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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.
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




Miramonte Winery

10/9/2020

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Wine clubs are common among both large and boutique wineries, offering wines at substantial discount, complementary wine on visits to the winery, special member-only events, wine-club member only facilities, first shot at new releases, et al.  In some cases, the et al. includes access to wines only available to wine club members.  We found the best example of this at Miramonte Winery in Temecula, as shown in the picture below.  Note the label on the bottle.
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​The wine in the picture is a very nice Mouvedre blend, not that you can tell from the label.  The winery itself is located on a hill off of Rancho California before the circle (left hand side of the road).  As this was a visit during COVID days, the layout was a bit unusual in that to reach the tasting room we had to go through the outdoor restaurant seating patio and garden, around the building, and up to a second, and quite nice garden, where we sat in the shade and had the wines brought to us.
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​You can see in the wine tasting menu shown below that the members-only wine is not listed.  It was also the best we tasted, sending a pretty clear message that this is very much a club-driven winery.  Unique to their winery is the Portuguese wine Touriga Nacional.  The grapes are grown in Temecula, though not in their rather limited vineyard.
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​They offer several wine club options – red and white, all red, all white, and all Sangria.  The all white club calls for purchase of 36 bottles a year, three per month.  The all Sangria club also runs every month, but only two bottles per month, while the other two clubs run two bottles per shipment but only six per year.  Discounts range from20 to 25% on wines, 10% on food, 10-20% on gift shop purchases, and 20% discounts on wines purchased from etchedwines.com – wines with your own labels for special events.  Eight free tastings per month, max four per visit.
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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