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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.

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:  At the end of each post is a small Facebook Like box....  Would really like a lot of likes....

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 NEWS FLASH:  Worried about 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

  • So Cal Winery Review has joined the American Institute of Wine & Food, San Diego Chapter.  AIWF was founded in 1981 by Julia Child, Robert Mondavi, and others.  Read more about it in our About section.
  • I got another gadget for Father's Day.  See it in the GADGETS section.
  The Latest Blog
New winery:  Bastian's Vineyards in Escondido, subject of my latest blog.
Site News​​
Links to special blogs:​
  • The Italian Connection
  • Purchasing Wine
  • Tasting Wine
  • Tastes like Marsala
  • And the beat goes on
  • We are the future
  • To taste or not to taste
  • Three years
  • Doc Ed's Excellent Adventure
  • Wine, food, and music in Ramona 
  • The Guadalupe Valley -- First Visit
  • Halloween 2021 -- Revenge of the Spirits




Bastian's Vineyard

5/23/2022

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​I introduced this website late in 2017, during which time I have observed a significant increase in the number of people visiting the wineries.  COVID slowed things down considerably, but in the last year or so the crowds have returned with a vengeance.  I attribute this entirely to my writing, but, alas, I am the only one to recognize my great contribution.  Nonetheless, I tirelessly explore the Southern California lands seeking to introduce the world to our fine wines and wineries.
My travels took me back to near one of the first wineries I reviewed, Espinosa.  Very near – next door in fact – you will find Bastian’s Vineyards, right there on Bandy Canyon Road a block or so off of Highland Valley Road in the Highland Hills region of Escondido.  Easy to get to if you don’t mind winding mountain roads, Bastian’s is a small boutique winery in a very nice setting.  Bastian’s is very new.  Like a few other new wineries, they planned on opening in 2020 but were significantly delayed by COVID.  See pictures below.  Note that there is no indoor seating, but there is plenty of seating outside with umbrellas for shade.
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​Things are pretty informal at Bastian’s.  No printed tasting menu – just a listing on a chalk board -- except that the wines on the menu were not all available for tasting.  Bottles of the five actual wines for tasting (five for $15) were laid out on the main (small) counter.
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​Now the owner/winemaker does know what he is doing, as he is WSET Level 2 (wine) qualified as is yours truly, also trained by Lindsay Pomeroy.  Hence, all of Bastian’s wines are served at the right temperature.  I should add that all of them are quite well done.  As with many of the boutique wineries, the wines are brought to you at the table – no wine bar, just as I like it.
As for the wines, their Viognier is excellent.  Also of note is their Syrah.  We had to work around this one – they had too few bottles to open any for wine tasting, so we bought a bottle.  Very worth it!  This seems to fit a bit of a pattern, as these two grapes are from the same area of France (northern Rhone Valley) and other wineries in the area have had success with this grape varieties as well.
Now for the bad news.  Bastian’s is a small winery and does not make a whole lot of wine.  To complicate things, they offer a fairly wide variety of different wines.  As noted already, Syrah was not on the tasting list because they did not have enough wine.  Bottom line:  wine availability is a problem.
As a final note, Bastian’s does not have a wine club, nor do they sell food.
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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