Now serving lunch five days a week, Melo Mela Kitchen offers seasonal California cuisine, estate wines and lakeside dining in Paso Robles wine country
August 25, 2026 (Paso Robles, CA) — Melo Mela Kitchen now serves lunch five days a week at Bianchi Winery, where Chef Gregg Wangard pairs a seasonal Central Coast menu with Bianchi’s estate wines overlooking the winery’s vineyards and signature koi lake. The restaurant offers visitors a new way to experience the east side of Paso Robles, combining wine tasting, lunch and seasonal programming throughout the year.
Designed to complement Bianchi’s estate wines, the shareable menu invites guests to add a tasting to lunch, order wines by the glass or bottle, and dine indoors or on the patio overlooking the lake. Wangard rotates the menu with the seasons, sourcing ingredients from Central Coast farms and purveyors while blending California cuisine with Italian influences.
For more than three generations, the Bianchi family has produced wine in California, beginning with a single vine cutting carried from Italy in a suitcase. The family’s California winemaking journey began in 1974 and led to the purchase of 40 acres in Paso Robles in 2000, where the Bianchi Estate Vineyard now encompasses three distinct growing areas, each suited to specialized plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot. Today, the Bianchi Estate produces a range of wines and offers Melo Mela Kitchen, expanding the family’s hospitality tradition while honoring its Italian heritage and California roots. The name Melo Mela is an homage to the nicknames of third-generation owner Beau Bianchi’s beloved great-grandparents, Carmelo and Carmela.
“Opening Melo Mela has been a dream of ours for many years. We wanted to create more than just a restaurant — we wanted to offer a place where guests can slow down, connect with family and friends, and enjoy thoughtfully prepared cuisine alongside our estate wines,” said Beau Bianchi. “In our family, great wine and food go hand in hand. All the best memories come from combining the two, and I think we’ve accomplished that here with Chef Wangard. Melo Mela is the natural extension of the Bianchi experience.”
Wangard leads the culinary program at Melo Mela Kitchen, crafting seasonally rotating menus with a commitment to locally sourced ingredients. He discovered his passion for cooking alongside his grandmother and a genuine love of sharing stories with people over food. Before joining Bianchi Winery, Wangard served as Chef de Cuisine at the AAA Four Diamond Immigrant Room & Winery Bar at The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin, and later led the kitchen at Marisol at The Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach, California. He now brings that experience to the winery setting at Melo Mela Kitchen.
“Our menu is built around what’s in season on the Central Coast, with dishes designed to pair naturally with Bianchi’s wines,” said Wangard. “I love the farmers here on the Central Coast, and guests can expect seasonal, wine-friendly food prepared to showcase the freshness of local ingredients and complement the wines we pour. Right now, I’m especially excited about the compressed watermelon salad, fried burrata, cap sirloin and king salmon. And if you ask me, the wine sorbetto is hard to resist straight from the freezer.”
Set among vineyards and the estate’s signature koi lake, Bianchi Winery offers a peaceful setting to enjoy wine and lunch in Paso Robles. “The feeling of serenity while sitting above the water with friends and family — there is no place like it in Paso,” said Bianchi. To encourage guests to linger longer, the winery hosts rotating themed events, movie nights and seasonal programming throughout the year, along with private events and wedding celebrations.
Bianchi Winery is located at 3380 Branch Road in Paso Robles. The tasting room is open Thursday through Monday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Thursday, with extended hours until 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Melo Mela Kitchen is open Thursday through Monday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with extended hours until 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For more information or to make a reservation, call (805) 226-9922 or visit bianchiwine.com/visit/paso-robles.
“Whether someone is visiting for a tasting, celebrating a special occasion or simply enjoying an afternoon in Paso Robles wine country, Melo Mela completes the experience. Sharing great food and wine has always been at the heart of our family, and this restaurant allows us to extend that hospitality to every guest who visits Bianchi Winery,” said Bianchi.
About Bianchi Winery
Bianchi Winery is a family-owned and operated winery rooted in Paso Robles for more than two decades. Founded on a passion for crafting limited-production wines and welcoming guests to California’s Central Coast, the winery offers wine tastings and seasonal experiences at its Paso Robles estate, as well as the chic, oceanfront tasting room right in the heart of Laguna Beach. The Paso Robles estate is home to Melo Mela Kitchen, a modern tasting room, a state-of-the-art winemaking facility, and a dedicated barrel room for small-lot blending and aging.
Bianchi Wine | IG: @BianchiWinery
About Melo Mela Kitchen
Melo Mela Kitchen is the culinary heart of Bianchi Winery, created as a natural extension of the Bianchi family’s commitment to hospitality. Named after the nicknames of the family’s great-grandparents, Carmelo and Carmela, the restaurant celebrates its Italian heritage through seasonal California cuisine with Italian influences. Led by Chef Gregg Wangard, Melo Mela Kitchen highlights locally sourced ingredients from the Central Coast.
