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 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:  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
To appease the non-red wines in my wine refrigerator, my latest blog is about Viognier -- and how Viognier grapes are blended with Syrah grapes....
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

Avensole

2/5/2018

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Going back to Temecula, the next winery to be reviewed is Avensole, located on Rancho California on the right just before the de Anza circle.  The owners purchased the winery about four years ago and spent about two years renovating the property.  They improved both the buildings and the landscaping.  As you can see in the pictures below, it was a very successful renovation.

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The winery has patio seating for wine tasting (see picture below), and there is live music on weekends.  The set-up is different from other wineries in that the patio view is off the beautiful landscaping, not the surrounding scenery.
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Avensole has a restaurant in a separate building up the hill from the tasting room.  I’m not fond of the separation – it makes it very difficult to combine tasting with food.
The wines are good – if they weren’t, I wouldn’t be reviewing this winery – but generally overpriced.  Pictures of the wine tasting room and patio are shown below.  On weekdays, the fare is $17 for six tastings; $20 on weekends.  One disappointing note is that the tasting room was not cooled – it was around 75 F – and so we were not getting a good evaluation of their red wines.
Their wines are in three groups – Explore, Venture, and Discover – with Explore the lowest-priced wines and Discover the highest-priced wines, as seen in the pictures below.  Now, you don’t join the Avensole wine club.  Rather, you join the Explore, Venture, or Discover wine club.  If you join the Explore wine club, you agree to buy 3 bottles of Explore wine a quarter (12 for the year) at a 20% discount.  You also get free wine tasting for two per month and a 10% discount on other items they sell and the restaurant.  However, you only get a discount on Explore wines.  Venture works the same way, except you get 8 free tastings per month and the wine discount extends to both Explore and Venture wines.  Only if you buy into the Discover level do you get a discount on all of the wines that they sell.  In addition, they have a separate building with a tasting room and its own patio for Discover wine club members only, open only on weekends.  One quirk, which perhaps I misunderstood, is that Discover members only get two tastings per visit, not nearly as generous as the less expensive Venture level is afforded.
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The wine club does allow substitutions.  They send out an email each quarter telling you which wines have been selected for the club.  If you want to replace any of the wines, you email back the changes you want to make and they’ll have the correct wines ready for you when you come by to pick them up.
What particularly stood out in our visit to Avensole was what were not in the tasting room – water to rinse one’s pallet and remain hydrated, water to rinse one’s glass between tastes (and a place to dump the water), and munchies.  I don’t see these things as amenities.  Rather, all three improve the quality of the tastes, making the customers more likely to buy their wine.
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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