Derby Winery in Paso Robles: The Tallest Winery in the Town

With over 200 wineries in Paso Robles currently, it can be hard to stand out among the crowd. I myself am always on the hunt for the wineries that have something interesting to go along with them, like the cave tour at Eberle, the view at DAOU for the view and Derby for the old historic almond building. I got a chance to go on a tour and it is a fantastic spot to visit, even if you do not like wine. Here is all the info.

Details

• Hours: 11AM – 5PM
• Cost: $10 to taste, come on Saturday from 12 – 4 as this is when they allow you to taste in the tower, other than that the tower is reserved for wine club members only.
• Location: 525 Riverside Ave, Paso Robles, CA 93446

History

The building itself was built in 5 month during the year 1922. When it was done it was able to hold up to 1,000 tons of almonds in its large, four story tower. The almond manufacturer even made a deal with Hershey’s and at one point in time was shipping 90% of its almonds back to their plant on the East Coast. The almond trees stopped producing in 1933 though so the building transitioned to the Farmers Alliance, which used it to store grain until the 1970’s. From then on it was abandoned and became a place that pigeons took up residence in for a few decades.

In 2010, the Derbys took over the building and worked for three years to remodel it and renovate it to the requirements of the historical foundations. It was opened in 2014.

The Winery

When you pull up to the parking lot you will immediately notice how tall and pink this building is. It has been beautifully revitalized and I was a fan of the style as it is historical and unique. Entering the winery will lead you to the lobby, complete with climbing men on the walls, and the tasting room itself.

The tasting room has a nice aesthetic with soft light and a beautiful bar. They pour 5 wines here if you are interested. I am not a huge wine person myself but the others in my group loved their reds.

The Tour

From there we headed out on a tour and learned a lot about the history of the winery, the building and the renovations. The tour took us into the hallway of the production area which had a lot of historical photos and memorabilia dedicated to Paso Robles and the building itself.

My favorite was the shirt which was made to commemorate the fact that no one was injured while working on the winery.

From there we headed into the fermentation rooms and saw the large collection of oak barrels that housed the different types of the wine. This is a big beautiful room that has a lot of room to grow.

The production area wrapped around to the elevator where there was a neon sign with the logo for the almond company that used to be here, it was a cool touch and beautiful sign. We then headed up the elevator to get to the almond room which is the VIP tasting area for wine club members.

This room was spacious and comfortable with a lot of couches you could relax on and windows you could peer out of. It is the tallest building you can drink wine at in the city of Paso Robles and it is easy to se what it is becoming a popular spot.

After that the tour was over and you could walk around and explore in the lobby area or taste some wine. I really enjoyed my time here and I loved hearing about the history of this unique place. I would recommend you go when the top is open though as it adds a lot to the story, let me know if you have been in the comments.