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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 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
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

Speckle Rock Winery reopening

7/28/2020

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​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.
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​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.
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Ponte and Principe di Tricase reopenings

7/19/2020

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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.
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​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).
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​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….
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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