Named for a single Madrone tree standing watch over a Willow Creek District vineyard, Lone Madrone has grown from one standout Cabernet Sauvignon into one of West Paso Robles’ most beloved family wineries — without ever losing sight of what started it all. Founded in 1996 by winemaker Neil Collins, his wife Marci, and his sister Jackie Meisinger, the winery was born from Neil’s conviction that a particular fruit from the Carver Vineyard deserved its own label. That instinct — to honor the land and the people who farm it — has shaped every bottle Lone Madrone has produced since.
The Experiences: The Signature Patio Tasting is offered daily. It’s a guided flight of five wines, sourced mostly from dry-farmed vineyards on the West Side of Paso Robles, with a few distinctive sites in Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. A Lone Madrone wine server walks you through the history, vineyard origins, and stories behind each pour. Cider fans can choose a flight of five dry Bristols Ciders instead, made from organically farmed California apples in the style of the classic dry ciders of England. Many guests try both.
From Friday through Sunday, you can pair the patio tasting with lunch from Kitchen 46. Its full menu is available to order during your tasting, and Fridays add a 4–7 PM happy hour.
For a deeper dive, the Pinnacle Tasting is a personalized, seated experience in the winery’s private Pinnacle Tasting Room. It features current releases and library wines chosen around your preferences, which makes it a good way to see how Lone Madrone’s Rhône varietals, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon change with age. The Pinnacle Room also hosts private wine-tasting parties and sit-down dinners for birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, and other celebrations, and the winery can arrange catering.
What Makes It Special: Lone Madrone is also home to Bristols Cider, which grew out of the founders’ homesickness. Neil and Jackie grew up in Bristol, where cider is deeply woven into the culture. Missing the traditional ciders of home, Neil began fermenting small batches in California in 1994, two years before the first Lone Madrone wine. The next generation now carries on that tradition with cidermaker Sebastian Wiggins. The ciders are made from 100% California-grown apple juice, pressed in-house and fermented with native yeasts, under the same roof as the wines. The range runs from traditional and bone-dry to quirky and experimental, and many small-production bottlings are sold only at the tasting room.
That same low-intervention approach runs through the wine portfolio, which covers Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Picpoul Blanc as well as Zinfandel, Tannat, and Nebbiolo. Dry farming, native fermentation, and long relationships with growers give the wines a clear sense of where they come from. As a three-family-member founding team hands the winery to a second generation, Lone Madrone remains one of the clearest examples of a family-run winery in the Willow Creek District.
Visitor Tips:
- Tasting room open daily 10:30 AM–5 PM, with extended hours Fridays until 7 PM
- Kitchen 46 serves lunch Friday 12–7 PM (happy hour 4–7 PM) and Saturday–Sunday 11 AM–3 PM; the tasting fee does not include food
- Wine tasting is $25 per person, waived with a two-bottle purchase or wine club membership; cider tasting is $15, waived for members
- Wine club members enjoy four complimentary tastings per visit
- Reservations are recommended; walk-ins are welcome as space allows
- Pinnacle Tastings ($50; $25 for members) require advance reservations through the winery. Fees are waived with a four-bottle purchase (two bottles for members), and no food is included
- Ask about small-lot Bristols Ciders; many are available only at the tasting room
- Make it an overnight with a stay at the Guest House at Lone Madrone
Perfect For: Visitors who want a relaxed, unpretentious West Side stop with real depth. It’s a strong pick for groups that can’t agree on wine versus cider, for anyone planning a long weekend lunch in wine country, and for those curious about dry-farmed, native-fermented Paso Robles wines from a family now on its second generation.
