Hidden Oak Winery

This is one beautiful location on a hill overlooking Creston and Templeton. The TV had an NFL playoff game, but if that wasn’t being played, it would have been the golf channel. Mike James likes golf.
Mike James philosophy of winemaking at Hidden Oak is a bit different. Mike specifically aims for the wines to be «ready to drink» as soon as the cork is popped. To achieve that, the wine must barrel age until ready. This could take 3, 4 or even 5 years before it is deemed ready for bottling. This method allows the wine to be much smoother and drinkable. His prices reflect the extra effort and care.
We tasted 2010 Cab, 2010 Merlot, 2010 Encanto, 2010 Petite Syrah, 2012 Red on Red, 2011 Zinfandel and 2012 Viognier. We left fairly happy, if not a bit overdone. We bought Red on Red, Zinfandel and a good supply of Viognier. Happy we did.
Mike makes his visitors feel like long term friends. No hustle, no rush, no short pours. Mike is capable of putting his wines in a box (equal to 4 bottles) when requested and the wine can last up to 6 weeks after opening. Novel Idea. Throwing a party?

FANTASTIC PETITE SIRAH! THE BEST SO FAR! We were introduced to this wine at SAVOR event last weekend. The owner was super friendly!

As you walk into this winery you’ll find a flat screen TV on the side of the tasting room with the golf channel on. My wife who was with me was very glad to see this and was stuck on watching golf during our tasting. That was, until the owner Mike walked in wearing golf clothes. My wife and him hit it off immediately, as she’s a golfer too. When he found out that we were from Sonoma county he said «so you’re here to taste some real wines!» LOL. I enjoyed tasting their Petite Syrah and Zinfandel. The 2009 Petite Syrah took a double gold medal from the SF chronicle wine competition.
One of the best Petite Syrahs I’ve had yet. Check it out.

Absolutely love this winery! Mike, the owner served us. He one of the funniest, coolest, people I have ever met! Great guy! Outstanding views from the parking area! Inside the tasting room it’s pretty basic. The wines however are nothing short of outstsanding!
The Vignioer is out of this world!!! Just about everything we tried was a home run! We will be defenetely be coming back! Mike is so much fun to hang out with. Wines are very reasonable too! Tremendous bang for the buck here!

Authentic wine tasting experience. Small winery, just a 100 barrels or so, tasting with the winemaker. HIGHLY recommended.

Hidden Oak was winery #2 on our tour of 5 total. We definitely thought the grounds were gorgeous and liked how it was off the beaten path. Tased 5 of their wines; really liked the Encanto, Chardonnay and also the Petite Syrah. We definitely know to start from the top and work our way down and would have preferred to try what we wanted to on the list instead of his pouring for us. But that was still ok, as we tried 5 good wines.

Was visiting some friends for the weekend in Paso Robles and they had this box of Merlot they were pouring from…
A box?
Yes, a box! And it was extremely smooth! So smooth I think we had about 6 glasses each the first night we got arrived! The one box carried the equivalent of four bottles. Wow!
My friend promised he would take us to the owner’s winery before we returned home. We ended up visiting Mike on Sunday. It was a scenic drive through lots of vineyards and a great view. Mike was very informative, friendly, and didn’t make us feel rushed at all. He told us he doesn’t charge for the tasting because «I sell wine, not a taste.»
I appreciate an honest man.
With good reason, everything he poured from the red family we loved. The wine tasting was delightful but my favs were the Viognier, Syrah and Red On Red.
We ended ip taking 2 boxes home of the Merlot. How could we not? Great idea for packaging and the wine was a delight to drink!

Hidden Oak was winery #2 on our tour in late Feb 2010. Our limo driver, James, raved about it and said their wines were amazing. We thought they were good but not necessarily great.
We tasted the 07 Sauv Blanc, 06 Merlot, 05 Encanto, 06 Encanto and the 07 Petite Sirah. The Sauv Blan and 05 Encanto we felt were a little watery, the Merlot a little young (maybe better after being laid down?). We liked the 06 Encanto but ended up only buying the 07 Petite Sirah, which was delicious! At around $ 25 a bottle, though, I thought their prices were a little high.
The tasting room is nice, well appointed with warm colors, and the setting beautiful. But for the small size of the place, I just didn’t feel the friendliness I would have expected. It’s not that our pourer was unkind in any way, it’s more that in these little places I’ve experienced such warmth and friendliness that I was a little surprised not to feel it here.
All in all, though, this was a nice stop. But with the quality of wines and prices what they are I’m not sure I’d necessarily return.

Mike, who is the vintner of this great winery is a fantastic guy! The wines are delicious and priced very well. You can get the wine at local restaurants too, so that speaks to the quality as seen from the foodie point of view.
Enjoy the award winning Encanto, Merlot, Cab and sure to be award winning soon Sauv Blanc, Viognier and Petite Sirah!