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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




Principe Di Tricase (revisited)

10/14/2018

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Last year I reviewed this small winery in Ramona, but did not have pictures to show.  I’ve just visited there again, and this time took pictures.  As you may remember, Principe di Tricase is one of the new wineries recently opened in the Ramona and Highland Valley regions of San Diego County.  Located on Highland Valley Road in Ramona, Principe di Tricase was started just a few years ago by an elderly Italian immigrant who came here from Naples with no wine making expertise at all. 
This is a family-run winery lacking in any frills.  The facility has been expanded to add a substantial number of tables, but as you can see in the pictures below no two seem to be alike.  Very much a farm...
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Wine tasting is not done by menu, but they have added a wine list for sale (see wine list below).  The foci of their wine making are the ancient wines of Rome and southern Italy, using aglianico, nebbiolo and aleatico grapes, but they have since added a number of other wines.  Now, some of their wines they make without added sulfites (designated NS on the wine list). Some of these wines don’t survive, i.e., they turn to vinegar, so, naturally, they bottle the vinegar – also on the wine list.
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Wine tasting is $10, but free if you buy a bottle of wine.  You still sit comfortably outside of the very small barrel room, or inside during the summer heat, and they bring the wine to you, describing the wine’s history and attributes.  Because the wine is kept in the barrel room, the reds are somewhat chilled, much like at Orfila.   We did get a say in the choice of wines to be tasted, not like our previous visits.  Music is often a part of the experience, provided by a family member playing guitar and singing Italian folk tunes.  Like many of the Ramona wineries, wine tasting times are limited.  They are open Thursday through Sunday from noon until sunset, though you have to call in advance for Thursday.  Also, they are not open to the public the third Sunday of the month – that’s reserved for their wine club party.  In addition to tasting their wines, we tasted their Sangria – very chilled, of course.  It is very, very good.  Bottles need labels though (see picture).
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While many of the small wineries do not have a wine club, Principe di Tricase does.  You can join one of three levels.  On the lowest level, you pay $35 per month for a bottle of wine, with a 10% discount on any other wine you buy and four tickets to their harvest party.  Next level is $64 per month for two bottles, 15% wine discount, and four tickets.  High end is three bottles at $87 per month, 20% wine discount and twelve tickets.   Additional 5% off if you buy 12 bottles of wine.  At every level you get two wine tastings per month when you come to pick up your wine, and invitations to members-only events.  While this may not seem like a great deal, they have a lot of members-only events, including monthly wine-pickup pot luck and pizza parties.  Their harvest party is a full day affair.  It begins with breakfast at 8, then to the fields to pick grapes, followed by an Italian lunch, then the start of making wine from the grapes.
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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