Kohill Winery

I mentioned some time ago that if you find a wine that you like in one of the Southern California wineries, buy it – it might not be there next time you visit.  Now I’ve been able to taste wines that are not yet ready for release, sometimes right out of the barrel.  Which leads to this corollary:  if you taste a wine that is not ready for release, keep close track of the winery – if it is good enough for you to want to buy it, it will sell out very quickly.  For example, Espinosa released it’s 2016 Zinfandel early – it sold out in three weeks!
Which makes for a good lead-in for our next winery review, Kohill Winery in Ramona (picture below).  Kohill is a boutique winery off Highland Valley Road not far from rte. 67, up a long winding road.  This was my second trip there.  My first was early in the summer, at which time I tasted a very unique wine made from the rare Italian grape Refosco.  It was not ready for release, so I figured I would wait until it was ready before re-visiting the winery.  Well, guess what?  All sold out.  I’m 0 for 2.

Kohill is a great example of the adventurous spirit of Ramona boutique wineries.  In addition to Refosco, the owner and winemaker, Mike, has also planted Pinot Noir grapes.  Pinot Noir should not grow well in Ramona, but he has an area on his property that might just defy the norm, and he has the will to try.
Their tasting room is small and is also the barrel room, though when I first visited the barrels were in a back room and boxes in what is now the barrel room (see pictures).  They have added a small table and chairs inside – which helped considerably given how cold and rainy it was yesterday.

As you can see in the tasting menu below, they don’t make a lot of different varietals.  Tasting price is $11 per person.  Last summer it was a cash-only business, but now they take credit cards.  No wine club.
One unusual aspect of their wines is a heavy oak odor and taste.  They age their wines in oak casks much longer than normal.  We also tasted their next batch of Refosco out of the barrel, and it is going to be incredible!  Which lead us back to the corollary…  Oh, and look out for the release of their Pinot Noir as well.