So. Cal. Winery Review
  • Home
  • About
  • Wineries
  • Gadgets
  • Tasting Menus
  • WINERY NEWS
  • Home
  • About
  • Wineries
  • Gadgets
  • Tasting Menus
  • WINERY NEWS
• WINE wine Wine wINE•

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WINERY REVIEW

Picture
Introduction
​
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....

Picture
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 .
Picture
 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

Oak Mountain Winery

3/21/2018

0 Comments

 
The Cave.  Long and dark (actually, pretty well lit).  Deep beneath the earth (really!).  Barrels of some strange liquid (wine) covered with graffiti (names of Cave Club members) line the walls.  Small areas with chairs and tables.  At either end dark rooms with large tables – perhaps meeting places where people commune with spirits?  Or drink them?  This is The Cave in Oak Mountain (Winery)…  Only one way out – through a spirit-lined tunnel.  Yes, lining the walls are spirits, in bottles with markings, looking like the words Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah…  Looks like we have to drink our way out!  Well, we really don’t have to drink our way out, but, while we’re here, might as well taste some of the spirits – and maybe have lunch out on the patio.
Located just off de Portola in Temecula, Oak Mountain Winery is a unique operation whose claim to fame is – you guessed it! – a cave.  The cave is their barrel room and the tasting room (reserved for wine club members on weekends).  Pictures of The Cave follow.

Picture
As you taste your wines, you can enjoy a nice meal, sitting on their outdoor patio with a nice view of the surrounding hills.  The Cave Café is a table-service affair sitting just outside the door to The Cave tasting room so you can enjoy your wine tastings with your meal.  Oh, and they have senior special entrees at $10 each Monday through Friday.  The view from a table is shown below.
Picture
The tasting room is quite large with bars on both sides and bottles along the walls.  Unlike many other Temecula wineries, the tasting room has little in the way of merchandise for sale.  Beyond the main room is another room with tables, presumably for those who don’t want to stand at the bar or go outside for tasting.  Oh, and there are small tables stuffed in between the barrels in the barrel storage area of The Cave and rooms with large tables on either end.  All of these are shown in the pictures below.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The photo below is of the red wine page of the tasting menu.  They also offer sweet and white wines, each on a similar page.  Wine tasting is very reasonable -- $12 per person for six tastes of any wines on the menu.
They have multiple wine club levels:
·       Bronze – two bottles every other month, one red, one white, no substitutions, at a 20% discount, 15% on all other wine purchases, 10% on other purchases, and 8 tastings per month.
·       Gold – four bottles per quarter, can choose red/white ratio.  Other terms same as Bronze
·       Platinum – six bottles per quarter, can choose red/white ratio, at 30% discount.  Other terms same as Bronze.
·       Cave Club – three year deal for $4,000, one case per year, and lots of other benefits, including access to the tables in the barrel room and a plaque on a wine barrel.
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.