When Alex and Monica Villicana made their first vintage in 1993, Paso Robles had only about twenty wineries, and they were not even living here yet. The couple commuted from Pasadena for six years, planting their Adelaida vineyard and tending their wines on weekends before moving up for good in 2001 to raise their family on Adelaida Road. They planted 72 acres largely by hand. Decades later, in an effort to waste nothing, they built Re:Find, Paso’s first distillery, and turned the juice other wineries discard into spirits. The region named them 2023 Wine Industry Persons of the Year.

The Villicanas, pioneers who stayed

Alex and Monica Villicana belong to the small group of people who built modern Paso Robles. They made their first vintage in 1993, when the region had only around twenty wineries and almost no national reputation, and they did it the hard way, living and working in Pasadena and commuting to Paso for six years to plant the vineyard and make the wine. After their second child arrived in 2001 they moved up permanently, opened a tasting room on their property off Adelaida Road, and raised their family in the community they were helping to create.

That staying power is why the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance named them 2023 Wine Industry Persons of the Year. They have been steady promoters and contributors to the AVA, its wines, and its people for more than three decades. The 72-acre Adelaida vineyard they planted largely by hand is the foundation of everything that followed, including the distillery that made them famous a second time.

In the 2022 harvest, Re:Find reclaimed the equivalent of a 70-acre vineyard from juice that would otherwise have been poured down the drain.

Adelaida ground and the no-waste idea

The estate sits in the Adelaida District, the high western side of Paso Robles where vineyards climb the Santa Lucia foothills on shallow calcareous soils. The Templeton Gap funnels cool marine air across these slopes most afternoons, and the big day-to-night temperature swing lets the fruit ripen in the warmth and recover its acid in the cold night, which is the foundation of balanced Bordeaux and Rhone wine on limestone ground.

What sets this estate apart is what happens to the byproduct. To make a deeper rose and a more concentrated red, winemakers bleed off some juice early in a technique called saignee, and most wineries simply discard that juice. In 2011 the Villicanas opened Re:Find, the first distillery in the region, specifically to capture that saignee and upcycle it into grape-based spirits. In the 2022 harvest alone, Re:Find reclaimed the equivalent of a 70-acre vineyard worth of juice from being thrown away, turning a waste stream into vodka, gin, and brandy.

Bordeaux, Rhone, and a distiller’s eye

Villicana makes wine across both Bordeaux and Rhone varieties, which the Adelaida ground supports well, the cool limestone slopes carrying structured reds and aromatic whites alike. Expect estate reds with dark fruit, real acidity from those cold nights, and the firm, mineral tannin that calcareous soil hands over. These are wines made by people who have farmed this exact dirt for more than thirty years and know what each block wants, which shows up as balance rather than excess.

The rose deserves a special mention, because it is the engine of the no-waste model. The saignee that deepens the reds becomes a crisp, dry rose, and what is left over goes to the still. Tasting at Villicana is a chance to follow a grape from vineyard to bottle to spirit on a single property, an unusually complete picture of what a Paso estate can be. The wines reward food and a little patience, and the spirits are worth the side trip to the still.

What to pour Villicana with

The structured estate reds want the grill. A young Bordeaux-style red carries firm tannin that binds to the protein and fat in meat and to the char on a crust, so it softens and turns plush against a fatty, smoky cut, red-oak-grilled tri-tip is the local move, but a ribeye or lamb works just as well. Rhone reds bring a savory, peppery side that loves herb-rubbed pork, sausage, and anything off the coals, and the acidity built in by cold Adelaida nights lets these wines cut cleanly through a rich braise.

The dry saignee rose is the versatile player at the table, its acid slicing through fried food, charcuterie, and creamy dishes, and it is dry rather than sweet so keep the plate savory to match. Watch the chili, since heat amplifies alcohol and a high-octane red will taste hotter alongside a spicy dish. To match a specific dish to a Villicana red, white, or rose, run it through the wine pairing generator and let it suggest the cut and the sauce.

Visiting Villicana

A visit here is really two visits, the winery and Re:Find Distillery share the estate on Adelaida Road, so you can taste estate Bordeaux and Rhone wines and then walk over to sample grape-based spirits born from the same harvest. That farm-to-bottle-to-still loop is the reason this stop stands out on the west side, and it is a great place to understand how a working Paso estate actually runs. Tastings are best arranged by reservation, so confirm current days and hours before heading up Adelaida Road, since the schedule shifts with the season and harvest. For how Villicana fits among the Adelaida District estates and how to plan a full day on the west side, see our Paso Robles guide.

Villicana Winery: common questions