​The plan was to caravan north with two large groups, but fate intervened.  We lost Doc Ed early to a granddaughter performance, two to a surprise wedding, and then one to COVID.  What remained of our fearless and very thirsty crew took the long trail north and west to the place where the Pinot Noir grows, though our first stop was at the place where the Syrah grows, namely, Beckmen Vineyard.  When we arrived, we learned that four of our members were delayed and would not join us until the next day.  Anyway, true to Doc Ed’s reporting, the Beckmen Syrah’s were quite nice and our server (Carlos) fantastic, but as you know I never name names (Carlos) so you’ll just have to find out for yourself.  Some pictures and then on to the wine:

​We actually started out with their wonderful Viognier and a bit of Grenache.  But to me the stars of the show were the Syrah’s.  I particularly liked the Block Six Syrah.  We brought a couple home with us.  Now more pictures…

​After leaving Beckmen, we found a very strange town where we would stay during our trip.  It seemed not to fit California, more of a Danish place.  Even the name was a bit strange – Solvang.  The next day we visited our good friends at Cambria to see their upgraded tasting room – truly where the Pinot Noir grows – and taste their latest vintages.  To be continued….

​Spain is the third leading wine-producing nation in the world, not far behind the top two, Italy and France.  In terms of total acreage planted, they are the top.  Spain has a much warmer climate than France, much closer to our Southern California climate.  With these facts in mind, it is not surprising that some of the local wineries focus on Spanish wines and Spanish-style wine-making.  One of these is Masia de la Vinya in Temecula (on De Portola not far from Cougar Winery).
Their facility is quite nice, with plenty of well-shaded outdoor seating and nice views from all sides, as can be seen in the pictures below.  On the other side of the building, they have a lovely fountain in a breezeway.  It sits in front of a door to a special area for events and members of their wine club.

​So, on to the wines.  Tasting is $24 for six wines, and you can see the tasting list below.  In the white’s section, only Albarino is a Spanish grape variety.  Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris are all French, and Verdelho is Portuguese, though there is a Spanish grape with a similar name.  On the red side, Garnacha is the French grape Grenache, and Monastrell is the French grape Mourvèdre.  Malbec is French, though more of it is grown in Argentina than in France.  Of course, Cabernet Sauvignon is French, leaving only Tempranillo as the one red Spanish grape variety.  Not very Spanish, but the wines were all relatively fruity which I was told is in the Spanish tradition.  My experience is that fruity wine is made from grapes that were ripe when picked, which is the proper way to make wine.  So, I was happy with most of their wines – except, of course, the Tempranillo….

​Two wines stood out for me:  the Verdelho and the Malbec.  I’ve tasted two other Verdelho offerings, and theirs is the only one that I liked.
The Malbec proved to be quite a surprise.  I’m not much of a fan of Malbec made in the French style, most of which we have here.  Someone whose work took him to Argentina told me that the Malbec there is lighter and fruitier, and that they make the wines to export to meet American tastes.  Well, Masia’s 2021 Malbec is both lighter and fruitier than any others I have tasted, so maybe they’ve hit upon the Argentine version.  The Garnacha and Monastrell were both good, and followed the same pattern, so it appears to be their wine-making method (as noted above).  Of course, I hated the Tempranillo….

​Masia does some other things that make for a good winery.  Plenty of shady outside seating with a good view.  Water is available, and they give out complementary crackers.  It was cool in the tasting room, so the red wines were served at near the right temperature.  Not sure if that is always the case, but if it is, it is a big bonus.
Wine club is pretty standard:  2 bottles every other month (12/yr.), 20-25% discount on wine, 10% discount on other things, discounts and priority to winery events, and access to limited production wines.  They sell some other items in a little alcove in the tasting room.  See pictures below.
Now if they can just grow some really good Spanish grape like Graciano.  I really do not want to have to import it from Arizona….