​We were able to get out to Poppaea Vineyard & Winery on Old Julian Highway in Ramona this weekend, and, yes, they have reopened.  On our last visit we sat inside – it was too hot to sit outside – so we missed their nice outdoor seating area and great view.  Oops!  Pictures below.

​Poppaea has handled the COVID issue by going to flights of wine.  The first taste comes in a glass, then four wines are brought to you in 50 ml beakers.   Like from a chemistry lab.  Wonder if the owner being a chemist has something to do with that?

​I’m happy to report that the wines are still made from Italian grape varieties, and remain quite nice.  Not on the menu, but the wine I think ia the star of this winery is their Marcus Aurelius wine, a blend of Montipulciano and Sagrantino.  I bought a bottle of this wonderful blend but should have purchased a bottle or more of their Sagrantino now that I have storage at Chateau 55.  With extensive aging this wine will be very, very good.

​It was more than a little hot on Sunday, but we were determined to hit a winery.  So, Doc Ed and his wife joined me and my wife on a journey to the Ramona hill country and Vineyard Grant James.  It turned out to be a very pleasant visit, as they handled the high heat with shade, misters and fans.
On our first visit there after the shutdown we were limited to a glass of wine each – no wine tasting per se.  This time around we were able to get a flight of five wines.  I’ve discussed this approach in the past, namely that with a flight of wines you are able to really compare wines.  Doc Ed and I agree that this is a better way to do tasting.  Hopefully it will become engrained in the business.
Anyway, as you might expect there is some good news and bad news out of Vineyard Grant James.  The good news is that they are soon to offer food – flat bread pizza and the like.  The bad news is that they sold all of their Negroamaro.  Fortunately, they have some of their other great wines available, such as their Nebbiolo, Zinfandel and their great blends – such as Ares and Phoenix – not to mention their white wines – Chardonnay, Albarino, Marsanne, et al.
I guess I should point out that in 2017 they were rated the second-best winery in the country by Travel + Leisure magazine -- before they released their Negroamaro.  That is probably the really great news, that wineries in our area are constantly working to improve their existing products and introduce us to new wine varietals.  For example, Principe di Tricase won the Lum Eisenman Wine Competition “Best in Show” in 2019 for their 2015 Barrel Select Aglianico.  Since then they’ve released two wines that are arguably much superior, their 2017 Nebbiolo and their 2019 Sagrantino.  I also had the opportunity to taste – well, more than taste – Forgotten Barrels Tannat.  Wow!