Ramona wineries now open!

The wineries in Ramona opened this weekend, so naturally my wife and I headed out that way.  We headed through the Ramona downtown (such as it is), turned right on 3rd Street, and then on to Old Julian Highway.
We decided to begin at the end, so to speak, driving all the way out to Poppaea.  They were not open for wine tasting yet (they plan on opening in early July), so we headed back along Old Julian Highway, this time stopping at Old Julian Winery.
Old Julian is a new winery and an old winery, one just opened for the first-time sort of.  OK, a bit of explanation is needed.  The winemaker at Old Julian, John York, is also the owner/winemaker at Hellanback Ranch.  He closed his tasting room at Hellanback Ranch because his facility is too far off the main road.  He then took on the winemaking task at Old Julian, which features wines from both wineries.  The Old Julian Winery has had a bit of an issue opening up their tasting room, however, so it turns out that this was pretty much their “Grand Opening” on Saturday, assuming the wineries don’t have to shut down again due to the virus.
​As seen in the pictures below, it is a very nice facility.  It was a fantastic day to sit out and drink wine.  Under the new rules you really can’t “wine taste”, you are pretty much limited to purchasing a glass or bottle to drink.  Not much of a problem, though – they only had four wines available, a rose, a white (Viognier), and two reds (Petite Sirah and a Bordeaux blend).  We tried the reds and found them both quite nice, even bought a bottle of the Bordeaux blend.  I will have a more detailed review of this winery when I’ve had a chance to taste more of their wine.

​Now we had to pass Vineyard Grant James to get home, which is simply not possible to do without stopping in.  To handle the increased spread between tables, they’ve added seating in the back of the house (see picture below).  Our understanding is that they are planning some major facility improvements, including adding a real bathroom!  I have to admit that I am hooked on their Negroamaro.  That’s one you really need to try….
Bad part of the trip was being limited to just glasses of wine.  Tastings are so much more fun.  Anyway, suggest if you do hit the wineries while the glass or bottle requirement is in effect that you bring something to eat.