Grape Encounters Empourium

This place is the only reason that Atascadero survives. It is a sacred institution, not unlike Duke Ellingtons band. The owners are angelic servants of the highest order, and their selection of eclectic local treasures is unsurpassed. This single place is possibly the cultural heart of the city, it honestly gets no better than this in ATown. Come visit, you will not be disappointed.

Fantastic!
David and Annie are amazing hosts, super fun and they made our weekend with friends one of our most memorable. Our friends had met them three weeks ago and invited us to return with them — and we are so happy we took them up on their offer.
We are not wine connoisseurs… we love wine but know little about it. After two nights with David we feel like we could almost teach a course! Not quite; however we do feel like we have a much better knowledge of wine and realize it’s not as complicated as some people make it out to be. That, of course, if David’s genius.
Our advice to anyone remotely close to Atascadero is to visit this local gem, support David and Annie’s vision and relish in the fact that they have opened the Grape Encounters Empourium. Ten stars!

What a fun, slightly funky and elegantly rustic wine bar and shop. Owners Annie and David made it a great experience for my DD’s first wine tasting. The couple next to us were celebrating a birthday and got a happy birthday sing-​a –long from all the patrons… not to mention a glass of white! A smallish place, great music over the pipes… just a nice time and lovely wines, pretty reasonably priced. Glad we came!

I was here on ⁰⁴⁄₀₉ with my GF and her bestie. We were greeted by Annie with a smile and witty conversation. We had a double flight of white wine and a double flight of red wine, sharing each flight between the 3 of us. The wines took us on a great journey of taste. I didn’t like one of the reds, but I appreciated that it was just the same taste over and over again. Then, David came in. Now I know where Annie gets it from! David is a true word smith along with being an amazing host and wine connoisseur. He had us try a few other wines that were also amazing! I ended up purchasing the Cardella Sangiovese wine that David poured for us.
The whole experience was a blast!

What a fun wine bar to visit!
I currently work in the wine industry and I love how this place is so welcoming to people new to wine as well as the more sophisticated drinkers. We were able to try 3 new wineries that we have never tried with our favorite being the «Octopussy» white blend from Sea Monster Wines.
While looking through their selections I saw a couple of my favorites. A Pinot Noir from The Missing Leg, a Syrah from Ruby Cellars, a D66 from Orin Swift and a couple selections from Jada. Very impressed with all of the local small production wines at reasonable prices.
The owners Annie and David are wonderful people and great hosts. Can’t wait to make it back ere again. Cheers!

Wow — best Friday nite date night! Had the red flight and a couple of pours from the extensive list. Darioush and a D 66. Nice… thank you!

Wonderful wine bar, gracious owners
Annie and David have put their hearts and souls into developing the 1^st Wine Bar *and only* in Atascadero! They have a wide ranging selection of many local wines, plus those from afar. Plus they’ve got everything wine related in the store too. You can trust their judgement on any wine & taste nearly anything before you buy. My favorite hang out.

Friendly and personal service. It was nice to get chocolate along with the wine flights. The flight was given to us in little bottles so you could drink at your own pace and not have to rush or wait for refills. So glad Atascadero has a place like this now.

This little gem of a wine bar will put Atascadero on the map! The atmosphere is classy yet homey and welcoming, and the wine is superb. David and Annie Wilson have personally sampled every wine for sale, and the selection is awesome and affordable. No need to to venture farther afield or fight for parking in Paso Robles.

Heard about this place from Krush radio. We were interested in trying some boutique wines. Ann was very nice and her husband Dave does a couple of segments on the radio. This place had a great vibe and some beautiful reds. We bought the Cab, the petite Syrah and a blend that were featured. We will definitely come back!

Stopped here last night to meet someone, and boy, is it the perfect place for any meeting. Annie and her husband could bring a smile to Ebenezer Scrooge’s face. The atmosphere is so right, relaxed, casual, sophisticated yet welcoming.
They really know wine. LA transplants who have a real passion for the area and what they do.
Wine list very impressive, tried several and loved them all, which is rare for me.
The food offerings are widely varied and all delicious, sampled a bit of everything. Empanadas from Splash Café in a wine bar?! YES!!! Perfect pairing.
Great wine boutique for hard to find items. I hope we can support a high end place like this and keep them, they give the Central Coast an even brighter polish. 5 stars!

We stopped in Atascadero to take a road trip break and charge up our car. Our around the town walk led us to this lovely wine bar. The owner poured us a great flight of reds for 2 ($ 24). On Wednesdays from 6 – 8 they have local winemaker tastings with music on the patio. We’ll definitely be back.

Unfortunately the approach that was taken that night was very negative actually damn right embarrassing. I understand if you can’t take people under 21, but I was never carded on multiple occasions that I had entered before so I never got the impression or saw signs that your business was more of a bar than a tasting room. Also the patio area that you mentioned was available was not. It had a reserved sign and appeared to only be accessible from entering your store. Even the people sans children were asked to leave in my party. There was never an offer of here have a seat over here and your guests can continue to taste wine or browse our selection. (Which my mother was actually about to purchase two items (myself one) when we were told to leave) if the situation was handled correctly I could’ve given my mother my card and we could have me wait in the patio while my mother completed our purchases, but we weren’t even allowed that. My husband didn’t even get to go inside because I had already been escorted out.
My recommendation when you participate in events is to possibly have some other tastings (honey, walnuts) outside like you’ve done previously. Or to open up the patio so it is accessible from outside. I could have conveniently sat while the older members of my party could’ve been served. In the spirit of supporting local businesses in general and the fact that you reached out personally via Unilocal messages shows me that you value customer service so I’ve updated my score. Unfortunately the way I was handled and communicated that evening was not your businesses finest hour. I know I wasn’t the only mom to have experienced this which is one of the reasons I wanted to let others know on Unilocal so they don’t experience what I did. I hope in the future your employees are kinder and offer the patio and make it accessible to anyone with little ones. Thank you.

This is a Wonderful wine bar owned & operated by truly Wonderful People. They feature specialty Winemakers on Wednesdays offering the chance for Wine Enthusiasts the opportunity to Experience Extraordinary Wines, that normally, only a select few have had the Joy, of this Elite Indulgence !!! And just as impressive as the Winemakers they feature, are the uncharacteristically low prices they offer. And another huge bonus they also feature Professional Live Entertainment.
Certainly Worth The Drive From Any Distance !!!

We had a great experience here. My wife is more of the wine lover and she was well taken care of. They had a huge selection of really great wines. I am more of a beer person and was pleasantly surprised at the great choices that they had in that arena. Sitting out on the nice patio while enjoying our selections made for a great Friday night. We’ll definitely be back.

Flights change all the time and you have so many chances to find your new favorite wine.
New Yorkers… take note, Finger Lake wines may be bought here. Unless I buy them before you.
Wine, food, amazing hosts, crazy science blending… it is a magical wine Empourium.

If you are looking for a wine experience like no other… this is the place. David and Annie Wilson have dedicated so much passion to bringing one of the largest and most diverse collections of wine to the central coast. We had the flight tasting for two and tasted 8 small crafted wines from all over. When we were just finishing up… David the owner came out and created a master blend of probably the best glass of red I have had. They are gracious and warm and a shining light in Atascadero. We stocked up our wine rack and will be back when it starts to empty.

What a great spot! Worth the drive to Atascadero if you’re anywhere in the Central Coast or roaming around wine country looking for somewhere to stop for a while. This is a friendly, comfortable place to have a glass of great wine or pick up a bottle. The proprietors’ recommendations are always on target and their selection is excellent, mostly local AND affordable. They also carry some local artisan foods and products that are worth a try.
Oh, and definitely try the custom blending! It’s the only place doing this… anywhere, I think… but for sure in Central Coast wine country. Delicious and unique. A true wine experience.

Just discovered this gem. Just go! The weekly wine flights are unique, global and tasty, but the experience of having them blend the wines in front of you is worth the trip. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone doing that before and it was a revelation. I want to try blending at home now. David and Annie are personable, relaxed and entertaining. No pressure, great stories. I wasn’t planning to buy wine and left with three bottles, because I’d never seen some of these wines before and they were delicious. My wife is asking me to go back for more.

Wow! LOVED this shop! It’s manageable in size and you can be assured that anything you pick has been hand-​selected by the owner. Every bottle has a story, plenty of character, and serious quality. We thoroughly enjoyed our full-​flight tasting and left with great wines and nice feelings. I live in San Francisco and plan to make it back any time I’m in the area. Highly recommend.