So. Cal. Winery Review
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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.

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....

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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 .
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 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

Ramona Ranch Vineyard & Winery

3/8/2021

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​It is probably not a good idea to go wine tasting on a very windy winter’s day, especially now that all of the wine tasting is done outdoors.  Well, we did just that and it turned out to be a fortunate trip.  Our first stop was to visit one of Ramona’s best wineries, Edwards, to check on the release of their Syrah clones and generally shoot the breeze.  Well, the breeze shot us instead, so we headed off to Ramona Ranch.  Ramona Ranch is located on the same road as Edwards (same side), though much closer to the town center.  Anyway, the winery boasts an award-winning Tannat.  This was my second trip, but like the first the Tannat was not available for tasting.  So, I bought a bottle.  More on this wine below.
The winery does not have much of an indoor wine tasting room, so you sit outside on a very nice patio a listen to music as you sip their very nice wines – see below.  They are building a new facility – foundation has been laid – just behind the parking lot.  Now the wind was still blowing when we arrived at Ramona Ranch, and I can assure you that it was pretty cold on that back porch, yet there were plenty of people there (all of the seats in the sun were taken), so, yes, this is a popular winery which I have been very late to discover.  Sorry guys, but I was waiting to taste the Tannat and the dog ate my homework….
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​I did not get many pictures of the winery – just a picture of the outside with the entertainer and the big board inside.  As a side note, he was really good, and had it been a nicer day we would have stayed until he ended his performance.  As you can see in the picture below of the big board, Ramona Ranch has the distinction of being the first winery in San Diego County to receive the distinction as a Certified California Sustainable Vineyard & Winery!  Way to go!!!

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​They make tasting very simple -- $2 per taste (3 minimum), you choose what you want off of their menu (shown below).  They pour the first taste in a glass, then send you out on the porch.  The rest of the wines you selected are brought out in plastic cups so you refill your tasting glass yourself.  I like the method because it allows me to do parallel tasting so I could readily compare their two Sangiovese offerings.  Also tried the Viognier and the Aglianico, both of which are quite nice and have been added to my wine hoard.
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​Now on to Tannat.  This French grape has found its way to South America where it is grown in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and especially Uruguay, where it is the most popular wine.  This grape yields a wine with the highest level of antioxidants of all red wines, so it is the healthiest wine you can drink.  On the down side, high antioxidants mean high tannin levels, and this grape makes wines that are right up there near the top.  One of the advantages of growing this grape in Southern California is the long growing season, i.e., the wine makers can let the grapes ripen longer, softening the tannins and making the wine drinkable after only a few years aging.  I can’t say too much about the Ramona Ranch version as this was only the third time I’ve tried Tannat, and one was a sample that has yet to be released.  But it is a very nice wine even without proper aging….
Ramona Ranch has wine club, as noted on the picture of the big board.  Standard 20% discount on 2 or 4 bottles four times a year, with two free five-sample tastings or a glass of wine with your visits to the winery.  Of course, wine club members get access to their best wines, including their Tannat and some wines that are never available to the general public.
Really worth a visit – but not on a cold, windy day….
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    Jim Treglio

    retired physicist and wine lover

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