A Quiet Discovery in Paso Robles’ Adelaida District
Every wine region has a few places that feel like secrets.
Just fifteen minutes from downtown Paso Robles along Adelaida Road, the landscape shifts quickly. Oak covered hills replace town streets, vineyard rows stretch across the slopes, and hawks glide overhead on the afternoon thermals.
Tucked among these rolling hills sits Hawks Hill Ranch Winery, a boutique estate that feels both relaxed and quietly refined. Guests taste wines inside a converted 90 year old horse barn, where weathered wood beams and wide views of the surrounding hills create a setting that is distinctly Paso Robles.
It is the kind of place you discover once and immediately want to return to. At Hawks Hill Ranch, the experience begins long before the first sip.
Driving up the meandering road leading into the property, you begin to sense that something special awaits. The road curves beneath moss-covered oaks while peaceful vistas stretch across the hills. Close your eyes for a moment, and you may hear what feels like the “sounds of silence,” a rare quiet that allows you to relax and momentarily escape the buzz of civilization.
The pace here is unhurried and offers a variety of elevated tasting experiences, including guided estate tours. Visitors can explore the ranch aboard distinctive off road vehicles, including a restored vintage Land Rover, winding through vineyard blocks and hilltop viewpoints that reveal the character of this high elevation Adelaida District site.
A Boutique Estate with Rhône Roots
Hawks Hill Ranch is a unique estate producing exceptional wines. The boutique property spans about 250 acres, with roughly 32 acres planted to vines. The vineyard focuses primarily on Rhône varietals, especially Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre.
Before launching the Hawks Hill label in 2016, owner Kit Kuyper sold his grapes to a small number of respected Paso Robles winemakers. Today, about 60 percent of the estate fruit is used to produce Hawks Hill’s own top-tier, award-winning wines.
Producing wines of this caliber requires more than great grapes. It requires exceptional terroir and the right winemakers who know how to bring the fruit to life.
The Wines Begin in the Vineyard
Kit often shares a simple truth about winemaking: “You can make great wine from great grapes, you can make bad wine from great grapes, but you cannot make great wine from bad grapes.”
He considers himself a farmer first. His philosophy centers on respecting the land and understanding what the terroir naturally offers. Farming practices follow organic, sustainable, and biodynamic protocols designed to nurture the health of the vineyard.
Of course, meticulous farming depends on the people who carry it out. For Kit, one of the most important elements is the full-time crew who live on the property and manage the vines year-round. The same hands tend every vine each season, creating a level of care and familiarity that is difficult to replicate.
During my visit, several small organic lawn mowers could be seen working between the vines. Occasionally, you would hear one let out a “baaaaaa.” Most people would call them sheep. My wife and I simply call them lawn mowers.
Winemakers Who Know Paso Robles
The exceptional fruit grown at Hawks Hill Ranch is entrusted to two of Paso Robles’ most talented winemakers.
Anthony Yount was one of Paso Robles’ promising young winemakers when I first met him around 2006, while he served as Cellar Master at Villa Creek Winery under Cris Cherry. I still like to tease Anthony that when we first met he was barely old enough to shave.
His career accelerated when he joined Denner Vineyards in 2009 as head winemaker, a role he held until the winery was sold in 2022. Today he remains Denner’s consulting winemaker while focusing on several of his own projects, including Kinero Cellars, launched in 2008, and The Royal Nonesuch Farm, established in 2016.
At Hawks Hill Ranch, Anthony oversees the white wine program. His work includes a Burgundian-style Chardonnay called “Moth to Flame,” sourced from the San Simeon coast, a soon to be released reserve Chardonnay, and an old vine Chenin Blanc named “Pit of Chaos.”
Across two decades in Paso Robles, Anthony’s wines have received numerous accolades, including multiple appearances on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list. Recently, the Hawks Hill 2022 Chardonnay “Moth to Flame” was named the number six wine in the world on critic RH Drexel’s list of the top 50 wines.
For the red wines, Hawks Hill collaborates with Don Burns, owner and winemaker of Turtle Rock Vineyards. Don is a Paso Robles native with wine and dirt in his blood. After spending several years traveling and working abroad, he returned home in 2007 and began working with his high school friend Justin Smith, owner and winemaker of Saxum Vineyards.
Then came a remarkable moment in Paso Robles wine history. In 2009, Saxum’s 2007 James Berry Vineyard release, Don’s first vintage working with Justin, received a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker. Only months later it was named the number one wine in the world on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list.
In 2012, Don launched his own label, Turtle Rock Vineyards, and since then his reputation has steadily grown. His wines regularly appear on prestigious lists and consistently receive top ratings, including that coveted 100-point score.
While continuing to build his own brand, Don now leads the red wine program at Hawks Hill Ranch. The 2022 Hawks Hill “Dark Pool,” made entirely from Syrah, recently appeared as number 41 on Jeb Dunnuck’s Top 100 Wines of the World.
Together, Anthony Yount and Don Burns form a remarkable partnership, transforming Hawks Hill’s fruit into wines that express the estate’s character at the highest level.
The Dirt
Under the guidance of skilled winemakers and meticulous farming, exceptional terroir produces extraordinary grapes. But everything begins in the soil.
For those who enjoy vineyard geology, touring Hawks Hill Ranch can feel like stepping into dirt heaven. Throughout the vineyard, large pieces of limestone push their way up through the soil, reminders of the ancient forces that shaped this landscape.
The estate spans elevations from roughly 1,400 to 2,000 feet, and the shifts in sunlight exposure and slope create striking variations in fruit character. Grapes from one block can produce entirely different flavors from those grown only a short distance away.
Kit describes the site simply: calcareous limestone from an ancient seabed forms the base of the vineyard. Further down the hillside, the soil transitions to a cap of alluvial deposits. The limestone acts like a sponge, holding water for the vines, while the loamy cap provides essential nutrients.
Modern farming techniques also play a role. Weather stations positioned across the property collect real-time data through temperature and soil probes, helping the team manage irrigation and respond quickly to changing environmental conditions.
Geologist Ben Schupack offers an even deeper perspective on the region’s geology.
Millions of years ago, the Adelaida District lay deep beneath the Pacific Ocean along the slope of the ocean floor. During the Miocene epoch, powerful ocean upwelling produced enormous deposits of diatomaceous sediment, microscopic algae encased in delicate glass-like structures thinner than a human hair. Over time these sediments hardened into the silica-rich rock formations that now define the region’s geology.
Layers of organic-rich shale and mudstone alternate with calcium-rich strata, forming the bedrock sequence beneath many of Paso Robles’ most celebrated vineyards.
Today, among the rocky outcrops scattered between vineyards, visitors can occasionally spot fragments of organic material carrying a faint petroleum scent, a subtle reminder of the Monterey Formation’s long geological history.
The Experience
A visit to Hawks Hill Ranch Winery is about more than tasting wine. It is about slowing down and taking in the place itself.
Perched among the hills of the Adelaida District, the ranch offers sweeping views, a historic barn tasting room, and a sense of calm that feels far removed from the rush of everyday life. Hawks drift overhead, the vineyards stretch across the slopes, and the atmosphere invites you to linger a little longer than planned.
Add in the warmth of the staff and a lineup of award-winning wines, and Hawks Hill becomes the kind of place that stays with you long after the visit ends.
Some Fun Facts
• While studying finance in college, Kit worked in hospitality, something that clearly shows during a visit to Hawks Hill.
• Guests who book the VIP tour may find themselves enjoying a memorable tasting setup in the back of one of Kit’s Range Rovers, creating a true “wine on the range” experience.
• Visitors can picnic or plan a romantic dinner in the ranch’s manzanita grove, surrounded by trees that are as old as 250 years.
• Future plans include an upscale glamping experience featuring private luxury yurts on the property.
• Hawks Hill is also a working ranch with a lamb program and a dedicated lamb club.
A Twofer: Boutz Cellars
As if one winery were not enough, visitors can also enjoy wines from Boutz Cellars at the Hawks Hill tasting room.
The Boutzoukas family has been farming wine grapes for many years and now produces its own distinctive lineup of wines. While they work with both Bordeaux and Rhône varietals, their focus centers on grapes connected to their Greek heritage.
Boutz produces wines from varietals such as Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Vidiano, Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko, Liatiko, and Kotsifali. These elegant wines offer an exciting opportunity for adventurous wine lovers.
Boutz Cellars is among the very few producers cultivating Greek varietals in California and the United States, and the first to grow them on California’s Central Coast.
A Hidden Gem Worth Discovering
Paso Robles is filled with celebrated wineries, yet places like Hawks Hill Ranch remind visitors why the region continues to surprise even seasoned wine travelers. Perched among the rolling hills of the Adelaida District, the estate offers not only exceptional wines but a sense of place that is increasingly rare.
Drive a little farther up Adelaida Road, slow down, and you will find it. Hawks circling overhead, vineyard rows stretching across the hillsides, and a quiet ranch where great grapes, thoughtful farming, and talented winemakers come together in the glass.
Come for the tasting. Stay for the setting. And leave with the feeling that you have discovered one of Paso Robles’ most memorable places.
Don Sonderling is a freelance writer covering California’s Wine Country lifestyle, and culture. He and his wife are constantly sipping their way from Santa Barbara to Napa, focusing on Paso Robles and the Central Coast, where they have explored for about 25 years. Don has earned his WSET2 (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) certification, has completed the Bourgogne Masterclass through the Napa Valley Wine Academy, and is a member of the LA. Wine Writers.
Focusing on the people and unique experiences to be had, Don’s goal is to have people read about California’s amazing wine country adventures, seeing it through his eyes, and say: “I want to go there, try that, meet them,” and enrich the lives of others as his has been, by exploring California’s wine roads.
