An astonishing 60 wine grape varieties flourish in the chalky limestone soil and arid Mediterranean-like climate of Paso Robles, California.
With that assortment of fruit, winemakers on the Central Coast like Joe Barton Jr. at Barton Family Wines are crafting unconventional wines that appeal to the palates of serious oenophiles as well as casual wine drinkers.
The wine region, now the Golden State’s third-largest behind Napa and Sonoma, has more than a dozen different microclimates amid its rolling hills. That enables traditional grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel to grow alongside grapes most people have never heard of, like Counoise and Mourvedre.
Winemakers Take Risks in Paso Robles
The willingness to experiment with different grapes and take risks in the bottle are signature characteristics of Paso Robles wineries. No wonder this picturesque wine region less than 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean now boasts 300 wineries. It’s also home to some of the most entrepreneurial people in the wine industry.
Barton Family Wines is one of the region’s oldest and most innovative wineries. And that’s not just because the winery owned by Joe Jr. and Jenny Barton makes award-winning wines. Wine is the beginning of “an elevated experience” at the winery, designed to surpass the typical wine tasting.
The winery’s Barton Kitchen crafts creative farm-to-table cuisine that pairs flawlessly with its hand-crafted wines. For those who also favor craft cocktails, there are made-in-house spirits from Grain + Vine, an onsite distillery that opened in 2022.
Barton Winery Expands Beyond Wines
Guests may soon extend their visit to include an overnight stay. Plans are underway to add eight to 10 tiny houses so people can celebrate special occasions with wine, food, and a night amid the vines.
“Everything we do is very intentional,” Barry White, the winery’s general manager told me. “The kitchen is there to enhance the wine program. The distillery allows us to combine our wines with grains from the farm. Adding accommodations will be another opportunity to introduce our guests to all we have to offer.”
The farm White is talking about is located on California Highway 46, southwest of Paso Robles in an area now known as the Highway 46 West Wine District.
Barton Winery: One of First in Paso Robles
Joe Barton Sr. and his wife Shirlene bought the farm in 1994. When the Colorado transplants began making wine two years later, the winery was just the 25th launched in Paso—and among the first in the 46 West District.
Now trellises laden with vines climb the hills on both sides of a two-mile stretch of the state highway that has become one of Paso’s most popular wine districts.
Barton Family Winery has flourished and changed along with Paso Robles, a vibrant city of 32,000 residents. The centerpiece of the Central Coast wine region, the city is a three-hour drive north of Los Angeles and three hours south of San Francisco.
In its cozy, walkable downtown, Michelin-starred restaurants reside alongside wine bars, distilleries, brew pubs, and a tiki lounge. Visitors can dance to live music at eclectic venues and wander through Bruce Munro’s acclaimed Sensorio light show to see towers of wine bottles lit with optic fibers.
Barton Family Wines Born in a Farmhouse
Paso Robles, called “Paso” by most locals, was considerably sleepier when the Bartons bought the farm. It wasn’t much to look at then—just an old farmhouse surrounded by cattle grazing on nearby hillsides.
But the family had a vision of creating a winery and building a family business. When Joe Sr. died unexpectedly in 1998, Joe Jr. stepped up at just 23 to continue his father’s dream of making distinctive wines from grapes grown on the farm and nearby vineyards.
“What began with early farmers like my father has evolved into a world-class wine region,” said Joe Barton Jr. “Paso is now producing some of the best grapes and wine anywhere.”
I was in Paso Robles as part of a travel writers’ retreat last May. I spent a morning at the Barton Family Estate learning about current operations and talking about the future with Joe and his wife, Jenny Barton, who now co-own the winery.
Remodeled Farmhouse Becomes Modern Winery
Giant oak trees shade the modest-looking white farmhouse. The interior has been tastefully renovated into a modern, homey space that combines the winery’s modest beginnings with the family’s visions for the future.
In addition to several airy tasting rooms, shady patios and wood decks beckon guests to stay awhile, take in the scenery, and sip estate wines named for popular rock and country songs.
Joe, who greeted us in a baseball cap and a sweatshirt, is the director of winemaking. He is at home on a tractor, tasting wine from the barrel, and mingling with guests at the winery. Jenny, equally casual in jeans and an apron, oversees the kitchen, among other duties. Joe’s mother Shirlene is part of the family business and so are Joe’s and Jenny’s two daughters.
Joe Barton’s Mission to Create Premium Wine
Joe’s mission, then and now, is to continue his father’s legacy by creating premium craft wines bearing the Grey, Grey Wolf, and Barton Family Wine labels.
The estate’s wine selection has grown as Joe Barton, who calls himself a farmer at heart, has identified distinct microclimates in western Paso that produce the best grapes for a variety of different wines. The Barton farm consists of 15 acres, seven planted in grapes and another three in grain crops used to produce spirits.
With fruit from his vineyards and more purchased from other vineyards, Joe Barton and his team hand-make about 7,000 cases of wine a year. Many are blends of traditional grapes such as Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and both red and white Rhone varietals. But he also plants and purchases lesser-known grapes like Petit Verdot and Picpoul Blanc.
In 2020, Joe Barton was honored as the Central Coast’s Winemaker of the Year. He and Jenny also have been recognized for community service. All proceeds from a limited-release wine called Don’t Stop Believing go to a local charity.
Barton Family Wines Offers Food and Spirits
While wine is the foundation of their business, the Bartons are also savvy entrepreneurs. Barton Family Winery was the first in the 46 West wine district to offer food, spirits, and wine in a single location.
They launched Barton’s Kitchen in 2013 as a farm-to-table restaurant with locally sourced cheeses, produce, and meats. Jenny, in conjunction with the winemakers, tailors the menu to the season and available wines.
The in-house distillery, Grain + Vine, opened in 2022. Jenny showed us the newly renovated tasting room. A charming outside seating area with vineyard views also invites guests to sample cocktails made of vodka, gin, aged rum, bourbon, and rye whiskey distilled on the farm.
Grain + Vine Adds New Family Tradition
The Bartons are particularly proud of the distillery, which was born out of their combined life experiences: Jenny’s father was a grain farmer and Joe’s was a grape farmer. Grain + Vine is a tribute to their families and a nod to California’s rich agricultural history.
After we sampled several wines on a patio overlooking the vineyards, the Bartons invited us inside for a wine-paired lunch in a tasting room with beamed ceilings, rustic wood furnishing, and bottles of wine artfully displayed on the walls.
Our gourmet meal began with a scrumptious and gooey baked brie with apple basil compote, paired perfectly with a mellow rosé called Soul Mate (a Justin Timberlake song). Then a spring salad arrived with blueberries, snap peas, toasted almonds, and goat cheese. A Tiny Dancer Sauvignon Blanc, named after a song Tina Turner made famous, hit all the right notes.
Food Pairings Elevate Barton Wines
California Love, a Tupac song and an artful blend of Grenache and Counoise wines, proved a sturdy complement to a fork-tender herb-crusted beef tenderloin, served with asparagus and truffled sweet potatoes.
By the time we had savored the last bite and the final drop, we were raving about the wine and the food. We also wished we had time to stay for a cocktail.
That’s part of the plan at Barton Family Winery.
“We want to show guests everything we can do in Paso,” Joe Barton told us. “There’s a lot of young energy here creating unique food, cocktails, wine, and more. We’re not done yet.”
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