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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WINERY REVIEW

Introduction

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

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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Latest post is on one very good winery, Domaine Artefact in Escondido.

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Battaia

10/23/2018

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Battaia is the newly-opened sister winery to Ponte, located in Temecula just one winery (Wiens) down from Ponte along Rancho California. It is a very different winery. The key feature of this new facility is its pool, as seen in the pictures below. Complete with cabines (changing rooms with showers), it follows an Italian design concept. Bathers can bask in the sun on chaise lounges while enjoying a variety of drinks and foods.

Rather than do a normal tasting, we tried their special wine pairing experience. You are given a choice of three boards (charcuterie, Mediterranean, and vegetable) which are paired with five wines – Arneis, Pinot Grigio, Aglianico, Montipulciano, and Nero D’Avola. The Nero D’Avola and Arneis were quite nice, the Montipulciano good, Aglianico ok, and the Pinot Grigio terrible. Two small deserts finish the meal, paired with two desert wines, both of which were such that I did not bother to get their names. Food was great, three of the wines were quite good, so not a bad experience. However, the room as shown below only had the high tables, meaning we had to sit in rather uncomfortable high chairs (one of my pet peeves). To add insult to injury, the red wines were served at room temperature.

Now if you want to drop in for wine tasting, you have to make a reservation in advance. For a limited time, non-wine club members will be able to use their special lounge or outdoor patio, but in the future this will be limited to wine club members and you’ll have to taste in their barrel room. Note that the barrel room has no chairs. All three are shown below. Wine tasting in the barrel room is $25 per person (six tastes).

To join their wine club, you have to purchase four bottles of wine. After those first four bottles, you are obligated to purchase four bottles per quarter (16 per year), all at a 20% discount. The same discount applies to chaise lounge and cabine rental fees (you didn’t think they offered them for free, did you?). Which brings into mind my third pet peeve: separation of the restaurant from the wine tasting facility. At most winery restaurants you are welcome to combine the two – in fact, in Leoness you can do wine tasting through your waiter. You can’t at Battaia. Wine club members get four free tastings per month in the barrel room. Not sure if these complementary tastings are limited to the barrel room.

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October 14th, 2018

10/14/2018

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Principe Di Tricase (revisited)

10/14/2018

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Last year I reviewed this small winery in Ramona, but did not have pictures to show. I’ve just visited there again, and this time took pictures. As you may remember, Principe di Tricase is one of the new wineries recently opened in the Ramona and Highland Valley regions of San Diego County. Located on Highland Valley Road in Ramona, Principe di Tricase was started just a few years ago by an elderly Italian immigrant who came here from Naples with no wine making expertise at all.
This is a family-run winery lacking in any frills. The facility has been expanded to add a substantial number of tables, but as you can see in the pictures below no two seem to be alike. Very much a farm...

Wine tasting is not done by menu, but they have added a wine list for sale (see wine list below). The foci of their wine making are the ancient wines of Rome and southern Italy, using aglianico, nebbiolo and aleatico grapes, but they have since added a number of other wines. Now, some of their wines they make without added sulfites (designated NS on the wine list). Some of these wines don’t survive, i.e., they turn to vinegar, so, naturally, they bottle the vinegar – also on the wine list.

Wine tasting is $10, but free if you buy a bottle of wine. You still sit comfortably outside of the very small barrel room, or inside during the summer heat, and they bring the wine to you, describing the wine’s history and attributes. Because the wine is kept in the barrel room, the reds are somewhat chilled, much like at Orfila. We did get a say in the choice of wines to be tasted, not like our previous visits. Music is often a part of the experience, provided by a family member playing guitar and singing Italian folk tunes. Like many of the Ramona wineries, wine tasting times are limited. They are open Thursday through Sunday from noon until sunset, though you have to call in advance for Thursday. Also, they are not open to the public the third Sunday of the month – that’s reserved for their wine club party. In addition to tasting their wines, we tasted their Sangria – very chilled, of course. It is very, very good. Bottles need labels though (see picture).

While many of the small wineries do not have a wine club, Principe di Tricase does. You can join one of three levels. On the lowest level, you pay $35 per month for a bottle of wine, with a 10% discount on any other wine you buy and four tickets to their harvest party. Next level is $64 per month for two bottles, 15% wine discount, and four tickets. High end is three bottles at $87 per month, 20% wine discount and twelve tickets. Additional 5% off if you buy 12 bottles of wine. At every level you get two wine tastings per month when you come to pick up your wine, and invitations to members-only events. While this may not seem like a great deal, they have a lot of members-only events, including monthly wine-pickup pot luck and pizza parties. Their harvest party is a full day affair. It begins with breakfast at 8, then to the fields to pick grapes, followed by an Italian lunch, then the start of making wine from the grapes.

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Vindemia Vinyard and Winery

10/4/2018

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If you are a complete novice to wine tasting, and want to see it done right, my suggestion is that you visit Vindemia Vineyard and Winery in Temecula. Vindemia is a bit hard to find. You make a left turn off of Rancho California before the circle. There’s a road going up a hill to the left just as you see a road sign saying “Pavement Ends”. Take that road to the top of the hill and Vindemia is on your left.
Vindemia is closer in nature to Ramona’s boutique wineries in that they do not have an elaborate facility. Just a small patio and a pavilion bar for tasting (see pictures).

Now the reason to go there is that they do everything right. As soon as you say you want to taste their wines they pour you a glass of water. The wines for tasting – both red and white – are kept in a chiller (see picture). They provide munchies (bread and olive oil) so you don’t drink too much on an empty stomach. To make sure the remains on one wine do not affect the taste of the next wine you taste, they rinse your glass out with the wine you are about to taste. That is the way it should be done!

As you can see in the tasting menu below, they provide six tastes for $16 week days, $20 weekends. They specialize in red wines. I should add that they do not follow the pattern of their expensive wines not being very good compared to their less expensive wines. Oh, and their Cowbell is actually a Zinfandel. Not sure why they don't say so on the tasting menu.
Their wine club is a five-shipment per year set-up, with either three or four bottles per shipment at a 20% discount. Includes four tastings per visit to the winery and $15 off of hot air balloon rides – their other business. Like most wineries, they have special events for wine club members and some members-only wines. As with most boutique wineries, most of their wines are estate, meaning they make the wine from the grapes that they grow.

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WINERY REVIEW

Battaia

October 14th, 2018

Principe Di Tricase (revisited)

Vindemia Vinyard and Winery

Jim Treglio

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