A working 25-acre vineyard, a 6,300-square-foot designer villa and a team-blending wine competition — all yours, with nobody else around. Dresser Winery Estate Villa in Paso Robles is a buy-the-whole-place proposition, built for corporate retreats, weddings, milestone birthdays and multigenerational family trips rather than room-by-room hotel guests.
The property is the project of Kory and Catherine Burke, who left corporate careers in Los Angeles for wine country. Catherine started with a two-acre fixer-upper vacation rental near downtown Paso Robles, then in 2020 the couple bought an established winery estate on Dresser Road. She handles the design — a stylish, minimalist look layered with local art and South Asian accents — while Kory makes the wine, earning praise for red blends built from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Malbec, Tempranillo and Sangiovese. Look out for Kaia Lee, a standout blend with raspberry, cherry, mint and dark chocolate notes.
The villa sleeps 10 to 12 across five bedrooms with six bathrooms, plus a casita, sunken indoor bar, chef's kitchen, fireplaces in the living room and master suite, and a rainfall-shower master bath. Outside is where the "more is more" approach shows: a resort-style pool with a cascading waterfall, hot tub, private sauna, fire pit, outdoor kitchen, chef's garden and citrus grove, all set within a vineyard that climbs to 1,100 feet above sea level.
What sets it apart is the programming. Everything is curated per group, often with local partners such as tour operator Toast Tours. Mornings can mean vineyard yoga, sound baths or meditation; evenings bring private wine dinners in the dining room, cellar or barrel room, cooked by regional chefs like Ryan Swarthout and Erin Sealy. The signature experience is Winemaker for the Day: groups of 10 or more (corporate events up to 50) get blending kits, measuring cylinders and a lineup of varietals, then compete in teams to create a custom blend.
Despite feeling a world away, the estate is a short drive from downtown Paso Robles and its well-regarded restaurant scene — handy for dinners you don't want to cater.
Who is it for? Anyone planning a group trip where a standard hotel block falls flat: company offsites, destination weddings, big-deal anniversaries or a family reunion that needs a pool, a sauna and something to argue about (whose blend won). Book via the estate at 805 835 2002; customization starts at the booking stage.
