Caliza’s 20th harvest this year was a dual celebration of longevity for the Paso Robles winery, owned by founding winemaker Carl Bowker and his wife, Pam, as well as excitement for the growing esteem of its End of the Day brand.
End of the Day—which debuted a new tasting room in Paso’s Tin City in February and was founded in 2020—raked in a slew of gold medals in 2025.
At the ninth annual Sunset International Wine Competition in June, the brand achieved double gold for its 2023 ZM Cuvée, a zinfandel-mourvèdre blend, and gold for its 2023 grenache. Earlier in the year, at the fourth annual Los Angeles Invitational Wine & Spirits Challenge, End of the Day scored double gold and “best in class” for its 2022 Red Cuvée, a mourvèdre-leading blend, and double gold for its 2023 albariño.
These same two wines took home double gold and gold, respectively, at the 25th annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in January.
“The [winning wines], along with all EOTD wines, are true expressions of the Paso Robles appellation, and with our exceptional climate, soils, and coastal cooling effects, among many other attributes, we are able to craft these wines to be approachable and with great balance showcasing fruit, structure, and acidity seamlessly upon release of the wine,” Bowker said. “I think judges at these competitions and even wine critics appreciate a complete package and enjoyable wine just as we all do.”
While Caliza’s primarily Rhône-centric varietals and blends regularly score as high as 98 points with industry publications, its lower-priced End of the Day wines are racking up equally impressive numbers, including a 98-point score for the 2022 Red Cuvée from the LA Invitational.
The accolades are especially notable given that Caliza specializes in estate fruit from the Willow Creek District while its more modest counterpart sources grapes from a variety of vineyards throughout the broader Paso Robles American Viticultural Area.
“If you were to look at our price points and missions for the Caliza and End of the Day brands, you would think our goals for each couldn’t be more different,” said Joshua Harp, who took over as head winemaker from Bowker in January of last year.
“However, we are very much focused on offering great value with both brands. Caliza wines are a little more structured, ageable, and intense, while End of the Day is made to be softer, earlier to release, and easily paired with food,” he said. “For both brands, we use the same high-quality winemaking standards to produce wines we think respect the vineyards and terroir we work with, and we want our customers to become excited about the varieties they find in each wine.”
The winemaking team at Caliza and End of the Day is a tight-knit trio including Bowker, Harp, and assistant winemaker Allie Donegan.
“Winemaking at Caliza is ultimately collaborative, a full team effort, and opinions from our tasting room and hospitality staff are also considered when making key decisions,” Harp said. “Much of my experience over the years has been derived from helping the wineries I’ve worked for transition to new winemaking teams, styles, and quality goals. I believe my first job is to understand the history of the brand I work for, get to know our customers, and then use my experience to continue making high-quality and high-value wines.”
Harp, of Morro Bay, brings to the table a wealth of industry experience, with stints as cellar master at Sextant in Paso, and most recently as winemaker at Jada Vineyard & Winery, also in Paso.
Raised in Northern California and a graduate of Shasta College, Harp moved to the Central Coast in 2010 to pursue his winemaking career.
Donegan, meanwhile, a South County native now residing in Paso Robles, joined the team in 2022 and became assistant winemaker the following year.
She boasts a wine and viticulture degree from Cal Poly and has held positions at Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande, Deovlet Wines in San Luis Obispo, and Archery Summit in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Both winemakers look forward to following in Bowker’s footsteps and “contributing to the legacy that Caliza has developed over the years,” Harp said.
Hawaiian-born and raised and a graduate of the University of Hawaii, Bowker moved to California in 1980. Following a 20 plus-year horticulturist career, he completed a two-year program in viticulture and oenology at Napa Valley College, then relocated to Paso Robles to establish Caliza, meaning limestone in Spanish.
His original tasting room opened in 2008, replaced by a new facility off Peachy Canyon Road in 2024.
Bowker’s current 75-acre property will ultimately be planted to 25 acres of vines, gradually replacing his former 28-acre estate vineyard off Anderson Road.
His limited-production brands remain at 2,500 to 3,000 cases annually for Caliza, and 1,500 to 1,800 for End of the Day, “but growing,” he said.
As far as wines to look forward to in the future?
“The 2023 vintage was a cool, long vintage that offered exceptional quality for nearly every variety, and I am really looking forward to the release of those wines for both brands in the near future,” Harp said.
“Our End of the Day customers will be excited to discover wines we haven’t made before such as our 2023 End of the Day graciano,” he added. “Caliza will also be planning to release its first sparkling wine, potentially by the end of this year, and we just finished blending our first Caliza cabernet sauvignon for the 2024 vintage.”
For guests hoping to sample End of the Day’s best in class, double gold Red Cuvée, the 2022 vintage is still available. However, the brand’s Sunset International medalists—the 2023 ZM Cuvée and grenache—won’t likely hit the Tin City tasting room until fall.
Unfortunately, Bowker added, the multi-award-winning 2023 albariño already sold out, but its equally delicious 2024 successor is on the tasting menu. Δ
Flavor Writer Cherish Whyte toasts Carl and company’s impressive lineup. Reach her at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 10-20, 2025.