Erick Cadena: The Manager
General Manager and Certified Sommelier Erick Cadena grew up in Atascadero before moving south to Santa Barbara to escape the small town life. After four years of school and fine dining service, Erick returned to northern San Luis Obispo County and eventually found his way to Villa Creek.
In the spring of 2004, Erick began bartending at Villa Creek. For the past few years, Erick has tasted wines with owner Cris Cherry every week, refining his palate and soaking up all the knowledge he could about local and international wines. The restaurant’s heavy involvement in the annual wine festival Hospice du Rhone gave Erick the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s great wine importers and producers including Eric Solomon, and winemakers Herbie Monterossa and Yves Gangloff.
For the past five years, Erick has enjoyed watching the strong strides being made by local vintners here in Paso Robles. In 2005, Erick worked the harvest with Hug Cellars, a small family-owned winery specializing in small vineyard-designated lots of Syrah and Pinot Noir, giving him a valuable insight on the winemaking process. He earned his WSET Certification in December of 2006 and has been helping to shape Villa Creek’s extensive and innovative wine list ever since. At the restaurant, he strives every evening to help create for the patrons a warm and unique dining experience.