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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.

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....

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 NEWS FLASH:  Worried about 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

  • So Cal Winery Review has joined the American Institute of Wine & Food, San Diego Chapter.  AIWF was founded in 1981 by Julia Child, Robert Mondavi, and others.  Read more about it in our About section.
  • I got another gadget for Father's Day.  See it in the GADGETS section.
  The Latest Blog
New winery:  Bastian's Vineyards in Escondido, subject of my latest blog.
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Links to special blogs:​
  • The Italian Connection
  • Purchasing Wine
  • Tasting Wine
  • Tastes like Marsala
  • And the beat goes on
  • We are the future
  • To taste or not to taste
  • Three years
  • Doc Ed's Excellent Adventure
  • Wine, food, and music in Ramona 
  • The Guadalupe Valley -- First Visit
  • Halloween 2021 -- Revenge of the Spirits




Koi Zen Cellars

11/21/2019

1 Comment

 
​Koi Zen Cellars is the first urban winery I’ve visited, and it is quite urban.  It is located in an industrial park near Home Depot in the Carmel Mountain region of San Diego.  Not a very nice outside, but the interior is well done, as shown below.  This particular urban winery does not have an affiliated vineyard – they buy all of their grapes from vineyards all over California, but not necessarily the same vineyards from year to year.
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​The entire operation sits, as noted above, in an industrial park.  Their 800 or so sq. ft. facility was pretty packed when we visited as they had the barrel room filled with fermentation vats.  These were very large plastic boxes with just a plastic sheet over them to keep bugs out of the mix, as shown below.  Their wine maker pulled away one of the sheets so we could see the must (crushed grapes – seeds and skins included).  First time for me.
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​The facility is broken down into essentially three lounges, two with bars.  Very nice interior setting.  The server we had is a Sommelier (level 2, I believe) and at least one other person in the operation is a level 3 Sommelier.
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​Wine tasting is $10 for 5 tastes.  As shown below, most of their wines are made from French varietals, with grapes mostly from California.  One very unique wine is a Chardonnay with oak chips in the bottle.  The one outstanding wine in the listing is their Syrah.  We bought a bottle.  Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the bottle before it was consumed, so I have posted a picture of their award-winning Pinot Noir which, unfortunately, was not available for tasting.
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​They have a wine club, two bottles every other month with substitutions allowed.  Discount is only 10%, and members are limited to two free tastings per month.  Like many wineries, they hold wine pick up parties with food and music.
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1 Comment
Shari Tharp
11/23/2019 10:03:33 am

I tasted this wine at a recent event in Del Mar called Sip by the Sea. I was impressed by the ingenious move of putting the staves directly into the bottle of Chardonnay. In addition, the owner (and winemaker) Darius Miller was a pleasant guy and we chatted for a bit. I can't remember which red we tasted - it was either the syrah or pinot, but i DO remember that we really liked it. My friend sent me a link to your site because she thought your writing style was similar to that of my husband's. But, when I recognized this winery you reviewed - I thot, I am going to 'revisit' the wines at Koi Zen! :) (P.S. The Lumiere Winery in Temecula has an impressive reserve tasting, serving some 2006 and 2009 wines. Try the '09 Black Cab. If you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend it!)

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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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