitely will be back around for more one of these days. :-D

Hands-​down some of the best wine I have ever tasted. The Four Boys Pinot Noir is exceptional. I wish I was able to more eloquently describe how fantastic the wines are at Pessagno. I love reds and they excel in this area. Their port and orange muscat are perfect endings to special meals at my house.
Service is friendly and you can tell that the staff are genuinely passionate about what they do. I am crossing my fingers that some day I will be able to find Pessagno wines at stores in the D.C. area.

This winery showcases some of the best wines of the Santa Lucia Highlands.
If you love pinot noir, then this is a stop for you. They have several pinots from the local region and one for the San Benito appellation that has a character similar to a Italian dolchetto. I’m a big fan of the Four Boys SLH Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay is equally well balanced (I recommend the Intrinity).
The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and even recommended a few good dining places in Monterey for my out of town guests.

We love Pessagno! By far some of the best Monterey County Pinots I’ve ever tasted! Robin is the manager of the tasting room and always sees that we have a great time. The wine club is a great way to try new vintages (and old) and we go out to the winery every chance we get.
The Intrinity Chardonnay is sublime, and the Santa Lucia Highlands Chard is also excellent. It’s worth the time to drive out there, enjoy the scenery, the great wine and good company.