​Some months ago, we reported on the expedition we took with our intrepid group of explorers, seeking out civilization (i.e., wine) in the central regions of the great expanse known as California.  Much closer to home there is a region as yet uncivilized.  This is the area lying along the trail known as Highland Valley Road between the high lands of Escondido and the low lands of Ramona.  Only a few weeks ago one of our daring team, braving the ravages of a deadly disease, set off on an exploration of the area.  She uncovered evidence that civilization was indeed flowing up from the valley, with a new settlement (i.e., winery) just past the intersection of the Highland Valley Road trail and the trail named for our famous local pugilist, the great Archie Moore.  So, naturally, we had to see this for ourselves.
Trusting to our guide, Siri, we headed out on a very pleasant afternoon, taking the trail known as Route 67 over the low mountains and down into the valley of the wines.  As reported, we found the site less than a mile from the intersection of the Archie Moore and Highland Valley trails, on the left – Three Hills Winery.  We had travelled this path many times.  How could we have missed it?  Could it have been that well-hidden?  And, most importantly, were the wines any good?
So it was that we entered the site.  As shown in the pictures below, they had set up their operation at the edge of a haunted forest.  There were signs that some of the forest denizens had invaded their lands, but they seemed to have kept them at bay, away from their visitors.  It was also clear that we were not the first to partake of their offerings to Bacchus.

​We met with those manning this far outpost of civilization and learned that they had decided to start their enterprise in July, at the peak of the pandemic attacking our great land.  Such bravery!!!  Everyone had to be outside, but fortuned shined on them – they had designed their facility for outside tasting.  They are a small (boutique) settlement, preparing only a limited array of product, as shown below.  Tasting was $15 for five wines, but we managed to taste six of their fare.

​We thought that their best was a wine called “World Peace”, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (estate grown) and Merlot (grapes from Paso Robles).  The other wines were nice, though, especially the Zinfandel, also estate grown.  We understand that a red Italian varietal has been planted.
Unfortunately, they made the same mistake that other wineries make, namely serving their red wines at too high a temperature.  Hopefully, they will correct this deficiency with time.  They also should consider providing water for their visitors – not just selling bottled water.  A real bathroom would be nice.
They do offer some food for sale, mostly snack stuff as shown on the menu that follows.  I braved the ghouls guarding the entrance to their abode long enough to take a picture of the interior, shown after the menu.  The ghouls, by the way, proved harmless.  Indeed, the only danger we met was from the yellow jackets that kept trying to steal our wine.

​They have a pretty-standard wine club – three bottles per quarter at a 20% discount, mixed or all red, 10% discount on food and merchandise, and first access to new releases with some wines for the club only.  They also have pick-up parties, catered with music.  Wine club members get two free tastings or glasses per month.
We understand that the site is nine acres, but only three are cultivated.  The rest appears to be mostly forest, which we were loath to explore, being uncertain of the friendliness of the ghouls and other forest denizens (and the lack of a decent bathroom).

Wine clubs are common among both large and boutique wineries, offering wines at substantial discount, complementary wine on visits to the winery, special member-only events, wine-club member only facilities, first shot at new releases, et al.  In some cases, the et al. includes access to wines only available to wine club members.  We found the best example of this at Miramonte Winery in Temecula, as shown in the picture below.  Note the label on the bottle.

​The wine in the picture is a very nice Mouvedre blend, not that you can tell from the label.  The winery itself is located on a hill off of Rancho California before the circle (left hand side of the road).  As this was a visit during COVID days, the layout was a bit unusual in that to reach the tasting room we had to go through the outdoor restaurant seating patio and garden, around the building, and up to a second, and quite nice garden, where we sat in the shade and had the wines brought to us.

​You can see in the wine tasting menu shown below that the members-only wine is not listed.  It was also the best we tasted, sending a pretty clear message that this is very much a club-driven winery.  Unique to their winery is the Portuguese wine Touriga Nacional.  The grapes are grown in Temecula, though not in their rather limited vineyard.

​They offer several wine club options – red and white, all red, all white, and all Sangria.  The all white club calls for purchase of 36 bottles a year, three per month.  The all Sangria club also runs every month, but only two bottles per month, while the other two clubs run two bottles per shipment but only six per year.  Discounts range from20 to 25% on wines, 10% on food, 10-20% on gift shop purchases, and 20% discounts on wines purchased from etchedwines.com – wines with your own labels for special events.  Eight free tastings per month, max four per visit.

But where are the clones?
Send in the clones. 
Don’t bother, they’re here.
Yes, the clones are here, right here, in San Diego, clones to the left of me, clones to the right of me – and clones in my wine refrigerator!  Life is good.
My first exposure to a quality Ramona wine came from a small wine shop in the Flower Hill Mall, and it came from Edwards Vineyard & Cellars.  We reviewed them some time ago, so it was certainly time to revisit Beth and Victor to see how they were handling the virus.  So, I looked up their website and lo and behold they listed a Syrah clone, specifically clone 383.  This would be our second opportunity to taste a Syrah single clone wine, and given how much we liked the Estrella clone from Melville we were really up for the visit.
Turns out that Saturday was harvest day, and when we arrived at the winery they were putting the grape bunches in this machine.  We’ll talk about that later – wines first.  The wine list is short, just five wines (one rose and four reds), all from Syrah or Petite Syrah grapes, including the clone 383 Syrah.  Note the vintages – 2014.  If you check on my review of Gershon Bachus, they make a big deal of aging their wines for five years before offering them for sale.

The two clones are good.  The two clones are very good.  The two clones are very, very good.  But there is trouble, right here in Ramona.  A condition unique to Syrah grapes has attacked Edwards 383 clone grape vines.  Yields are down, so not sure how long the 383 clone will be available.  It may spread to the 877 plants….
Now on to the machine.  Grape bunches are dumped into the hopper at the top of the machine, where they are somewhat crushed and the stems separated.  The must comes out the front and is collected in buckets, then dumped again into the hopper to complete the crushing.  After the second crushing, the must goes into the shed, seen in the picture below on the left, where it is dumped into fermentation plastic fermentation tanks.  The stems come out the back, which they then feed to their goats.  Pretty neat machine!