Rocky Creek Cellars

We love Rocky Creek Cellars! Best Syrah in the area by far and I also LOVE the Pinot noir. I’m impressed with their use of Hungarian oak barrels to age their wines for years & years. The tasting room has the feel of a wood cutters cottage or some place in the Shire;) they have the most affordable tasting fee of anywhere I’ve found. I support those who have served my country and the owner is a Vietnam veteran and hilarious & super friendly to my kids and pets.

great winery — very hands on family style — the wines are priced at reasonable levels and are very good to terrific — despite being the last winery on the way out of town, or the first I suppose if you are going the other way.
plus winery comes with a terrific dog and the owner is charming and irascible
GL

Truly the hidden gem of Paso Robles. Their Syrah is the best in the region. It’s a very humble little tasting room, not much to look at, but the wine is so fruity and delicious that’s it worth a visit. It’s located on hwy 46 on route to the Hearst Castle (from south). My girlfriend and I PPP in every time we are in the area. And best of all if the value. I bought a case of the Syrah for $ 20/​bottle. It’s impossible to find this quality wine for that price. Looking to forward to returning again.

We enjoyed our wine tasting here yesterday & bought a case of the Syrah + a bottle of port.
Dusty, son of the owner, is a charming young man. Thanks for a fun time, Dusty… we will be back!

Spent a weekend in the Cambria/​Paso Robles area and visited 5 wineries while I was there. This winery was by far the worst one on our trip. With soooo many different wineries in the area, just continue on highway 46 and skip this place.
The gentlemen behind the counter, the owner, i found to be pretty rude, abrasive and lacked any efficient communication skills. I also found the wine to be overpriced and tasted all very similar. It was just an awkward experience in general. We were also the only 2 people in the winery and at times I was hoping for others to walk in so I could talk to someone else besides the owner. Never again.

Really friendly, family owned winery. I learned a little something about the process called dry farming, which they use in their vineyard. Basically because of their location, the fog breaks over their vineyard and they never have to water their grapes. Its actually pretty fortunate for them since Paso is having a pretty big issue with drought right now. They don’t have any white wines because of this, but they have quite a few nice reds. I didn’t taste much variety in the different offerings, but they were all pretty good.

Stopped here with a voucher for wine tasting two weeks ago. Met John, the owner, who did the pouring. What a lovely and cozy winery, definitely can taste the difference in the way the wines are made. They are absolutely tasty and well worth every penny. Found John to be very amicable, shared a lot about his life and passions including his mother’s love of gardening, his love of woodwork, and his adult children. Totally enjoyed the experience and plan to return and definitely purchase more wine.

We came to this winery last Sunday around closing time from Fresno. John and Dusty were very friendly and knowledgeable. Glad it was our last stop on the way home because if we stopped here first I would have stayed here all day. This place is a great winery for ambience, fun, and good wine at a reasonable price. Rocky Creek Cellars is the perfect winery to experience delicious wines in a relaxed, casual environment.

Awesome experience at Rocky Creek Cellars. Great family winery with delicious aged red wines. Dusty Somogyi was extremely friendly and knowledgable in the tasting room and was also the winemaker.
This was my kind of place. None of the frills. Just great wine. My sister and I had a blast and felt as if we were treated like friends or family instead of a customer.
A must stop if you’re in the Templeton Gap.

Although I do most my wine tasting in Sonoma County, I am still loyal to the Paso Robles area. Being from Atascadero, I have a found a few wineries I enjoy. However, this is definitely not one of them!
I brought my family, all the way from South Korea, and used a groupon that my mom had purchased. Not only did the owner refuse to honor it, but he treated us in a very rude, disrespectful, and almost racist way. As soon as we walked through the door, he had passed judgment on us.
To this day, I can’t believe how disrespectful and rude he was. Bad business. Funny thing is, NO ONE was there at the time. Place was EMPTY. This is a business that will not last because of terrible, terrible ownership and leadership.

We should have taken the hint from the couple that was leaving as we were entering. «He’s all yours!» said the man. It didn’t take us long to get what he was talking about. Behind the counter was one of the nastiest human beings we’ve ever encountered. This curmudgeon used every pour as an opportunity to be rude, condescending and to attack any taste or preference we dared to have.
The inside of the building is a dumpy little room. The outside looks like a trailer park. The wine was nothing special. The only thing we got out of the experience was laughing as we drove away at someone who could be that miserable in that line of work.
If you go to this hole in the ground go there planning to record this guy on your phone. It will be worth the laughs you can share with friends later.

Our friend took us out here on a whim today. The family who owns this place is super friendly. I think we met the father and son today. Very very approachable people. Stayed for a tasting and had some funny chit chat with them. They have a really awesome dog too and they were showing us some old family photos of the dogs too. I love this type of friendly service. The wine was also good. A+!

Spent an hour or so here on a wickedly beautiful day in May. The owner was extraordinary – he chatted with us about racing dirt bikes, his dream retirement job (the winery), making good wine in small batches, and Clint Eastwood, whom he’d once worked for. His easy-​going nature, the beautiful landscaping on the small front lot, the vintage blue truck, and the delicious wine made for a great time. Bought a bottle each of PInot Noir and Petite Syrah and they were just as delicious back home.

What an amazing experience! This was our last stop wine tasting in Templeton. They were closing soon but John was cool with us staying for our wine tasting. He really made our experience a memorable one! Besides the fact that all of his red wine tasted delicious, he was super friendly and knowledgeable about LIFE! We had an amazing conversation with him, my boyfriend and I. We were the only 2 there with John. We discussed important topics that usually are sensitive subjects for most people but not for us. I’m glad we stopped here and will stop by again.
This isn’t a fancy type of place but if you’re going for quality and reasonable price for wine, this is the place!
Thank you John for being real & honest! We will be back!

Not a bad little place and probably would have bought more. Price point was very much in line and I think there was one or two wines that were okay.

I almost wish I could review them twice because we did think the wine was pretty good. We actually bought a bottle of the Syrah. The experience we had in the tasting room was the worst one we had during our three days in the area.
I found this winery on Unilocal – it had good reviews and was open on a Monday. I called ahead to see if they were dog friendly and the young man said yes. When we drove up and started walking in, the owner (I think) came out and the first thing he said to us was not, «welcome» or «hi,» it was «please don’t let your dog on the grass.» This bothered me as a rude way to greet customers. I actually said to my fiancé, «maybe we should just leave» and I almost wished we had! Once he started pouring wine, we both thought he was really abrasive and it was uncomfortable being there. Luckily another couple came in and they were very nice.
They have a Unilocal deal for 15% off your purchase. When I told him about it, he said, «oh I don’t know what they do with the computer, so if that’s what you say it is.» Personally, I think wineries should waive the tasting fee when you are buying their wine. It just annoys me that they are trying to make money off the tasting as well. I get charging the tasting if I’m not buying anything, but why charge me the tasting on top of the wine I’m buying from you?

I had an excellent experience at this winery! A lot of the 46 wineriers made me feel rushed and the staff was impersonal. The owner at rocky creek was very nice and explained all of the wines to myself and friends. His daughter also came over to our group and was very sociable. The wines were great! I recommend the Syrah to anyone tasting at the rocky creek winery!

Heard from friends that this little hidden gem was worth looking for and tasting… so right! Travelling up Hwy 46 it could be easily missed, but don’t!
We met the owner, John, working on his truck casually outside. (And yep, that’s his woodwork if I remember correctly) He was so pleasant and explained their method of aging. No rushing, no chemicals, just the good stuff.
Each wine was definitely it’s own. Excellent! Friends joined the wine club but I opted for a few bottles to bring home for special occasions. I’m not a Cab Sauv fan, but Rocky Creek’s was very good!
Homey atmosphere and comfortable experience. Will ALWAYS be a stop on the tasting (and buying) plan!
Cheers!

If you’re considering visiting Rocky Creek Cellars or purchasing their wine, please take our experience into consideration.
My wife and I stopped by Rocky Creek Cellars on a whim, as we are locals and like to explore some of the less frequented wineries. We entered the tasting room and were greeted by one of the owners, Mr. Somogyi (the father). Our initial interactions with Somogyi were OK, he poured us wine and made some small talk. Some of his conversation was a little awkward, as it leaned political, which we do not think is very appropriate while trying to relax on a Saturday afternoon. As we worked through the tasting list, the conversation steered toward professions. It started with Somogyi asking my wife what she did, and she responded that she is a journalist. Somogyi’s response to her reply is one that I am still having a difficult time understanding. He responded with ripping into her profession and insulting her. His replies were with a loud voice and he maintained eye contact; it was very uncomfortable and unprofessional. He verbally attacked us.
During Somogyi’s rant he started referring to news coverage of homosexuals in a negative way; he specifically commented on a benefit bike ride that he claimed should have benefited children suffering from HIV but had been taken over by homosexuals, and he took issue with coverage of a local Chick-​fil-​A protest that featured a photograph of two men kissing. At this point my wife began to leave and I began to explain that he was offending us, his customers. As my wife left the building without saying a word, Somogyi raised his voice and yelled out «at least I have morals.» Keep in mind that the two of us hardly uttered a reply to his rhetoric; we were in no way provoking him. I had attempted several times to interject while Somogyi was talking but I had very little success. My hope was I could get him to calm down and stop. Even though we hadn’t had a full tasting, I paid the $ 5 to avoid further confrontation.
In our opinion, Rocky Creek Cellars and Mr. Somogyi should be avoided. His blatant lack of respect for others is more than enough for us to never support any of his ventures.

So unique and full of character!
If you’re a snobby wine type and are looking for an upscale, fancy experience — look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a good time and great wine then you found the right place. This wine is unfiltered, all natural, and full of heart.
Each wine on the list is so different from all the others which really makes for a great tasting experience. Give it a try!