​And now for something different…
The “something different” is Gershon Bachus Winery, located on de Portola in Temecula.  The first thing that strikes you as “different” is their main building.  The design is essentially that of an industrial bay with high ceilings and garage doors along the sides allowing extensive air flow through the room, as shown in the pictures below.  Very nice, and a bit strange in that Gershon Bachus is a boutique winery, and from what we were told not planning on growing, so why such a large tasting room?

​Of course, because of COVID we sat outside on their very large, covered patio, so large that they would need a lot more tables to get them within six feet of each other.  Bringing the wine to you is their standard, so they did not have to make any significant adjustments for the virus.  So we sat at the table and our server brought us water and munchies (breadsticks) – something every winery should do.  Then things got different….

​You see, wineries understand that most Americans drink their wine a short time after buying it.  They respond to this by taking steps in the wine making process to speed up the aging of the wine, or at the least make the wine drinkable without significant aging.  Not Gershon Bachus.  They make the wine so it can be aged.  Indeed, all of their wines are aged five years before offered for sale – and our server made it clear that they are far from reaching their peak!  For me this was very refreshing – I feel it important for wineries to be upfront about their wines needing aging.  As an added note, they use thicker glass for their bottles to protect the wine during the aging process.
Now we were visiting the winery late on a Wednesday afternoon with temperatures in Temecula in the high nineties.  Needless to say, the winery was pretty empty.  I mention this because our fantastic server had to open several bottles of wine for our tasting.  To make sure he had not picked up a bad bottle, he tasted the wines himself before pouring for us.  Wow!
Their winemaking method also falls into the “something different” category.  First of all, they ferment their grapes in concrete.  Six months or so aging in concrete “eggs” is not uncommon, but this was the first time I’ve run into concrete vessels for the fermentation step.  It is supposed to add a bit of earthiness to the wine.  Then the wines are aged in new Hungarian oak barrels 30 of so months.  Most wines are aged in new oak for six months, so this is really a different.  The wines do not wind up over oaked, though.  It also seems that they pick their grapes fairly early, at lower sugar levels than other wines, resulting in lower alcohol levels and higher acidity.
The wine tasting menu is shown below.  Of course, we also tasted some of wines not on the list, such as their Sangiovese.  Overall their approach seems to work.  Despite the higher acidity, I found their Sangiovese quite nice, they have a very good Zinfandel (though lacking the black pepper I really love), but the star of the show is their Syrah.  Really, really nice wine.  They even offer a Merlot that I like!  On the down side, their Astraea blend is pretty weak – really stands out compared to their other wines.  Now if they added some of their great Syrah to it….

​They have a wine club, but they call it a clique in that they are well aware of the fact that their wines are not for everyone – well, at least they are not for anyone without a good wine storage capability.  By now that should not include anyone who drops in on this website regularly….  Anyway, the clique calls for purchase of 4 bottles three times a year at a 20% discount, and 25% off on their library wines.

​This week we headed back up the road to Temecula, specifically Europa Village.  If you recall my review of their winery, they were in the process of reorganizing from one winery to three wineries, building three new tasting rooms and adding villas.  I am happy to report that the tasting room for the Spanish winery, Bolero, has been completed.  However, it is an indoor facility so it is not yet open.At the original tasting room, the outdoor area reserved for the wine club members is now the main wine tasting area.  See pictures below.  Nice crowd for a Friday afternoon.  Misters all around the canopy.

​First thing they do when you sit down is bring you a glass of water.  They offer a “fixed” tasting menu (shown below) for $25 per person, with the servers pouring the wine at the table in the more traditional series tasting method.  I put fixed in quotes because wines not on the fixed menu are available for tasting.  Glass is included in the tasting price.
Now we are primarily red wine drinkers, but for some reason decided to taste three of their white wines – Arneis, Viognier, and their Albarino blend they call Libido.  One of the things I’ve noted since I started in on my winery review process is that the really good wines really stand out against their lesser competitors.  Such is the case with the Europa Village Viognier.  We started with the Arneis and really liked it, but the Viognier just blew it right out of the water.

​Below this paragraph is a picture of the Europa Village wine list.  See anything unusual?  No?  Look again, this time at the bottom of the list.  There it is, imported wines offered for sale at a Temecula winery!  Very interesting development.  I tried the Dolcetto as I have only tasted the American version of that wine.  Frankly speaking, the American versions are better….

​It is hot today, with temperatures in the wine-growing areas of Southern California up around 110 F.  So, no winery visits for me.  Fortunately, the Los Angeles Times has given me material to write about, specifically an excellent front page article by Steve Lopez on the effect of global warming on the California wine industry.
The jist of the article is that Cabernet Sauvignon grapes do not like high heat.  The grapes ripen too soon, so the rich character of the wine they produce is lost.  Hence, vintners are looking at other wine species that can handle high heat, specifically varieties grown in Southern Europe, and, as it turns out, Southern California.  So, it seems that this wonderful website is more or less a look into the future of California wine.
I know what you’re thinking (not really):  if Napa is having problems with heat than so should Bordeaux.  Well, turns out that Bordeaux is having much of the same problems.  Up until recently only six varieties of grapes were allowed to be grown in Bordeaux.  The effect of high heat, especially on the Merlot crops, has forced growers to look at other varieties, so now another seven varieties are allowed.
So, what to do, what to do?  Well, it turns out that I have a list of wine varietals that you can find in wineries I’ve reviewed and which wineries offer them.  All you need to do is go down the list, select the wines that you’d like to try, and then go to the wineries and taste the wines.  Not now, of course – way too hot.  Picture below is of four of my favorites – well, four of my favorites that I had bottles available for the picture.  You’ll have to read my reviews to find the rest.