Paso Robles winery is moving to a new location — with its own tasting rooms and vineyard
.JPG "Neil Collins and Jackie Meisinger, sibling co-owners of Lone Madrone Winery, celebrate the upcoming March 11 launch of their Lone Madrone Estate facility and property on Highway 46 West. The Lone Madrone label is well known in Paso Robles, but for 30 years, the firm has operated out of rental facilities. Now they own a place to call home.")
A familiar Paso Robles winery is moving to a new location on Highway 46 West, after years of renting facilities for its tasting rooms, operations and events.
The family-owned Lone Madrone winery — which will now become Lone Madrone Estate — has vaulted into property ownership, buying acreage and structures at 3750 Highway 46 West, about 100 or so yards west of the Templeton roundabout.
Jackie Collins, winery general manager, warns that the driveway they’ll share with Zinalley Winery can be hard to spot when motorists are coming from the west, so they should watch closely for it.
“But,” she added with a laugh, “if they get to the roundabout, they can turn around safely and come back.”
Until March 6, Lone Madrone wines will be offered from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week at 5800 Adelaida Road in Paso Robles. Varietals include zinfandel, red Rhone and tannat blends, reds, whites and rose wines.
The winery will begin operating out of its new spot starting March 11, with a few days in between for the move.
According to founding winemaker and co-owner Neil Collins, Lone Madrone’s new, approximately 5,000-square-foot facility will include the winery, two tasting rooms, a full commercial kitchen and an eight-acre dry-farmed vineyard. Some wines will be produced there, too.
He said by phone Feb. 15 that, over the past three decades, the winery has also rented different seven production facilities in the Paso Robles area.
The step up to estate status has been a long time in the works.
“It’s been almost 30 years since we purchased our first few tons of grapes,” he said. “After years of looking, we’ve found and purchased our own estate property — humble, not huge, but huge to us on many levels.”
Now, they’ll have a permanent place to call home, he said, a focus for the future of the business and the family that includes him and his wife Marci Collins, their sons Jordan and Austin Collins, winery cofounder Jackie Meisinger (Neil’s sister) and soon, her son Lucas Meisinger.
.jpg "02-23-22 Neil Collins (2).jpg")
At the site, they’ll grow some of their own zinfandel grapes on vines that have been in the ground since 1997, Neil Collins added. They’ll continue to buy the rest of their grapes from “local farmers on the west side of Paso Robles, all small family farms.”
“This is a decades-long dream become reality,” he said. “It’s a progressing move, so we can put real roots in the ground. It means we can continue to build and keep everybody employed in the family business. … Over time, the young ones will move into it.”
Longtime employee Ryan Hoffman will lead the new tasting room, and he’s the contact for Lone Madrone’s wine club.
Culinary partner Chef Jeffery C. Scott will provide curated, wine-matched cuisine for customers at the winery (on weekends to start) and Scott’s own catering firm, Vineyard Events.
For details, go to www.lonemadrone.com, email info@lonemadrone.com or call (805) 228-0845.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
