Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards, San Luis Obispo
This Vineyard, is a ‘must SEE stop’ along your travels up the coast to Avila Beach, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and everything in between.
I met with Joey Roedl, General Manager, Winemaker, who takes great pride in the Vineyard. Joey has been with the winery since 2014. He explained the wine process which is very complex. Joey had an idea to put a ‘spider’ graph (pictures below) on the wine barrel which makes it easier to indicate the amount of spices, flavorings, etc used in the wine. It is now used nationally and internationally by Winemakers. You will see Joey at the winery. He is also a very welcoming host as well!
The winery was established in 1999 by Dick Kelsey, Owner, who is 90yrs old. We had the pleasure of seeing him walking around the vineyard. So many of the family members are part of the day to day operations and ambiance. We were warmly greeted by Deanna, granddaughter, who was very busy with tastings. Some of the popular wines are the ‘Golden Delicious’– a wine blend of Chardonnay fermented with organic apple juice and the ‘Red Delicious’– a rose and apple juice co-fermented with bright watermelon, strawberry and apple notes. Some of my favorites are the ‘hard ciders’. I really can’t choose one I like more than the other!!! Another favorite is the 2021 Big Kahuna-Cabernet Sauvignon; absolutely delicious and the 2020 Trinity- a GSM blend.
Coleen Gnos, a cousin, is a famous artist in the Avila Beach area. Her artistic emphasis is on mermaids. At the vineyard, you’ll see mermaids on surfboards, various murals, and she designed the artwork for the wine labels. It’s all stunning! You can check her art work at Coleen Gnos – artwork
For more history, Antone Sylvester (grandfather to Keith and Richard Kelsey (sons of Dick Kelsey), had a tug boat company (Antone Sylvester Tug Landing). Years ago, he dove for abalone. One of his tug boats, ‘Andrea Gail’, was used in the movie, ‘Perfect Storm’.
You may see beautiful peacocks roaming, as they have over 100 peacocks in the back of their property.
It was truly a great experience being at the Kelsey See Canyon Vineyard. Visit their website at Kelsey See Canyon Vineyard for information on their location, events, hours of operation, pricing (the tastings are very reasonable- 4 tastings for $20!) and the wine club!
I will be back!!