Downtown San Luis Obispo has hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, historic buildings, and parks. It also has plenty of tourists who swell the city’s 47,000 residents.
Until recently, it was missing an important ingredient: a tasting room. With hundreds of wineries sprawling across the county – and an estimated 7 million annual visitor traffic, according to Visit SLO CAL tourism association – local entrepreneurs Deron and Sarah Brewer thought the downtown crowd was a lucrative secondary outlet for the Branch would represent.
So they brought their Ragtag Wine Co. to Higuera Street, SLO’s main artery.
While Paso Robles has a thriving downtown wine scene with 20 tasting rooms and another 30-plus just five miles south in the Tin City industrial complex, downtown San Luis Obispo has largely missed the boat, the Brewers said.
“We really hope we can take responsibility for bringing other wineries to downtown San Luis Obispo,” said Deron Brewer. “That would benefit all of us, because not everyone wants to go to Paso or even Edna Valley.”
Brewer said wineries find strength in numbers.
“I call it the Kettleman City Effect,” he explained.
Halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles along Interstate 5, Kettleman City offers a convenient stop for refueling.
“If you’re driving on the freeway and only see one gas station, you probably won’t stop,” he said, “but if you see multiple options, you could drive through.”
A tasting room might not turn out to be a huge draw, but several options in close proximity would help establish SLO as an urban wine destination, he continued.
The Brewers, who own several stores in town including Edna Valley Market and Dave’s Automotive, had always dreamed of owning their own winery. Conditions were ripe when Sarah’s brother Jeff Huskey graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in viticulture and viticulture. After three years at Harmony Cellars as an assistant winemaker, Huskey was ready for the main job.
The trio launched their Ragtag label in 2016. Huskey worked from a partially completed winemaking facility on Clarion Court and only produced 2,000 boxes a year.
His 2017 Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Malbec and Meritage as well as his Rosé 2019 won industry awards ranging from gold and platinum to Wine loverEditor’s Choice designation.
After the position of winemaker was filled, the co-owners set out to find the perfect person to manage their future tasting room.
Brewer found the ideal candidate at the Madonna Inn at the end of 2019. Steakhouse and banquet server Patrick McTiernan “blew my mind,” he said.
“I fell in love with him the instant I met him. I went home and told my wife that I had found the perfect man. I was amazed how amazing he was in everything he did. We left after that for coffee and it takes off from there, “said Brewer.
McTiernan had years of management experience in Portland restaurants before moving to the Central Coast in 2016 for a position at the Madonna Inn.
McTiernan initially accompanied Huskey in the production facility and received a crash course in winemaking. Then, in 2020, another cog was added. The Brewers found the ideal tasting room.
“We drove downtown to Higuera and Chorro streets,” Brewer said, “and luckily there was exactly where we wanted to be, a space that had just become vacant. It was in the perfect building and location. ”
The Brewers secured the tasting room at Higuera St. 779 and set about transforming the former Pura Vida skincare shop into a hip meeting place with a diverse ambience.
“The name Ragtag pays homage to the diversity of the region’s terroir,” said Brewer. “It celebrates our abundant grape varieties, but also reflects every other aspect of our new business.
“The basic premise behind Ragtag is how absolutely boring and monotonous everything would be if people were exactly the same. It is the concept that it is the differences between us that make things interesting and fun, and enable people to grow and do better, “he added. “When we get more people involved in the project, their unique perspectives all make us … better overall. That’s our metaphor for what we mean as a brand.”
After a gentle opening earlier this year – and maneuvering COVID-19-related obstacles – the Ragtag team plans to celebrate its official opening on August 20.
McTiernan thinks the tasting room has all the elements necessary to thrive: incredible wines, a cool atmosphere, great service, and unique decor.
“Those were the four points I wanted to get,” he said. “I kept this mantra in my head. This is what people tell their friends about.”
Meanwhile, Ragtag caught the dynamic duo of Alyssa Ball and her assistant, a blind chocolate Labrador named Scout, in the winery production facility. Ball led the direct-to-consumer program at Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande for more than a decade before becoming administrator and e-commerce sales director for Ragtag.
“Patrick and I are a great team because we are both in positions that allow us to play to our strengths,” said Ball. “Patrick is a hospitality superstar and thinks down to the last detail to ensure a great customer experience.
“I love to live with numbers, to immerse myself in data and metrics, to make sales forecasts – all these exciting things! Together with both of us, I believe that we will be able to create a great roadmap for the future of Ragtag. ”
Recent clients Pam and Jeff Forrest were so impressed with their overall experience at Ragtag that they joined the wine club.
“The Ragtag crew were attentive, informative, and friendly,” said Jeff. “Patrick is delightful and an excellent historian about the building, the landlord, the winemaker, the decor and … how Ragtag began.
“Pam loved the Chardonnay best, and I wavered between the Cab-Sauv and the Meritage.”
The Ragtag team is just getting started. Future plans include a second tasting room and venue in the winemaking facility, as well as art workshops and other unique experiences in the downtown tasting room.
Meanwhile, Huskey plans to throw a “taste bomb” with a single-origin Petit Verdot from 2019.
“Most of the time you just see [petit verdot] used as a blending tool, and that’s to add tannins and weight in the middle palate to what they’re blending it with. But 100 percent it’s just delicious, “he said.
In addition, Huskey plans to harvest Syrah and Grenache and then mix the two with a dash of Pinot Noir to create an APS.
“I always try to post interesting new things that we post,” he said. “In the world of wine, they always think of us California winemakers as cowboys doing crazy things. I love it. I never want our tasting menu to get stale.” Δ
Flavor writer Cherish Whyte’s new summer draft of choice is Ragtag’s Albariño. You can reach them at [email protected].
