3 SLO County wineries are among the top 100 wineries in the world, magazine says

Sara Kassabian
·2 min read

Three San Luis Obispo County wineries are among the best wineries in the world, according to Wine & Spirits magazine.

Paso Robles wineries J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines and Tablas Creek Vineyards made the publication’s list of Top 100 Wineries of 2023, along with Deovlet Wines in San Luis Obispo.

Santa Barbara County wineries Chanin Wine Co., Melville Winery and Fess Parker also got mentions.

To come up with the Top 100 Wineries list, Wine & Spirits editors tested more than 9,000 wines in 300-plus blind tastings. Wineries from around the world, including Australia, France, Italy, Spain and South Africa, made the list.

“Making this Top 100 list is one of the wine industry’s highest honors,” Tablas Creek Vineyards said in a news release.

Tablas Creek Vineyards has been recognized as a Top 100 winery by Wine & Spirits for four of the past five years, according to the release.

Workers harvest cabernet grapes at J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines near the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.
Workers harvest cabernet grapes at J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines near the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

J. Lohr, meanwhile, landed on the annual Top 100 Wineries list for the second consecutive year.

The Paso Robles winery earned the 2023 honor by “consistently impressing our panels and critics with wines that delivered precise regional expressions,” Wine & Spirits editor and publisher Josh Greene said in a news release from J. Lohr. “Our team considered all the wines based solely on appellation, variety and vintage, and (J. Lohr wines) balanced all of those factors beautifully.”

J. Lohr noted in the release that eight of its wines have received scores of 90 points and higher.

The winery’s top-scoring vintages, which have 93 points each, are the 2020 J. Lohr Gesture GSM and the 2019 J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, the release said.

Deovlet Wines in San Luis Obispo is among the local wineries showcased in “Wine Trails: United States & Canada,” due out Oct. 16 from Lonely Planet.
Deovlet Wines in San Luis Obispo is among the local wineries showcased in “Wine Trails: United States & Canada,” due out Oct. 16 from Lonely Planet.

Deovlet Wines was recognized as one of Wines & Spirits’ Top 100 Wineries for the fifth time, the San Luis Obispo winery said in an Instagram post.

“This is an incredible recognition that we share wholeheartedly with ... all those who support us in this glorious craft and along this wonderful journey,” the winery said, including its vineyards, winegrowers, distributors, sales representatives and cellar team.

In its post, Deovlet Wines offered a “huge thank you, huge celebration and generous pours.”

Ryan Deovlet of Deovlet Wines. Photo by Joe Johnston 06-30-14
Ryan Deovlet of Deovlet Wines. Photo by Joe Johnston 06-30-14
Jason Haas, owner of Tablas Creek Vineyard, points out a quince tree growing amid a dryland-farmed block of vines in May 2023. A variety of plantings keeps the field from becoming an unbalanced monoculture, while the spacing of vines allow them to root deeply. Cover crops retain moisture and are fed to goats and sheep before leaf break on the vines.
Tablas Creek Vineyard wines are created using sustainable agriculture practices.
Tablas Creek Vineyard wines are created using sustainable agriculture practices.