"AP by the Sea is where you can experience the flavors of Paso Robles while enjoying one of California's hidden gem coastal destinations," said Doug Filipponi, viticulturist and co-owner of Ancient Peaks Winery.
Ancient Peaks Winery has opened a satellite tasting room inside the Pelican Inn & Suites on Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California, bringing its Paso Robles wines to one of the Central Coast's busiest tourist corridors. The new space, called AP by the Sea, was announced September 3, 2026 and pours the estate's Margarita Vineyard wines steps from the Pacific Ocean.
"AP by the Sea is where you can experience the flavors of Paso Robles while enjoying one of California's hidden gem coastal destinations," said Doug Filipponi, viticulturist and co-owner of Ancient Peaks Winery. "We are excited to expand Ancient Peaks and bring our passion for early California rancho hospitality to this special location just steps from the Pacific Ocean."
Co-owner Karl Wittstrom said the satellite will introduce more people to the story of Ancient Peaks and the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, and that guests will enjoy experiencing the wines in the unique coastal setting.
The economics of the satellite
Satellite tasting rooms trade rent for reach. The Pelican Inn and Suites location puts Ancient Peaks in front of Cambria's overnight visitors, a demographic that skews older, affluent and already inclined to buy wine. Complimentary tastings for inn guests convert a sunk hospitality cost into a customer-acquisition channel, and the $20 flight for walk-ins keeps the room's economics honest.
The model only works if the satellite feeds the core business: club signups, mailing list growth and reorders that flow back to Santa Margarita. Ancient Peaks' bet is that a tourist who tastes on Moonstone Beach becomes a customer for years. In a contracting DtC market, that is exactly the kind of pipeline wineries need to build.
The play: fish where the tourists are
The satellite sits inside the Pelican Inn & Suites at 6316 Moonstone Beach Drive, directly on the Moonstone Beach boardwalk and minutes from Hearst Castle and the Highway 1 gateway. Tastings are complimentary for inn guests and club members, $20 flights otherwise, offered Thursday through Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m., with walk-ins welcome. The original Tasting Room and Cafe in Santa Margarita continues to operate.
The estate behind the brand is Margarita Vineyard, the southernmost vineyard in Paso Robles, planted 14 miles from the ocean in the Santa Margarita Ranch AVA. The vineyard and winery are SIP certified and solar powered, credentials that travel well with the coastal tourist demographic.
A satellite strategy for a soft market
The move is a textbook response to the tasting room economics of 2026. With national DtC shipments contracting and tasting room conversion under pressure, wineries are chasing foot traffic rather than waiting for it. A satellite inside a beachfront inn captures tourists who would never make the 45-minute drive inland to Santa Margarita, and the complimentary tasting for inn guests is a direct customer-acquisition play: every overnight guest is a potential club member.
The risk is brand dilution, but Ancient Peaks has structured the satellite as an extension rather than a replica, pouring the estate's Pearl Collection and ranch wines in a setting that reinforces the coastal proximity the vineyard already claims. If the model works, expect more Paso Robles producers to follow the tourists to the water.