SPOTLIGHT: BREAKAWAY TOURS

With such a diverse array of experiences being staged around the Paso Robles wine country, Wine Speak 2019 would not be possible without a little help from our friends and sponsors at Breakaway Tours.

Indeed, Breakaway Tours is providing all event shuttles and transportation to our tech tours at Wine Speak 2019, allowing us all to partake in their longtime local wine touring expertise.

Breakaway Tours was established in 1995, when founder Jill Tweedie began leading educational wine tours in the Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara wine regions. Jill had a pioneering vision to craft tours for wine lovers that were delicious, unique and tailored to the guests’ knowledge of wine.

Jill and her tour guides focused on information about the different winegrowing regions and the terroir differences between them. They explained to guests what was growing in which region and why; who planted the grapes; background information on the vintners; and all the aspects of wine tasting, including how to find your own palate. Breakaway Tours was well ahead of the curve when it came to combining wine tasting with education.

“It’s so important, as a wine educator, to help guests in any hospitality situation understand wine in a new way,” Jill says. “Enhancing their understanding of how to read a wine label, how to store, serve and pair wines, even how grapes are grown, enhances their lives.”

Breakaway Tours continues to educate guests and serve more than 400 wineries. Breakaway Tours also arranges private vineyard tours, as well as blind tastings, sensory evaluations, blending trials and more. 

Needless to say, Jill’s emphasis on wine education is a perfect fit for Wine Speak.

“It’s amazing to have this kind of event here, with this level of education, contributors and depth of knowledge,” she says. “For local industry folks to have access to this kind of training, raises the entire Central Coast to a higher level.”