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DeRose Vineyards

DeRose Vineyards has the single best Negrette I have ever had. Pat DeRose not only has one of the coolest moustaches on the planet, but he and Al (his son) are wine purists, not necessarily in the "Wine Spectator" since, they simply love great wines. Al DeRose search for new endeavors took him to central Chile where he produces and imports his Chilean wines. De Rose VIneyards is one of the oldest operated wineries in the US - 1854. At De Rose VIneyards they are not concerned about anything other than wine... nada. The DeRose family doesn't care about wine spectator's points, they don't care about who endorsed what, and I find that not simply amuzing, but delightful! Their style is very much like the old world where the people of the community get together. The winemakers, the farmers, the butcher and the candlestick-maker all living together, drinking together, eating together and enjoying the celebration of life. At DeRose Vineyards it is,"Good friends, good food and good wine.*

Hours:

Mon-     11:00 to 5:00pm
Tues-     11:00 to 5:00pm
Weds-     11:00 to 5:00pm
Thurs-    11:00 to 5:00pm
Fri-         11:00 to 5:00pm
Sat-        11:00 to 4:00pm
Sun-       11:00 to 4:00pm

Kelham Vineyards

So, you're in Napa for a long weekend or maybe even a wallet-draining week. There's plenty of choices to feed your wine fix. This charming little vineyard absolutely, positively needs to make your "must visit" list. No tasting room. No walk ins. No boutique to purchase a variety of goods while visiting. You need to call, make an appointment, and then prepare yourself for a truly personal wine experience given where the family that grows it presents their five or six well-done sophisticated wines.

Schwaesdall Winery

John Schwaesdall, A San Diego native, started making wine from some of the old vineyards in Ramona that were planted in 1950′s. He since has planted 4 1/2 acres of various red and white wine grapes. The vineyard lies among gigantic granite boulders that are found predominately in the Ramona/Mt. Woodson area of San Diego. These boulders are true natural wonders. One great granite boulder on the property weighs 80 tons and looks just like a cat. Another looks like Moby Dick. John won’t hesitate to show visitors the fantastic natural sculptures on his 6 acres of property.

Louis M Martini Winery

Louis M. Martini is one of the old wineries known for their Cabernets. They have a nice patio area where you can bring a picnic while doing your wine tasting.

When we walked in the tasting room, we walked up to the counter and selected the $15 tasting of three cabernets. We were give the first pour at the counter and were told we could go into large patio area and sit at one of the tables where our tasting could continue. Meanwhile, we setup our picnic and enjoyed our tastings with our picnic. The sever was very informative and came back with the next pour on our tasting menu when we were ready.

The pours were generous and we were also given pours of the Meritage and Monte Rosso in the $20 tasting menu as well.

It great place to bring a picnic to have your wine tasting in their nice patio area. Would definitely recommend.

Dobra Zemla

Dobra Zemlja means "Good Earth" in Croatian. The winery was founded in 1997 and is situated in Amador County's historic Shenandoah Valley just off Hwy 49 and Hwy 16. The winery and tasting room are housed in a restored late-19th century facility with wine cave. The cave provides a perfect environment for storing wine barrels and tasting our wines. Visitors are always welcome to enjoy a picnic lunch, sip a bit of wine, or just sit and listen to the birds in our lovely, shaded picnic area. Dobra Zemlja specializes in Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese, Barbera and Viognier.

Paraiso Vineyards

Paraiso Vineyards has a lovely tasting room and boutique. They go beyond the expectant cork toppers and have a lovely showroom of beautiful odds and ends. They also have a delicious assortment of chocolates and truffles you can try and pair with your Pinot. I recommend the chocolate covered sea-salt caramels.

For the wine, they have a lovely array of reds and a few whites. They are known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs. They have a lovely Zinfandel, which is not estate, but the grapes come from the not so distant Paso Robles. You can't really go wrong with any of the Pinot Noir's. I preferred the Eagle's Perch Chardonnay over the the other one as it had a bit more body. They only use French Oak, so more fruit forward and light on oak. They also use a small percentage of new French Oak, so if you prefer more fruit, you will definitely like this.

The tasting fees are cheap! It is only $5 to taste around 5 wines, so that alone makes it a great value. They sit on top of a hill, so the view from the back patio is beautiful! You can take a picnic lunch and enjoy a bottle under the tree on the picnic table.

If you are hitting Soledad wine country, you should definitely put this place on your list of things to do.

Windsor Vineyards

The young man who hosted our tasting was knowledgeable yet casual and easy to talk to - right up our alley. Really appreciated the time he took to do "compare & contrast" tastings!
Definitely stop in here for a tasting - whether you linger or quickly move on to the wineries, you'll get a nice intro to wines in the region.

Oak Mountain Winery

Another stop on the DePortola Wine Trail. I wish I had the opportunity to walk around the grounds here and check them out, but time was pressing and we had more wineries to get to. Outside there is a very large patio with a wonderful view. There was a pizza booth to purchase a snack and a live band playing. I hope to stop by again next trip to the area. A really nice, friendly atmosphere to relax. Growing classic warm weather Mediterranean varieties of grapes which include Mourvedre, Viognier, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel and Sangiovese Brunello are keystone wines at this picturesque winery. Also included are some unique wine varietals such as Tempranillo, Primativo and our a Pinotage. I hope to meet the winemaker Stephen Andrews next time I am in Temecula Wine Country. 

F. Teldeschi Winery

*Tiny* building with beautiful scenery, Teldeschi let us venture into the back room to see all the Oak barrels with the sweet alcoholic juices we were imbibing. There's something to be said about a winery just being a place for wine.

Grand Amis Winery

After nearly 25 years of managing some 2,000 acres of premium grapes, Jonathan and Cathy thought they might try their hand at making a little wine. They enjoyed working together, and knew they had some great fruit coming from these vineyards, so in 2000, they made a small amount of Zinfandel. Still not sure how good they had done, they sampled the wine with winemakers and others in the industry, and received such favorable feedback they decided to move forward. In January 2002 they started their own winery.

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