​This week we headed back up the road to Temecula, specifically Europa Village.  If you recall my review of their winery, they were in the process of reorganizing from one winery to three wineries, building three new tasting rooms and adding villas.  I am happy to report that the tasting room for the Spanish winery, Bolero, has been completed.  However, it is an indoor facility so it is not yet open.At the original tasting room, the outdoor area reserved for the wine club members is now the main wine tasting area.  See pictures below.  Nice crowd for a Friday afternoon.  Misters all around the canopy.

​First thing they do when you sit down is bring you a glass of water.  They offer a “fixed” tasting menu (shown below) for $25 per person, with the servers pouring the wine at the table in the more traditional series tasting method.  I put fixed in quotes because wines not on the fixed menu are available for tasting.  Glass is included in the tasting price.
Now we are primarily red wine drinkers, but for some reason decided to taste three of their white wines – Arneis, Viognier, and their Albarino blend they call Libido.  One of the things I’ve noted since I started in on my winery review process is that the really good wines really stand out against their lesser competitors.  Such is the case with the Europa Village Viognier.  We started with the Arneis and really liked it, but the Viognier just blew it right out of the water.

​Below this paragraph is a picture of the Europa Village wine list.  See anything unusual?  No?  Look again, this time at the bottom of the list.  There it is, imported wines offered for sale at a Temecula winery!  Very interesting development.  I tried the Dolcetto as I have only tasted the American version of that wine.  Frankly speaking, the American versions are better….

​It is hot today, with temperatures in the wine-growing areas of Southern California up around 110 F.  So, no winery visits for me.  Fortunately, the Los Angeles Times has given me material to write about, specifically an excellent front page article by Steve Lopez on the effect of global warming on the California wine industry.
The jist of the article is that Cabernet Sauvignon grapes do not like high heat.  The grapes ripen too soon, so the rich character of the wine they produce is lost.  Hence, vintners are looking at other wine species that can handle high heat, specifically varieties grown in Southern Europe, and, as it turns out, Southern California.  So, it seems that this wonderful website is more or less a look into the future of California wine.
I know what you’re thinking (not really):  if Napa is having problems with heat than so should Bordeaux.  Well, turns out that Bordeaux is having much of the same problems.  Up until recently only six varieties of grapes were allowed to be grown in Bordeaux.  The effect of high heat, especially on the Merlot crops, has forced growers to look at other varieties, so now another seven varieties are allowed.
So, what to do, what to do?  Well, it turns out that I have a list of wine varietals that you can find in wineries I’ve reviewed and which wineries offer them.  All you need to do is go down the list, select the wines that you’d like to try, and then go to the wineries and taste the wines.  Not now, of course – way too hot.  Picture below is of four of my favorites – well, four of my favorites that I had bottles available for the picture.  You’ll have to read my reviews to find the rest.

​We were able to get out to Poppaea Vineyard & Winery on Old Julian Highway in Ramona this weekend, and, yes, they have reopened.  On our last visit we sat inside – it was too hot to sit outside – so we missed their nice outdoor seating area and great view.  Oops!  Pictures below.

​Poppaea has handled the COVID issue by going to flights of wine.  The first taste comes in a glass, then four wines are brought to you in 50 ml beakers.   Like from a chemistry lab.  Wonder if the owner being a chemist has something to do with that?

​I’m happy to report that the wines are still made from Italian grape varieties, and remain quite nice.  Not on the menu, but the wine I think ia the star of this winery is their Marcus Aurelius wine, a blend of Montipulciano and Sagrantino.  I bought a bottle of this wonderful blend but should have purchased a bottle or more of their Sagrantino now that I have storage at Chateau 55.  With extensive aging this wine will be very, very good.

​It was more than a little hot on Sunday, but we were determined to hit a winery.  So, Doc Ed and his wife joined me and my wife on a journey to the Ramona hill country and Vineyard Grant James.  It turned out to be a very pleasant visit, as they handled the high heat with shade, misters and fans.
On our first visit there after the shutdown we were limited to a glass of wine each – no wine tasting per se.  This time around we were able to get a flight of five wines.  I’ve discussed this approach in the past, namely that with a flight of wines you are able to really compare wines.  Doc Ed and I agree that this is a better way to do tasting.  Hopefully it will become engrained in the business.
Anyway, as you might expect there is some good news and bad news out of Vineyard Grant James.  The good news is that they are soon to offer food – flat bread pizza and the like.  The bad news is that they sold all of their Negroamaro.  Fortunately, they have some of their other great wines available, such as their Nebbiolo, Zinfandel and their great blends – such as Ares and Phoenix – not to mention their white wines – Chardonnay, Albarino, Marsanne, et al.
I guess I should point out that in 2017 they were rated the second-best winery in the country by Travel + Leisure magazine -- before they released their Negroamaro.  That is probably the really great news, that wineries in our area are constantly working to improve their existing products and introduce us to new wine varietals.  For example, Principe di Tricase won the Lum Eisenman Wine Competition “Best in Show” in 2019 for their 2015 Barrel Select Aglianico.  Since then they’ve released two wines that are arguably much superior, their 2017 Nebbiolo and their 2019 Sagrantino.  I also had the opportunity to taste – well, more than taste – Forgotten Barrels Tannat.  Wow!

​We made it out to another winery this weekend, this time going to the Highland Valley region to drop in on Speckle Rock Winery.  It is located on Highland Valley Road in Escondido about midway between Pomerado Road and Route 67, up in the hills.  We sat on the back side of the winery building, outside (of course), well-separated from the other patrons with a great view as shown in the picture below.

​As with most of the wineries, we could only purchase bottles or glasses of wine – no regular wine tasting.  If you recall my report on our first visit to Speckle Rock, I was impressed by their 2018 Pinot Noir.  Well, it has been released so naturally I bought a glass.  Pricey at $15 for a glass, but that is their normal tasting price so not much change there.  My wife tried their Grenache-Merlot-Sangiovese blend.  Worked out perfect – I really preferred the Pinot Noir, and she preferred the blend.
They had a pretty good crowd at widely separated tables, as required.  No hanging in their small tasting room, of course.  Like Principe di Tricase, Speckle Rock has brought in caterers to provide patrons with food choices.  For our Sunday visit they had Tuetano Taqueria (see picture).  I enjoyed a very good carne asado street taco.  Oh, the had music as well, beginning at 4 PM.

After many days of isolation, our brave team embarked on its mission of exploration.  Our first journey was north to seek the lost winery of Ponte and its famed restaurant.  We found it in the valley of Temecula.  The inhabitants proved most friendly, and we were able to partake of their wine and food for mere plastic.  We discovered a change in the set-up, one which we had not expected but of course should have.  The area that they had used on weekends for their royalty (wine club members) was now open to the peasants and royalty every day for wine tasting only.  We brought back pictures of our journey, shown below.

​With the success of the Ponte expedition, we decided to test our luck by exploring the region known as Ramona.  We were specifically seeking to once again worship Bacchus at his alter at a place called Principe di Tricase, settled by others from our ancient homeland of Italy.  We wound our way over a mountain then down to the Highland Valley region of this Ramona area.  There, along the road we found the trail that led to Principe.  Much to our delight, the inhabitants augmented their wine with food from our common homeland – pizza and a great delight known as panzerotti, a sort of Italian empanada.  (Aside:  the pizza margherita is Roman style, i.e., like an American cheese pizza with added basil.  Not made with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes).

​Then there were the wines.  Wonderful white, rose, red and sweet wines.  And one very special offering:  a red wine made from the ancient Roman grape Sagrantino.  This was new – only one other winery in Ramona grows this particular grape.  Known for its extremely high tannin levels, normally the Sagrantino varietal needs substantial aging to soften the tannins.  But the wise wine seers at Principe were able to create a Sagrantino with soft tannins with little aging!  The wine is a 2019 vintage – and it is great!!!
There is some good news and some bad news about this marvelous wine.   The bad news is that were not the first to discover this wine, i.e., they don’t have much left.  The good news is that I got three bottles!  Well, good news for me, that is….

​We only made it out to one winery this weekend, Orfila.  Orfila is a larger winery located in Escondido (sort of) on the road leading to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  I say “sort of” since the winery is owned by the city of San Diego and leased to Orfila.
Anyway, this is probably the most popular winery in San Diego County, and in normal times packed on weekends.  Accordingly, to limit the numbers at the winery you have to make a reservation in advance.  They have the reservations set up every two hours, and limit visits to one-and-a-half hours so they have a half hour to disinfect before the next group arrives.  As shown below, tables are separated.  In addition to the normal seating, they opened up their special events tent as well, also shown below.

Like the previous wineries we visited, no tasting – just glasses or bottles of wine.  Wines available are shown in the two menus below.  Not good photos -- it was windy and, well, I had wine to drink, and the dog ate my homework....

​We tried two of the Pinot Noir offerings – Stem Head and Element 119.  The better of the two, the Element 119, is shown below.  Note its color is on the dark side for Pino Noir. This Orfila Element 119 Pinot Noir has long been one of my favorites, and my wife, Doc Ed, and I all like it much better than their Sequestered Pinot Noir, even though that wine is higher rated – 92 pts for Element 119, 94 pts for Sequestered.

​While we really like their Element 119 Pinot Noir, we love a wine not available on the menu, their Lagrein, a rare full-bodied Italian red varietal.  It was not on the menu because they are running low on it, so we decided to make it even rarer by buying a case.  Sorry about that, but you know how it is – all’s fair in war and wine…

The wineries in Ramona opened this weekend, so naturally my wife and I headed out that way.  We headed through the Ramona downtown (such as it is), turned right on 3rd Street, and then on to Old Julian Highway.
We decided to begin at the end, so to speak, driving all the way out to Poppaea.  They were not open for wine tasting yet (they plan on opening in early July), so we headed back along Old Julian Highway, this time stopping at Old Julian Winery.
Old Julian is a new winery and an old winery, one just opened for the first-time sort of.  OK, a bit of explanation is needed.  The winemaker at Old Julian, John York, is also the owner/winemaker at Hellanback Ranch.  He closed his tasting room at Hellanback Ranch because his facility is too far off the main road.  He then took on the winemaking task at Old Julian, which features wines from both wineries.  The Old Julian Winery has had a bit of an issue opening up their tasting room, however, so it turns out that this was pretty much their “Grand Opening” on Saturday, assuming the wineries don’t have to shut down again due to the virus.
​As seen in the pictures below, it is a very nice facility.  It was a fantastic day to sit out and drink wine.  Under the new rules you really can’t “wine taste”, you are pretty much limited to purchasing a glass or bottle to drink.  Not much of a problem, though – they only had four wines available, a rose, a white (Viognier), and two reds (Petite Sirah and a Bordeaux blend).  We tried the reds and found them both quite nice, even bought a bottle of the Bordeaux blend.  I will have a more detailed review of this winery when I’ve had a chance to taste more of their wine.

​Now we had to pass Vineyard Grant James to get home, which is simply not possible to do without stopping in.  To handle the increased spread between tables, they’ve added seating in the back of the house (see picture below).  Our understanding is that they are planning some major facility improvements, including adding a real bathroom!  I have to admit that I am hooked on their Negroamaro.  That’s one you really need to try….
Bad part of the trip was being limited to just glasses of wine.  Tastings are so much more fun.  Anyway, suggest if you do hit the wineries while the glass or bottle requirement is in effect that you bring something to eat.

It being an absolutely gorgeous day in Southern California, we decided it was time to head up north to Temecula to visit the wineries.  Now you can't go to the wineries just to drink the wine.  You have to eat there as well.  Really not a problem for me....
First stop was Lorimar, and much to our surprise in addition to wine and food we got entertainment from  Brad and Al (see picture below).  Question of the day:  how did they get such great talent to perform on a Monday afternoon?

For wine we had glasses of both Montepulciano and Zinfandel.  Actually liked the Zin better...  Food was great.  My wife and I split a flat bread pizza and a chicken Caesar salad.
Lorimar is handling the social distancing rather easily -- plenty of room on their outdoor seating area, so tables are far apart.  Surprisingly large number of guests for a Monday afternoon.

Then is was on to Fazeli.  Wine of choice was their excellent Shiraz (Syrah), which went very well with some hummus and pita.  Note Doc Ed hiding behind the bottle.
Great food, great wine, great friends, and, of course, the great view from their outdoor patio!

​If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  So what do you do if life gives you spoiled wine?
Well, that is a problem that Alfredo Gallone, owner of Principe di Tricase, faced.  Before making wine he obtained some Cabernet Sauvignon to experiment with.  During the 2007 Witch Creek fire here in San Diego County some of the wine overheated, turning brown due to oxidation.  He kept the wine, not knowing what to do with it.
Fast forward five years.  In 2012 Afredo began researching sweet wines, including fortified wines such as Sherry, Port, and Marsala.  Fortifying involves added a distilled wine (i.e., brandy) to the wine increasing alcohol content and adding sweetness.  What he found is that Marsala is created by boiling the wine – deliberately overheating it in a controlled manner.  Turns out, wine that is unintentionally overheated has a Marsala-like taste, so much so that in Italy it is said to be Marsalato – tastes like Marsala – and can be made into a wine suitable for cooking.  And off went the light bulb!
He went back to his spoiled wine and tasted it.  Sure enough, it had a Marsala-like taste but was very dry.  Now if he could just make it sweeter by adding a bit of grape juice.  Nope, not sweet enough.  He needed a more concentrated grape juice. 
There is another way to make a sweet wine that does not involve adding anything to the wine.  In Italy, Alfredo’s homeland (he’s from Naples), the method is called “passito”.  The grapes are picked when ripe and then put into a screened in area and allowed to dry out in the sun, greatly concentrating the sugars in the grapes.  So, if he were to squeeze some of these grapes and add the very sweet juice to his dry Marsala-like wine….
Eureka!  He added the very sweet juice from the dryed grapes to the spoiled Cabernet Sauvignon wine and turned it into a Marsala-like sweet wine.  Below is a picture of the wine and you can see the brown color.  Also note that the bottle is not full – my wife used it to make a rather fantastic Veal Marsala -- which led me to writing this blog.  By the way, he can’t label the wine “Marsala”.  Marsala is a registered trade name.

​You might ask what became of Afredo’s attempt at making sweet wine? I can attest that it was a great success.  Now I am not an afficionado of sweet wine, but I really have to say that his are really, really good.  My favorite is his first, Romantico, made using Aleatico grapes.  All made the Italian passito way.
Try it.  You’ll like it.