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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.
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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




Nebbiolo -- serious discussion

4/20/2021

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From Doc Ed:
​Nebbiolo is an uncommon grape, but several San Diego County vineyards have recently started to grow it.  Worldwide, there are only 15,000 acres (23 square miles) planted, and less than 10% (less than 3 square miles) exist outside of Italy.  The grape naturally produces a large amount of acid, and a very large amount of tannins in the skin and seeds.  You might think that a grape that rare might not have many variations and is easy to describe.  Not true!  This tasty wine has many presentations, mostly due to variations in winemaking techniques including extraction and barrel storage.
 
The two main presentations of Nebbiolo that I would like to focus on are the New World and Old World.  Old World Nebbiolo comes from northern Italy.  The New World grows Nebbiolo in several countries including USA (Southern California), Mexico (Guadalupe Valley), and New Zealand. 
 
Nebbiolo from the New World produces a wine that is light to medium bodied, transparent, full of flavor, and has a variable amount of soft tannin.  The flavors usually are fruit (red fruit dominant, such as strawberry or cherry) with some herbal (rose) aroma.  Nebbiolo has many flavor similarities to Pinot Noir, particularly Pinot from cooler climates such as Oregon or Burgundy, France.  Nebbiolo wine can differ from Pinot Noir by having more acid (crisp flavor, comes from slow ripening of the grape) and more tannin (dry mouth sensation, comes from exposure to grape skin, seeds and oak barrel).  New World Nebbiolo wine commonly is made with limited exposure of the grape juice liquid to the grape skin and seeds (7-10 days typically), in order to control the extraction of tannin into the juice.  New World winemakers may further control tannins by limiting the exposure of the young wine to oak barrels (typically 10-12 months).  The net effect produces a wine that is fruity, has variable amounts of tannin, and has flavors somewhat similar to Pinot Noir.  It is designed to be consumed within a few years of harvest, and is unlikely to have extensive ageing potential.
 
Old World Nebbiolo wine is made in northern Italy, and the best-known region is Barolo.  The Old World style (which includes Barolo, Barbaresco and several other Italian DCOGs) produces a wine that is very different from the New World style.  While the wine will be medium bodied, transparent, and very aromatic like the New World version, the similarities end there.   During fermentation, Old World wines usually have over three weeks of contact with skin and seeds, resulting in maximal extraction of a massive amount of tannins.  In addition, the young wine must then be aged in barrels for at least 18 months which adds even more tannins and other flavors.   Because Old World wine have so much tannin from the extraction and barrel time, it is difficult to drink it unless it is at least 10 years old.  During that lengthy ageing process, the tannins slowly chemically change to produce a totally different taste that includes herbal and earth flavors and a very smooth lubricating glycerol sensation.  The net effect produces a unique wine that needs at least 8-10 years before opening, and many will last 20-30 years or more.
 
Whether you have access to New World or Old World Nebbiolo, the wine’s inherent characteristics of acidity and tannin make it an ideal pairing for roasted meats or high fat cheese.  This is because the proteins in the food will bind with residual wine tannins, reducing the drying sensation in your mouth.  Enjoy your young New World wines, or aged Old World wines, or experiment with those few New World places that are attempting to bridge the gap and produce an age-worthy masterpiece.

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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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