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
Dudes!  Read all about Jim and Ed's Excellent Adventure -- and South Coast Winery!
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

Carter Estate Winery & Resort

1/18/2019

1 Comment

 
We arrived at Carter Estate Winery & Resort late on a Thursday afternoon, around 5 PM, and after a few minutes were the only customers (they close at 6 PM).  The visit was somewhat unplanned, as we were on our way back to San Diego after a visit to another Temecula winery (Fazeli).  In truth, I did not expect much from Carter, so little in fact that I did not take pictures on the way in, hence the photos below.
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Located just diagonally across from their sister winery (South Coast) on Rancho California in Temecula, Carter has the full monte, so to speak – winery, restaurant, hotel, and pool.  It was designed this way from the start, so I did not expect that they would put much effort into the “Estate Winery” part of the name.  I expected something more on the line of a tourist trap.  It was not.
The tasting room sits alone near the front of the property.  The first thing that I noticed on entering is that it is close in style to the Charles Krug facility we visited in Napa, i.e., a large room with small bar and lots of tables, both high and low, rather than the more common tasting room with no place to sit, the room filled with merchandise and wine bottle racks, and extensive bar space.  See pictures below.
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We indicated that we were there for wine tasting, so they led us to a table (high one, but we corrected that rather quickly).  Almost as soon as we sat down, they provided us with glasses of water and bread sticks.  Things got better from there on…
They bring the wines to you, and, first off, they offered a Pinot Noir not shown on the tasting menu (see below).  This was very surprising.  Carter is an Estate Winery, meaning all of their wines are made from grapes grown on their property.  So, they make a Pinot Noir from grapes grown in Temecula.  It should have been awful, but it was actually pretty good.  Most of the other wines were also pretty good, but then there was the Sangiovese.  Absolutely incredible!  Worth a visit just for the Sangiovese.  We did not leave empty-handed – I’m not making that mistake again!!  By the way, their wines have won some awards -- see below menu!
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Tasting costs $20 weekdays and $25 weekends, but we got a $5 senior discount.  The tasting room, as noted above, is near the front of the property.  The hotel and restaurant are not very close, so one down side of the winery is that you can’t eat and taste at the same time (they do offer food pairings for $45 per person, though). 
I’m not very enthusiastic about their wine club.  You get six bottles every six months, a mix of red, white, sparkling and dessert – not sure if they allow substitutions.  I am a red wine enthusiast, so this right alone is a deal killer.  Their discount is only 15% on wine – vs 20% to 30% for most other wineries.  They limit you to four free tastings every six months, though you get half price for up to four people with every visit.  Other discounts apply to both Carter and South Coast purchases (see below), and include 15% on the Carter hotel, but overall not a particularly generous club offering.  And they don’t have a wine club area...
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1 Comment
Ron Booker link
9/12/2019 11:19:05 am

I like that you said that red wine needs to be allowed to breathe before drinking. Personally, I enjoy drinking wine because is good for your heart. The next time I drink red wine, I'm going to let it sit as you said.

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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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