Winery News
Winery events
Summer 2024 update:
Correcaminos (Ramona): Comedy Night August 17th!! Headliner Mark Christopher Lawrence. Tickets $45 each.
Chuparosa (Ramona): They've added another port-style wine, this one made from Sangiovese grapes. Excellent!
Spring 2024 update:
Ponte, Europa Village (Temecula): Both wineries have upped their game with some very good Sangiovese varitals!
Poppaea (Ramona): Not sure when these were released, but both are very nice. A 2019 Sagrantino and a 2021 Montepulciano.
Mermaid Valley, Edwards, Principe di Tricase (Ramona): New releases from all three worth tasting. 2019 Petite Sirah from Mermaid, 2017 Syrah 383 Clone from Edwards, and 2018 Malbec Barrel Select from Principe. Actually, Mermaid Valley has not yet released the Petite Syrah.
Monserate (Fallbrook): Finally got back there to taste the Aglianico. Very nice, but greatly overshadowed by their other new release, Sagrantino!
Europa Village (Temecula): Love their new Italian section, La Vienza. Excellent gellato...
Winter 2023/4 update:
Hatfield Creek (Ramona): They now have a very nice Syrah, but the interesting thing they are working with is wine in a bag! Their Surprise Me wine is packaged in a bag of sorts with a spigot and aerator. One bag holds two bottles of wine without any problem with spoilage after being opened. I should add that the Surprise Me is a very nice blend....
Monserate (Fallbrook): Finally released Negroamaro and Aglianico varitals. Good news: their Negroamaro is excellent. Bad news: I missed their Aglianico release by one day!!!
Chapin (Temecula): Latest Estate Syrah outstanding, and their Aglianico is almost its equal. Right up there with those two is their newest offering, Tannat. And not far behind is their Montepulciano. Maybe the best wines in Southern California....
Ponte (Temecula): Their new wine club pavillion is finally open. See picture on left.
For the holiday season, the Ramona Valley Vintners Association has a holiday wine trail the first three weekends in December. 16 wineries, $20 per person. Here's the link: https://ramonavalleyvineyards.com/2023-ramona-holiday-wine-trail/
Mermaid Valley (Ramona): Their 2019 Sauvignon Blanc has really matured nicely. Well worth trying.
Fall 2023 update:
Related info: Finally got to taste the super-high tannin Greek wine, Xinomavro, but not at a winery. We had dinner the other night at Yanni's Bar & Grill in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego, and saw that they had Xinomavro on the wine list. So I ordered a bottle for the table. Then another bottle. Then another bottle. Yeah, it was that good! (Good food as well!)
Chuparosa (Ramona): Building on their success with a Zin-Zin port style wine, where both the brandy and base wine are made from the same grapes, they have in the pipeline both Sangiovese-Sangiovese and Albarino-Albarino combinations.
Monserate (Fallbrook): Interesting new release, a Montepulciano blend called "Pompeii". Very nice red wine. The big news is the release of their Negroamaro red varietal, at least to their wine club members. Expect release to the public in November.
Vineyard Grant James (Ramona): They've added food in the form of picnic style offerings through local caterers. Great pumpkin field salad and pumpkin chicken chili for the fall. And speaking of offerings, worth checking out their latest red wines -- especially the Merlot and Syrah -- and they still have some Alicante Bouchette available. Snuck a peak at their events schedule. Looks like they have a "Wine and Floral Works" on Sunday, October 22nd (1-3 pm) where you learn to make pumpkin arrangements while drinking wine. I like the drinking wine part....
Europa Village (Temecula): Good news, bad news, and very bad news. First the good news: they've opened a special tasting room at their Bolero section for wine club members -- and the stuffed chili peppers in the Bolero restaurant are fantastic. Now the bad news: they've run out of many of their best wines -- Tannat, Montepulciano, Viognier. Now for the very bad news: they've run out of a Nebbiolo that I never had a chance to taste!!! Not fair!
Summer 2023 update:
Ramona Ranch (Ramona): In case you missed it, finally got out to see their new tasting room. Really nice set up. Also, they've released their latest Tannat and a very unique bourbon barrel wine.
Principe di Tricase (Ramona): Big improvements in the facility.
Lorimar (Temecula): Stopped there for lunch and to buy some Zinfandel, and, lo and behold, they once again had great entertainment in the middle of the day on a weekday. Wow!
Europa Village (Temecula): They have released an estate Nebbiolo, and it is really nice. Also, they are now offering a Primitivo imported from Italy.
Rancho San Martin (Ramona): They have a buy-one-get-one free sale going on, offering three of their red wines -- Bella (Sangiovese), Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon. We bought the Bella. They also released a very nice Cabernet Franc and a most unusual Albarino. While they call it a white wine, it is technically an orange wine as they fermented the grapes with seeds and stems in the red wine method.
Spring 2023 update:
Edwards Vineyards (Ramona) -- Have you ever heard of glamping? It's short for glamorous camping, where you stay in fancy tents with showers and other amenities. Well, you can glamp at Edwards now.
Winter 2023 update:
South Coast Winery (Temecula) -- We dined with friends at their restaurant, The Vineyard Rose, and, well the food was not good -- it was great!!! Incredible!!!
Shadow Mountain (Warner Springs) -- still producing one of the best Nebbiolo's in Southern California. Understand that the winery has been sold, with the new owners soon to take over day-to-day operations.
Ponte (Temecula) -- latest Sangiovese and Super T offerings are quite good, their best to date. Finally seeing progress on their expansion of the Reserve Room (for wine club members).
Europa Village (Temecula) -- Italian section coming close to the finish line!!!
Vineyard Grant James (Ramona) -- They've introduced a very interesting varietal -- Carmenere, the lost wine of Bordeaux. Quite nice, but if you want to try it don't delay -- they may run out soon! Other single varietals wines are on the way -- major bottling operation coming in the spring.
Mermaid Valley (Ramona) -- Still can't get over the fact that I really like their GSM.... I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, as it won double gold at a recent tasting!
Monserate (Fallbrook) -- Winemaker has not released most of his single varietal Italian reds -- including Aglianico, Negroamaro, and Sagrantino -- but they expect to bottle them soon. If it is any indication of things to come, they have a blend (Fidele) of 64% Aglianico, 22% Sagrantino, and 14% Barbera that is really good. As with most good wines, they are running out -- right now you can only buy it if you are a wine club member.
Correcaminos (Ramona): Comedy Night August 17th!! Headliner Mark Christopher Lawrence. Tickets $45 each.
Chuparosa (Ramona): They've added another port-style wine, this one made from Sangiovese grapes. Excellent!
Spring 2024 update:
Ponte, Europa Village (Temecula): Both wineries have upped their game with some very good Sangiovese varitals!
Poppaea (Ramona): Not sure when these were released, but both are very nice. A 2019 Sagrantino and a 2021 Montepulciano.
Mermaid Valley, Edwards, Principe di Tricase (Ramona): New releases from all three worth tasting. 2019 Petite Sirah from Mermaid, 2017 Syrah 383 Clone from Edwards, and 2018 Malbec Barrel Select from Principe. Actually, Mermaid Valley has not yet released the Petite Syrah.
Monserate (Fallbrook): Finally got back there to taste the Aglianico. Very nice, but greatly overshadowed by their other new release, Sagrantino!
Europa Village (Temecula): Love their new Italian section, La Vienza. Excellent gellato...
Winter 2023/4 update:
Hatfield Creek (Ramona): They now have a very nice Syrah, but the interesting thing they are working with is wine in a bag! Their Surprise Me wine is packaged in a bag of sorts with a spigot and aerator. One bag holds two bottles of wine without any problem with spoilage after being opened. I should add that the Surprise Me is a very nice blend....
Monserate (Fallbrook): Finally released Negroamaro and Aglianico varitals. Good news: their Negroamaro is excellent. Bad news: I missed their Aglianico release by one day!!!
Chapin (Temecula): Latest Estate Syrah outstanding, and their Aglianico is almost its equal. Right up there with those two is their newest offering, Tannat. And not far behind is their Montepulciano. Maybe the best wines in Southern California....
Ponte (Temecula): Their new wine club pavillion is finally open. See picture on left.
For the holiday season, the Ramona Valley Vintners Association has a holiday wine trail the first three weekends in December. 16 wineries, $20 per person. Here's the link: https://ramonavalleyvineyards.com/2023-ramona-holiday-wine-trail/
Mermaid Valley (Ramona): Their 2019 Sauvignon Blanc has really matured nicely. Well worth trying.
Fall 2023 update:
Related info: Finally got to taste the super-high tannin Greek wine, Xinomavro, but not at a winery. We had dinner the other night at Yanni's Bar & Grill in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego, and saw that they had Xinomavro on the wine list. So I ordered a bottle for the table. Then another bottle. Then another bottle. Yeah, it was that good! (Good food as well!)
Chuparosa (Ramona): Building on their success with a Zin-Zin port style wine, where both the brandy and base wine are made from the same grapes, they have in the pipeline both Sangiovese-Sangiovese and Albarino-Albarino combinations.
Monserate (Fallbrook): Interesting new release, a Montepulciano blend called "Pompeii". Very nice red wine. The big news is the release of their Negroamaro red varietal, at least to their wine club members. Expect release to the public in November.
Vineyard Grant James (Ramona): They've added food in the form of picnic style offerings through local caterers. Great pumpkin field salad and pumpkin chicken chili for the fall. And speaking of offerings, worth checking out their latest red wines -- especially the Merlot and Syrah -- and they still have some Alicante Bouchette available. Snuck a peak at their events schedule. Looks like they have a "Wine and Floral Works" on Sunday, October 22nd (1-3 pm) where you learn to make pumpkin arrangements while drinking wine. I like the drinking wine part....
Europa Village (Temecula): Good news, bad news, and very bad news. First the good news: they've opened a special tasting room at their Bolero section for wine club members -- and the stuffed chili peppers in the Bolero restaurant are fantastic. Now the bad news: they've run out of many of their best wines -- Tannat, Montepulciano, Viognier. Now for the very bad news: they've run out of a Nebbiolo that I never had a chance to taste!!! Not fair!
Summer 2023 update:
Ramona Ranch (Ramona): In case you missed it, finally got out to see their new tasting room. Really nice set up. Also, they've released their latest Tannat and a very unique bourbon barrel wine.
Principe di Tricase (Ramona): Big improvements in the facility.
Lorimar (Temecula): Stopped there for lunch and to buy some Zinfandel, and, lo and behold, they once again had great entertainment in the middle of the day on a weekday. Wow!
Europa Village (Temecula): They have released an estate Nebbiolo, and it is really nice. Also, they are now offering a Primitivo imported from Italy.
Rancho San Martin (Ramona): They have a buy-one-get-one free sale going on, offering three of their red wines -- Bella (Sangiovese), Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon. We bought the Bella. They also released a very nice Cabernet Franc and a most unusual Albarino. While they call it a white wine, it is technically an orange wine as they fermented the grapes with seeds and stems in the red wine method.
Spring 2023 update:
Edwards Vineyards (Ramona) -- Have you ever heard of glamping? It's short for glamorous camping, where you stay in fancy tents with showers and other amenities. Well, you can glamp at Edwards now.
Winter 2023 update:
South Coast Winery (Temecula) -- We dined with friends at their restaurant, The Vineyard Rose, and, well the food was not good -- it was great!!! Incredible!!!
Shadow Mountain (Warner Springs) -- still producing one of the best Nebbiolo's in Southern California. Understand that the winery has been sold, with the new owners soon to take over day-to-day operations.
Ponte (Temecula) -- latest Sangiovese and Super T offerings are quite good, their best to date. Finally seeing progress on their expansion of the Reserve Room (for wine club members).
Europa Village (Temecula) -- Italian section coming close to the finish line!!!
Vineyard Grant James (Ramona) -- They've introduced a very interesting varietal -- Carmenere, the lost wine of Bordeaux. Quite nice, but if you want to try it don't delay -- they may run out soon! Other single varietals wines are on the way -- major bottling operation coming in the spring.
Mermaid Valley (Ramona) -- Still can't get over the fact that I really like their GSM.... I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, as it won double gold at a recent tasting!
Monserate (Fallbrook) -- Winemaker has not released most of his single varietal Italian reds -- including Aglianico, Negroamaro, and Sagrantino -- but they expect to bottle them soon. If it is any indication of things to come, they have a blend (Fidele) of 64% Aglianico, 22% Sagrantino, and 14% Barbera that is really good. As with most good wines, they are running out -- right now you can only buy it if you are a wine club member.