Chuparosa Vineyards

One of the goals of my reviewing wineries was to someday discover a great winery, one that is known to only a few, perhaps hidden along some back road in, say, Ramona.  I am pleased to report that I have found that winery:  Chuparosa Vineyards!  This boutique winery offers a small array of great wines, run by two wonderful people.  Now of course I don’t name names, but Carolyn is worth mentioning because she has been instrumental in opening up Ramona for wineries.  She represented the wine growers (gratis) in a six year legal battle to allow tasting rooms.
The winery is small, as shown in the pictures below.  You can sit outside on a small patio with a view of the vineyards, or inside the tasting room.  Nice view from the patio of the surrounding fields.

There is no bar, per se.  Bottles of their wine are lined up on a small table.  The tasting room is small, as shown in the pictures below.  On my visit the rose in the list shown below was not available for tasting but they did have a Chenin Blanc. Carolyn or her husband (and winemaker) Andy bring the wine to you.

And what wine!  They make a relatively small number of wines, all but their Chenin Blanc estate bottled.  Like many of the smaller wineries, Chuparosa does not have a wine club, but tastings are only $5 per person, and Andy makes sure you taste all of their wines.  That came to seven tastings for me.  The amazing thing about their wine is that three were of grapes that I generally do not like – Chenin Blanc, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc – and I liked the wine he made from all three.  In fact, I came home with a bottle of their Chenin Blanc (and a bottle of their Sangiovese – Brunello, no less)!  Oh, while they don’t have a restaurant, Carolyn makes small sour dough loaves that you can munch on (with olive oil) – gratis.