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

Lorimar

2/11/2018

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I received a lot of great winery recommendations from a posting on Nextdoor Scripps Ranch Fairbrook Estates.  Lorimar was one – thanks, Ken.
Located on Anza north of Rancho California in Temecula, Lorimar is just a great winery to visit.  If you haven’t guessed by reading my first three blogs, I consider Orfila, Ponte, and Robert Renzoni representatives of the best of the Southern California wineries to join.  Lorimar is right up there with those three.  To start with, they have a great facility, as shown in the photos below.  They have two unique features as well.  The first is a small art gallery (not shown).  They also have two stages, one in the back by their “restaurant”, just outside the tasting room, and the other in a field below where they most likely hold special events.  Needless to say, they have live entertainment on weekends.

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You may note that I have placed quotation marks about their restaurant.  If you look closely in the photo below, you can see a food truck behind the “restaurant” counter.  I’m not sure why they use a truck, but we had lunch there and the food was great.
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The wine tasting rooms are pretty nice (see below), and sell a lot of other things, very similar to Orfila in that they sell food items to snack on while tasting their wine in case you don’t want to get something from their “restaurant”.
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As you can see from the menus below, they offer a wide variety of wines, with a standard six tastings for $17 weekdays and $29 weekends.  On the down side, they serve their red wines at tasting room temperature, which, like Avensole, was not really cool enough to get a really good feel for their wines.  We visited this winery with our wine expert, and one of the first things he did was ask to see one of their corks.  Apparently, he has learned that good wineries use high quality corks.  Didn’t see that coming.  Yes, they use high quality corks – and they have water available in their tasting room.  One other thing – they have a second tasting room in Old Town Temecula.
Like Avensole, they have three wine club options – red and white, all red, and premium wines.  Unlike Avensole, no matter what club you belong to the 25% discount extends to all of their wines (very nice), you get two free tastings per day at either site (not both in the same day), 10% off of everything else, special wine club events, and 25% off tastings for guests.  Definitely worth a visit!
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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