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 about two years ago 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
Montepulciano is another Italian wine, but rather than being rare it is Italy's second most commonly grown grape, trailing only Sangiovese.
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

June 27, 2020 visit to Orfila

6/29/2020

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​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.
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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....
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​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.
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​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…
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Ramona wineries now open!

6/15/2020

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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.
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​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.
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The wineries are open!!!

6/9/2020

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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?
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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.
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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!
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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