Winery Spotlight: Ancient Peaks Paso Robles Winery

Wearing his signature cowboy hat, Doug Filipponi, co-owner of Ancient Peaks Winery, harvests the grapes. Photo by: Ancient Peaks

Paso Robles is one of my favorite wine regions. Here, a sense of community among the more than 200 winemakers is as strong as the wine is bold. When you visit a tasting room, having the winemaker or winery owner behind the bar is not surprising.

I recently sat down with Paso Robles winery owner Doug Filipponi of Ancient Peaks Winery at a wine dinner at The Mick Brasserie to learn more about this unique winery that is part of the Santa Margarita Ranch.

Adorned in his trademark cowboy hat, Filipponi is just as at home riding horseback and lassoing cattle as he is pouring his favorite Cabernet. Raised on a dairy farm, he got into the wine business when the well-drilling company he founded began working with many of the wine pioneers in Paso Robles to drill wells for their vineyards. Today, he brings that hard work ethic to Ancient Peaks Winery.

Ancient Peaks Vineyard

Ancient Peaks Winery, which will celebrate its 45th anniversary in 2025, is on a whopping 14,000-acre property, with just under 1,000 acres under vine. I realize just how big that is when Doug shares that it's equivalent to the size of Manhattan.

Located in the southernmost part of the Paso Robles region, its extensive Margarita Vineyard is planted with 16 different varietals, a testament to the diversity of Paso Robles wines and the unique soils in the vineyard. The vineyard was originally planted by wine icon Robert Mondavi, and it’s so large that it’s the only vineyard located in Paso’s Santa Margarita Ranch AVA.

According to Fillipponi the backbone of all Ancient Peaks wines starts with the five different soils: shale, volcanic, granite, rocky alluvium, and ancient sea bed. The vineyard has probably the most calcareous soil in California, bringing strong aromatics to the wine.

Moo-re than Wine

Ancient Peaks isn’t just an award-winning winery, it’s also a working cattle ranch and has been since the ranch was founded by Franciscan missionaries in 1774, making it one of the oldest continuously run cattle ranches in California.

Stand-out Wines

One thing that always fascinates me about wine is how it changes and is enhanced by the food you pair with it. The Ancient Peaks wine dinner at The Mick drove that home with the first two wines presented.

When I arrived, I was given a 2023 Sauvignon Blanc to sip on while we waited for the dinner to start. The wine was more brisk and zippy than the standard Sauvignon Blanc from California. When I tried it with the amuse bouche of chocolate clam ceviche the wine transformed into a more mellow, lush wine brimming with some melon and tropical fruit notes.

The Ancient Peaks 2022 Chardonnay wasn’t transformed as much as perfectly paired with a house-cured beetroot steelhead with horseradish crème fraiche and cucumber salsa. The wine was velvety and a great match for the fattiness of the fish.

One of my favorite Ancient Peaks wines is their 2021 Merlot. The too-often misaligned Merlot shines with blueberry, black fruit and a spiciness that reminds me of gingerbread. It’s also hard not to like the One Stone Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 as a portion of proceeds from sales benefits Dream Big Darling, a nonprofit that helps mentor the next generation of females in the wine and spirits industry.

Visiting Ancient Peaks Winery

With such an extensive property, there’s a lot visitors can do at Ancient Peaks, from a tasting or lunch in the café to adventures on the property. Some of the more unusual experiences you can have are ziplining over the vineyard or taking a guided e-bike tour of the estate and vineyard. For a special experience in Paso Robles wine country, stay at Ancient Peaks in their  8-mile house rental that accommodates up to eight guests.

If you've tried Ancient Peaks Winery and have a favorite wine, or if you have another Paso Robles winery you love, drop me a note in the comments section.