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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've extended my reach to another website!  www.winesmarties.com/blog has just published a blog I wrote about the rare wine varietals found in Southern Califonia wineries.  Great writing by a great author!  And yes, I did sprain my shoulder patting myself on the back...
  The Latest Blog
New winery:  Bastian's Vineyards in Escondido, subject of my latest blog.
Site News​​
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




Mermaid Valley Vineyard

9/28/2021

1 Comment

 
​We go through great efforts to keep you informed of the best of the Southern California wineries.  Many a day we have spent wandering the rough terrain, facing extreme heat in the summer, the cold winds of winter, and sometimes even rain.  So it was that we set out on another Saturday afternoon to find a new winery to review.
We were after an elusive winery that we knew was there but never seemed to be open:  Mermaid Valley Vineyard.  We knew it was located on Highland Valley Road in Ramona, so we put in an effort to find if it had finally opened its doors.  Fortune smiled on us, and we found ourselves seated on their veranda sipping wine, cooled by a constant breeze, watching the planes take off from the Ramona airstrip some distance away.  The sacrifices we make for wine….
The Mermaid Valley tasting room may be the best in all of San Diego County.  It sits on the south side of Route 67, with the tasting room on the other side of their building, facing north.  The view is quite remarkable, as you can see from the pictures below.  A stiff breeze coming from the ocean keeps the property cool, and, of course, facing north there is plenty of shade from the building – making is a much better winery to visit in the hot Ramona summers.
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​As shown in the pictures below, the winery owners have gone out of their way to make their winery a great place to visit.  A truly professional layout, well-planned and well-executed.  We sat on comfortable chairs in the shade while the wines we brought to us.
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​Tasting is $10 per person, and you can keep the glass.  So how are the wines, you ask?  Well, if you take a wine course, they will cover the Rhone Valley in France.  That valley is in the hotter region of France, and known for constant winds and wines made from Syrah and Viognier grapes.  Now if you are putting in a winery in a valley located in a hot region with constant cooling winds what grapes should you grow?  How about Syrah, Viognier, and the other grapes from the Rhone Valley, like Grenache?  As you can see in the tasting menu below, that is exactly what they did, though they added a few others – Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot for the Bordeaux fanatics, and Petite Sirah and Zinfandel for we Californians.
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​We started with the 2016 Viognier.  It was quite nice, very flavorful, but a bit low on the acid.  Not so the 2017 – nearly a perfect balance between the acid and the flavor.  A very nice wine.
How about the reds?  Well, all were good except the Zinfandel – it was really good!  I really love red wines with a bit of black pepper in the taste, and their Zinfandel has it!  It is now my go-to Zin.
Now I shall editorialize.  The owners of Mermaid Valley, Kim and Scott Flinn, did it the right way.  They purchased a property with terroir similar to that of the Rhone Valley in France.  They then planted grape varieties grown in the Rhone Valley.  They oriented their tasting room facing north and with a very open set up for both the great view and to provide shade during the hot summer months without blocking the constant wind coming out of the west.  As shown below, they put together a well-organized wine making and storage facility, with modern equipment, then added a really nice but big dog – ok, they could have done without the dog, but why would they?  Most important is that the whole thing was carefully planned and properly executed.  I should add that their wines are pretty good, but imagine what they’ll be like when the vines are a few years older.
For now, they are only open on Saturdays, and do not have a wine club.  Oh, did I mention their dog, a Great Dane that really likes people….
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1 Comment
Lynda G Detweiler link
5/13/2022 01:56:48 pm

I've tried calling about picking up the wine that I ordered on Sunday (appointment required) and wondered if there is a tour or wine tasting that we can do after having driven so far to get there? Please call me I think we can expect to come sometime after 1 on Sunday. 760-613-8287

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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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