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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Link to Chateau 55 Website
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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

Montepulciano

1/22/2021

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I first encountered Montepulciano about six years ago.  I had never even heard the name, and had trouble remembering it after first tasting the wine at Ponte in Temecula.  It was love at first sight – well, actually first taste.  I have selected this grape variety and the varietal wine made from it as my second to review because it was this wine that made me realize that there are very good red wines not made from Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir grapes.
So, another rare Italian red grape variety?  Not exactly.  I mean, it is an Italian red grape variety, but not quite a rare grape.  Uncommon, then?  No.  In fact, it is quite common in Italy -- Montepulciano is the second most grown red grape grown in Italy.  So, wines made from the grape must not carry the varietal name, yes?  No, actually the grape is commonly used to produce a wine called Montepulciano.  So why hadn’t I run into it before?  While I might have but not remembered it, fact is that after we first tasted this very nice wine, we began looking for it.  Did not find it at the supermarket, Costco, Trader Joe’s, or any restaurant wine lists.  Lots of Chianti, Barbera, Valpolicella, Chianti Classico, and Barolo, but no Montepulciano.
One explanation that I have read is that the while the grape has its origin in Montepulciano, it is now grown extensively in Abruzzo.  Abruzzo is not an area of Italy that gets a lot of tourists, hence, few outside of Italy know of its existence.  Not sure if I buy that explanation.  My view is that the Italians drink the better wines made in Italy and export the ones they don’t particularly care for.  The answer may be in the numbers – while Montepulciano plantings cover less than half the acreage of Sangiovese, much of the Sangiovese crop is used to make cheap Chianti for sale to America.
Now for an anecdote.  One of the restaurants we frequent is Pernicano’s (on Mercy Road just west of Interstate 15).  Our standard fare always included a glass of Chianti.  Then, one night not too long ago, a new wine appeared on his wine list – Montepulciano.  We had it that night, and our next visit as well, but on the subsequent visit he had sold out.  It has become very popular, and is now near the top of his wine list.
As a final note, we did order Montepulciano at a restaurant in Rome.  I am happy to say it was as delicious as any produced in our area of the world.
My next wine to be reviewed was going to be another red wine.  News of this blog somehow reached the white, sparkling, and dessert wines in my wine chiller, setting off protests and even threats of violence.  Other grievances came to the fore, such as always being put in the bottom of the chiller and seeing the reds come and go while they remain untouched.  This latter complaint died quickly when they were informed of what happens to wines that leave the chiller, as we demonstrated by uncorking their leader, a wonderful Viognier from Europa Village.  While the white and sparkling wines will remain at the bottom of the chiller, I have decided to meet them part way by making Viognier the subject of my next blog.
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Lagrein

1/11/2021

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​I’ve mentioned a number of grape varieties that are relatively rare, or at least uncommon, that you can find at the wineries in Southern California.  I have decided to educate you on some of these with the hope that you will try them, and also because the wineries are all shut down and I need to write about something.
The first grape variety that I would like to feature is Lagrein.  My first post on this website was in December, 2017.  Now my first blog was about Orfila Vineyards.  An easy choice, as they are a very popular winery with a great location and some very nice wines.  I also like the fact that their tasting room is their barrel room, hence even the red wines are served at a reasonable temperature.
With this in mind, I took an afternoon trip to Orfila to get some pictures for the blog, and, of course, do some wine tasting.  On the wine tasting menu was this very strange name – Lagrein.  So I asked if this was a blend, not ever hearing about a grape named Lagrein.  Well, the wine on the menu was not a blend, which I should have known since it says so on the menu.  Hey, I’m old and have trouble reading the fine print and the sun was in my eyes and I was distracted by a naked woman running through the tasting room…  OK, the last two are out-and-out lies.
Anyway, turns out Lagrein is a grape variety, but, despite its seemingly French name is actually from Italy.  It is a medium-bodied red wine, a bit on the level of Cabernet Sauvignon, but to me seemed a bit drier with a great finish.  So why have you not heard of this grape before?
Well, for starters it is pretty rare.  It is grown mostly in the Italian Alps, though according to Wikopedia is also grown in Australia and in California.  It likes cooler temperatures and ripens slowly, although I have read that it also really produces, i.e., it is a very high yield varietal, and often has to be pared down.  I have also read that the wine should be aged a bit before drinking but starts going south in five years or so.  I love some of the write-ups about this wine, that it is a Teroldego cross and is similar is many respects to Teroldego, as if Teroldego you are going to be able to get a good idea of what the wine is like by comparing it to another wine that might be even rarer.
Back to my story.  So, there I was with this great discovery.  I bought a bottle, brought it home, and used it as the cover bottle for my first blog.  As for the wine itself, turns out my wife was on antibiotics at the time so could not drink.  I had to drink the entire bottle myself – the things we have to do….
The Orfila grapes come from San Luis Obispo, and that is where it is grown in California.  Not sure how the grape would do in our part of the state.  Anyway, Robert Renzoni also has a version, though it is not 100% Lagrein and goes by some strange name that I never remember because I really don’t like it.  I also had the wine in Italy, and truth-be-told, it was just as good as the Orfila version.  I should add here that I did not see the word Teroldego on a single wine list in Rome but did find Lagrein and also found Lagrein in one of the shops at the highway stops but never Teroldego so they really need to say that Teroldego is related to Lagrein and not the other way around.  Just saying…
 I also tried some in Paso Robles.  I won’t mention the winery because my wife tells me I shouldn’t say bad things about a winery so let me just say it was not quite “up to snuff” and leave it at that.
Lagrein has become our “go to” wine – indeed, this summer for the first time since the days when we thought Two-Buck Chuck was drinkable that we purchased a whole case of one wine.  The vintage I first tasted was 2016.  I am happy to report that 1) 2017 is just as good, 2) they still have some of each left though they are not on the tasting menu, and 3) they will soon release a 2018 version.  This is a wine you should at least taste, so I will let you know when Orfila releases this 2018 vintage.
Next up:  Montipulciano
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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