Paso Robles

Perched on the Pacific Ocean roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Cambria is charming - full of local boutiques, not chain stores; fresh, inventive restaurants, no McDonald's in sight; art galleries, studios and a series of small-scale inns and B&Bs. It's also a great base for adventures in Paso Robles' bordering western wine region alongside U.S. 46. On our recent weekend, my husband, Bill, and I were set on checking out some lesser-known wineries recommended by friends.

A shallow magnitude 3.1 earthquake was reported Friday morning 15 miles from Shandon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 3:06 a.m. PDT at a depth of 3.1 miles. According to the USGS, the epicenter was 17 miles from Coalinga, 18 miles from Avenal, 22 miles from Paso Robles and 194 miles from Sacramento. In the past 10 days, there have been no earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby. Read more about Southern California earthquakes . ALSO: California fires: Thousands of acres burned, PCH shut down After meth arrest, O.C. authorities may bill hikers for rescue Photos of Jackson's messy, clothes-strewn bedroom shown to jurors

WHERE TO STAY Just Inn, at Justin Winery, 11680 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles, Calif.; (805) 238-6932, www.justinwine.com. Three of Just Inn's romantic suites are in the vineyards and have marble baths and fireplaces. The Bordeaux suite is at the working winery. Rates start at $375 a night; full breakfast, bottle of wine and tour included. Hotel Cheval, 1021 Pine St., Paso Robles, Calif.; (866) 522-6999, www.hotelcheval.com. Rooms at this lovely downtown hotel have gas fireplaces, soaking tubs and impossibly comfortable beds.

Perched on the Pacific Ocean roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Cambria is charming - full of local boutiques, not chain stores; fresh, inventive restaurants, no McDonald's in sight; art galleries, studios and a series of small-scale inns and B&Bs. It's also a great base for adventures in Paso Robles' bordering western wine region alongside U.S. 46. On our recent weekend, my husband, Bill, and I were set on checking out some lesser-known wineries recommended by friends.

The Paso Robles Wine Festival celebrates its 30 th anniversary, May 18-20, in a downtown park and throughout Paso Robles wine country. Tickets: www.pasowine.com . . . . Elite athletes will descend on Oceanside for the Ironman 70.3 California on March 31 .  The course includes a 1.2-mile swim, a one-loop 56-mile bike course that includes the hills of Camp Pendleton, and a 13.1-mile run through the coastal neighborhoods of Oceanside. Info: www.ironman.com . . . . The San Luis Obispo County YMCA will host its 12 th annual bike ride June 23. The ride, which benefits Cambria teens, features Highway 1 ocean vistas and oak-studded hills, over three different distances: 25, 50 and 100 miles.

Like a fine wine, Paso Robles, Calif., gets better with age. I was delighted to find new downtown restaurants, wine bars and shops since last visiting five years ago. And there are now more than 200 eclectic wineries dotting the region's oak-shaded country roads. Fall is a great time to visit, especially during Harvest Wine Weekend ( www.pasowine.com ; Oct. 19-21 this year). There's a crush of activities to celebrate the crushing of the grapes: Jump in and try your hand, oops, feet, at grape stomping, get a vino-therapy massage or go to an elegant winemaker dinner or casual barbecue.

Quarterback Derrick Odum scored two touchdowns to lead Woodbridge High School to a 33-25 victory over Paso Robles in a Desert-Mountain Conference quarterfinal playoff game Friday night at Irvine Stadium. Odum, normally a wide receiver and defensive back, stepped in for the regular starting quarterback, Fred Schweer, who was sidelined with a bruised kidney.

The road to and from Mission San Antonio de Padua is twisty, but I've seen worse and it's beautiful ("Paso Robles," by Ann Herold, The Travel Issue, Oct. 15). We took it in our "Synopsis Tour of California" in '02, just when our oldest had finished studying the history of California in sixth grade. I was impressed with the size of the wine cellar at Mission San Antonio. It seems that my compatriots (I come from Barcelona) knew their catechism as well as how to keep their vino cool.

After trailing at halftime, Estancia went on a 19-0 run in the second half and defeated Paso Robles, 73-41, Tuesday night in the second round of the Southern Section Division III-AA basketball playoffs. Son Ly scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the third quarter when Estancia started to pull away. Estancia outscored Paso Robles, 23-10, in the third to turn a 24-22 halftime deficit into a 45-34 lead. Estancia scored the final eight points of the third quarter to begin its 19-0 run.

Hearst Castle in San Simeon escaped harm, but Paso Robles, known for its wineries and historic mission, sustained major damage last week in a magnitude-6.5 earthquake that killed two people in Central California. U.S. 101 and California 1, the major highways into the region, were unaffected at the Travel section's deadline Tuesday. There were construction delays on California highways 41 and 46. In Paso Robles, about 20 miles east of the epicenter, the roof of the historic clock tower collapsed.

Firestone Walker Brewing founders Adam Firestone and David Walker once planned to open their brewery just up the 101 freeway from Los Angeles in Buellton. They even had a facility built to house their operations, but fate intervened and they instead took control of the SLO Brewery -- an established production brewery in Paso Robles. The Buellton building sat under-utilized for years, but it was recently given new purpose as the base for Firestone Walker's impressive wild ale program.

Finally. "SOMM," the documentary about four contenders studying like crazy for the master sommelier exam , is slated for summer release after Samuel Goldwyn Films grabbed the North American rights. Until now, Jason Wise 's documentary has been shown at film festivals mostly. It had its world premiere at the Napa Valley Film Festival in November and was just shown at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival . I'm really curious to see it, and also to find out what the four somms featured in the film are doing now. If, like me, you'd rather not wait till summer to see the film, "SOMM" will be shown March 8 as part of the Paso Robles Wine Crawl . Get there early enough to visit tasting rooms around town.

John Alban, one of the Central Coast's original Rhone Rangers -- and one of the most influential -- makes wine exclusively from Rhone varietals at Alban Vineyards in Edna Valley, where he lives with his wife, Lorraine, and his three sons. “I am blessed with the challenge of living a lifestyle that makes that question [of what I'm drinking now] difficult, not for lack of wine, but for abundance,” Alban said.  “I'm blessed with many talented winemaking friends who wish to share their wares with me and also blessed with a wife who runs the No. 1 wine distribution on the Central Coast.” (It's J & L Wines and he is the J.)

Travelers heading to the Central Coast next month should pack their appetites as well as their bags in anticipation of San Luis Obispo County's annual Restaurant Month, which takes place Jan 1.-Jan.31. More than 40 restaurants in Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and other communities throughout the county are preparing special three-course menus for $30 plus tax, per person. To complement the meals, wines from the Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo wine country are available at an additional charge.

It's been a while since I've picked up a bottle of Ridge Zinfandel, and it's just as delicious as ever. This one comes from Paso Robles, where the 2010 growing season was unusually cool. The 2010 Paso Robles Zinfandel is food-friendly, tasting of dark berries and something woodsy. Tannins are soft, and it has a bit of elegance uncommon for a Zin. I'd drink it with barbecued ribs, steak frites , a traditional tafelspitz (boiled beef) or brasato al Barolo (in this case, al Zinfandel)

Like a fine wine, Paso Robles, Calif., gets better with age. I was delighted to find new downtown restaurants, wine bars and shops since last visiting five years ago. And there are now more than 200 eclectic wineries dotting the region's oak-shaded country roads. Fall is a great time to visit, especially during Harvest Wine Weekend ( www.pasowine.com ; Oct. 19-21 this year). There's a crush of activities to celebrate the crushing of the grapes: Jump in and try your hand, oops, feet, at grape stomping, get a vino-therapy massage or go to an elegant winemaker dinner or casual barbecue.

John Alban, one of the Central Coast's original Rhone Rangers -- and one of the most influential -- makes wine exclusively from Rhone varietals at Alban Vineyards in Edna Valley, where he lives with his wife, Lorraine, and his three sons. “I am blessed with the challenge of living a lifestyle that makes that question [of what I'm drinking now] difficult, not for lack of wine, but for abundance,” Alban said.  “I'm blessed with many talented winemaking friends who wish to share their wares with me and also blessed with a wife who runs the No. 1 wine distribution on the Central Coast.” (It's J & L Wines and he is the J.)

Pink Apron dinner: The first annual Pink Apron dinner, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, takes place Monday, Oct. 8, hosted by Hatfield's pastry chef Karen Hatfield. The Pink Apron menu will be prepared by chefs Mary Sue Milliken (Border Grill), Sherry Yard (Spago Beverly Hills), Suzanne Tracht (Jar), Dakota Weiss (NINETHIRTY at W Los Angeles), Nyesha Arrington (Wilshire Restaurant) and Hatfield. In conjunction with the dinner, writer Charlotte Druckman will be signing copies of her forthcoming book, "Skirt Steak," which will be available for purchase that evening.