He used to mix records. Now he blends wine.

As a recording engineer, Carmine Rubino prides himself on his ability to hit all the right notes.

“When I’m mixing a record, I might raise one level, and lower another. You’re always finessing the sounds,” explained Rubino, who’s worked with the likes of Yes, Barry Manilow and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

“It’s the same thing when I’m blending the wines” at D’Anbino Vineyards and Cellars in Paso Robles, he added. “To me, it’s musical. … It’s a creative process.”

Rubino and his nephew, fellow music industry veteran John D’Andrea, blend their affinity for music with their passion for wine as the co-owners of D’Anbino. The winery’s tasting room, located at Paso Robles’ historic train station, doubles as a live music venue that can seat up to 90 people.

D’Andrea and Rubino grew up in Newark, New Jersey, where wine and home winemaking were part of everyday life.

“To us, wine was an extension of a Sunday meal. We never thought about it as a business until we got to Paso Robles,” Rubino recalled.

Instead, both men went into the music industry. D’Andrea spent a stint as a singer and saxophone player before becoming a music director, composer, arranger and producer on movies and television shows such as “Baywatch” and “Flipper.”

Rubino, who plays bass, channeled his musical knowledge into a career in the recording industry, working with the likes of Grand Funk Railroad and Three Dog Night. After joining his nephew in California, he, too, turned to Hollywood for job opportunities.

Rubino, whose screen credits include “Bottle Rocket,” “Dirty Dancing” and “The Great Debaters,” said he and D’Andrea first came to the Central Coast a couple of decades ago.

“We were just looking for a place for the families — my family’s and John’s family to escape L.A.,” Rubino recalled. “Then we discovered Paso Robles. … It just felt real cozy. It had a warm feeling.”

In 1995, D’Andrea and Rubino bought 140 acres in Paso Robles, hired a vineyard manager and planted cabernet sauvignon and syrah grapevines. They installed travel trailers on the property and started visiting on weekends.

For a few years, D’Anbino exclusively sold grapes to local wineries. Then, the 2001 grape glut hit, sending prices plummeting, and D’Andrea and Rubino decided to start making wine on their own.

They opened the D’Anbino tasting room in 2008.

“The outside of the building is sort of plain,” Rubino acknowledged, so visitors don’t expect anything special at first. “The initial reaction when people walk in is ‘Oh, wow, look at this.’ ”

Decorating the space is a vast collection of Hollywood and music industry memorabilia that ranges from gold records to signed celebrity photos.

Among the many awards on display are two Emmy Awards. Rubino won his Emmy for his sound editing work on HBO’s “Deadwood,” while D’Andrea earned an Emmy for music direction and composition on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives.”

Once they’ve finished gawking at the decor, tasting room visitors will probably notice the stage and dance floor, originally built to accommodate the family band. (The same group graces the labels of D’Anbino wines, which bear such musical names as Orchestration and Counterpart.)

“We set up all our equipment” with the intention of playing just three or four times a year, Rubino recalled. “People would say, ‘Hey, when’s the band going to play?’ We’d say, ‘Come back in March.’ ”

Rather than waste the space, D’Anbino started producing concerts featuring outside acts once a month. They proved so popular that the winery quickly added more shows; now it typically welcomes three bands a week.

“It’s just a very comfortable environment as far as bars go,” said Unfinished Business frontman Ed Miller, whose band, known for its nostalgic tributes to 1960s rock ’n’ roll, performs at D’Anbino on Saturday.

He noted that Rubino himself runs the soundboard during concerts.

“He doesn’t leave and go home, or sit on the porch in the back. He mixes all night,” Miller said. “It doesn’t surprise us that people hear the band at its best.”

The guitarist and singer also appreciates Rubino’s deep knowledge of the music industry.

“If we’re playing a song by the Four Seasons, well, he knew those guys. He can tell stories” about Frankie Valle and his bandmates, Miller said. “It’s cool for us because he’s in our era, musically.”

As D’Abino’s talent booker, Rubino said he tries to showcase a wide variety of genres, including Americana, jazz, country and classic rock.

“The music has to be really, really good, no matter what the direction is,” he said.

In the past, the winery has also played host to local concert series.

Songwriters at Play produced monthly concerts at D’Anbino for about three years, ending Oct. 28.

“I always appreciated the way music was presented there,” said Songwriters at Play organizer Steve Key, citing the raised stage and professional-quality lighting and sound.

Charlie Shoemake also had high praise for the acoustics at D’Anbino.

His Famous Jazz Artist Series, which spent more than two decades at the now-closed The Hamlet at Moonstone Gardens in Cambria, called D’Anbino home for three years before moving to the Cambria Center for Arts Theatre in 2014. Shoemake hopes to find a permanent venue for the now-nomadic concert series next year.

Both men said their series struggled to attract sizeable crowds at D’Anbino. And Rubino acknowledged that cover bands tend to attract the biggest crowds at the winery.

“Usually, on a Saturday, people want to dance,” Rubino explained. “If we have a band that does nothing but originals, it loses the crowd ... People want to hear things they recognize.”

For his part, he wants to find the perfect blend of fun entertainment and serious sipping.

“When people come into the tasting room, probably the last thing they talk about is our wine,” Rubino said with a laugh.

But he’s OK with that.

“For me, it’s just part of the experience,” he said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 1:52 PM with the headline "He used to mix records. Now he blends wine.."