So. Cal. Winery Review
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WINERY REVIEW

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Introduction
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Welcome to Southern California Winery Review!  I started this website in late 2017 because I kept finding really bad wineries getting rave reviews, while some very, very good wineries were totally ignored.  So, I've spent quite a bit of time visiting wineries in Southern California (over 60).  Of these I've found about 40 pretty good wineries, certainly worth my taking the time to write them up.  I know what you are thinking -- it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it....  These are summarized in the Wineries section of this website. 
Now wineries in Southern California  are rapidly becoming the centers of social activities.  Not just for special events (weddings and the like), but as a place to go on weekends with friends, to enjoy good wine (ok, that's pretty obvious), good food, and even good entertainment.  While most wineries have some sort of wine club, no two are run the same.  Some wineries have restaurants.  Some have entertainment on weekends.  Some even have hotels.   So I have included information on all of this, both in the Wineries section and in the Winery News section.
If you are looking for specific varietals, you can find long lists at the beginning of the About section.  Not just what varietals are available in Southern California, but which wineries are offering them.  The About section also includes info on wine storage, corks, the Sommelier test, how to cool your wine to proper serving temperature, and other little tidbits.

I am not really qualified to review the wines themselves, though I will tell you what I like and maybe even what I don't like.  However, I have a wine collector (now a Level 1 Sommelier) who will provide us some insights into particular wines.  One word of warning:  both he and I are red wine enthusiasts....   Wine quality determines which wineries I review, though I also pay attention to the wine tasting room, personnel, location, view, et al.   I should add that I am very much a red wine enthusiast....
And speaking of red wine, I shall now expound on my pet peeve -- namely, drinking red wine at "room temperature"!  Red wine should be stored and drunk at a temperature below 65 F.  If you don't believe me, I suggest you run a little experiment -- I like experiments, in fact I'm a retired experimental physicist.  Pour red wine into two glasses in a warm room.  Chill one to below 65 F (put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes) and let the other glass warm up.  Then taste them both.... 
See picture below for recommended drinking temperatures.  By the way, what you see in the picture is the back of a wine temperature gauge, one of many wine-related paraphenalia in the Gadgets section.
IMPORTANT NOTE:  I HAVE ADDED LINKS FROM THE WINERIES​ PAGE TO THE SPECIFIC WINERY REVIEW.  Oh, at the end of each post is a small Facebook Like box....  Would really like a lot of likes....

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Red wine should be aerated, i.e., allowed to breath.  You can buy a simple aerator that will do the job, twirl the wine in the glass, or just let the wine sit for  awhile before drinking.  Of course, if the room is warm, see above....
One question you may be asking yourself:  why should I buy wine from a winery rather than Cosco, a supermarket, or a wine shop?  Well, for one thing, if you visit the winery you taste the wine before you buy it.  Then there is the fact that Cosco and the supermarkets don't store the wine properly, so even if you get a good wine the first time the next bottle you buy might not be as good.  That assumes they still carry it and you can remember what it was you bought in the first place.
But there is another reason -- wineries in Southern California make varietals that you are unlikely to find at Costco or a supermarket.  I list  a whole batch of white and red varietals I've tasted at the wineries I've reviewed.  Costco only carries around 15 red varietals.  You won't find three of my favorite wines:  LaGrein, Negroamaro and Montipulciano.  To make it easier to find a winery offering your favorite varietal, the wine varietal wine lists are now in the Wineries section .
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 NEWS FLASH:  Worried about the brown-outs ruining your wine?  Well, Chateau 55 has added a generator so your wine will always stay coo.  Mention our name and get the first month of storage free and a 5% discount for the next 11 months storage.  To check them out  click the link below. 
Link to Chateau 55 Website
33% Discount!  Save $20 on a $59.99 Priority Wine Pass by using the link below and entering the code scwr.
Link to Priority Wine Pass

The Latest Blog
To appease the non-red wines in my wine refrigerator, my latest blog is about Viognier -- and how Viognier grapes are blended with Syrah grapes....
Site News​​
  •  I've deleted the About Red Wines and About White Wines from the About section, with the listing now in the Wineries section.
  • With reviews now coming in from Doc Ed on Oregon wineries, I've added a listing of reviewed Oregon wineries in the Wineries section, after the extensive So Cal winery listing.​
About Section Contents
The About section is getting a bit crowded, so I thought it might be worthwhile to list the contents, as follows:
  1. About Sommeliers
  2. About Chilling Wine
  3. About Southern California Wineries
  4. About the Lum Eisensan/San Diego Wine Competition
  5. About Corks
  6. About Wine Clubs
  7. About Wine Storage
  8. About Balsamic Vinegar

Robert Renzoni

1/25/2018

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Robert Renzoni Vineyards & Winery is a relatively new operation – they’ve been around for about ten years – yet, like Orfila and Ponte, very popular.  Their parking lot is pretty full on weekends, and you may not be able to find a table to sit at.  Unlike Ponte and Orfila, they are off the beaten path (ooh! Look – a cliché!).  They are located in Temecula, but not on Rancho California.  Rather, they are east of Anza Rd. on de Portola.
Of course, they make some pretty good wine – at least I think so, and after all this is my website – which may help with their popularity.  Like Orfila, they have live music on weekends.  Like Ponte, they have a restaurant (Mama Rosa’s Trattoria), though it is not a high end, sit down one like Ponte’s – you order and they bring the food to your table.  Fare centers on salads, sandwiches and pizza.
Like Orfila, their wine clubs are 12 bottle per year affairs.  In this case, they require club members to purchase two bottles of wine every other month.  You can choose to belong to the all red club, the red and white club, or the white and sweet club.  Did I mention this is a popular winery?  It is so popular that there is a waiting list to get into their red wine club!  The tasting room is shown in the following pictures.
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​There are plenty of bennies for being a wine club member.  First, you get a great discount on the wines – 25% -- and any of the merchandise that they sell.  10% off on other food items and the restaurant.  And, get this, eight wine tastings per month!  Figure 3 is a recent wine tasting menu.  You five poker chips to trade in for tasting, four chips for the low end wines and one for the limited list.  They also have tables outside in the shade and beneath the misters for wine club members (see figure 4 – wine club member area is on the right.  Also note the great view).
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One warning about Renzoni:  their wines are very popular, and so they make it a point to get the new releases out to their wine club members early.  In some cases, a bit too early, before the wines have been properly aged.  Before you jump into one of their wine clubs I would suggest you have a proper place to store their wine.  I have a short overview of wine storage in the "About" section of this website you may find valuable.
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January 25th, 2018

1/25/2018

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Sulfite Tests

1/2/2018

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We have  friends and family members who get headaches from drinking wine.  There is really no reason to believe that the sulfites added to the wine cause the headaches, but there are devices on the market that claim to filter out the sulfites.  We ran a preliminary test of the Uiio sulfite filter and wine aerator.  Just one test, but our test subject drank two glasses of wine that had been run through the filter without getting a headache.  More tests to follow.
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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