Midnight Cellars, home to the Hartenberger family and their small production of award-winning Paso Robles wines. Twenty eight acres of hilly, rocky, limestone-rich and south facing slopes are dedicated to growing quality, low-yield, sustainably farmed Bordeaux grapes. In addition to the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot varietals, are Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Known for their gigantic Merlot, Midnight Cellars also makes some of the best “Paso Roblan blends.”
Coyote Oaks Vineyards tasting room is located at the Escondido Wine and Culinary Campus in The Hidden Valley Enoteca Chateau style castle. The Enoteca opened September of 2012, and is San Diego’s most unique wine tasting venue. It is home to several of the finest artisan wineries from Escondido Wine Country, which have collectively joined together to offer their limited production wines. The inviting tasting room is located inside the Mediterranean-style chateau castle on the Escondido Wine & Culinary Campus at 26312 Mesa Rock Road, Escondido, CA 92026. The Escondido Wine and Culinary Campus is home to The Hidden Valley Enoteca, Belle Marie Wines and Chateau Dragoo. The Campus is open 7 days a week, and Coyote Oaks Wines are poured on Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. Please check hours as they change seasonally.
Sip, Savor, and Celebrate at San Pasqual Winery!
Located in La Mesa, California—just 15 miles east of San Diego—San Pasqual Winery is a delightful family-owned treasure that has transformed the local wine scene. Originally established in the 1970s in the beautiful San Pasqual Valley, this charming winery reinvented itself as San Diego's very first urban winery, earning a spot on Sunset Magazine’s “Hot 100 West Coast Trends” list!
Wine Adventures Await
With an annual production of just 3,000 to 4,000 cases, San Pasqual Winery focuses on creating intimate connections with wine lovers. Most of their wines are sold directly from the winery and nearby tasting rooms, ensuring every sip comes with a personal touch. Visitors can explore tasting rooms in the Village of La Mesa and downtown San Diego at Seaport Village, each offering a unique experience.
A Flavorful Journey Through Wine
San Pasqual wines are handcrafted in small lots, sourced from local vineyards and renowned viticultural regions across California. The winery takes advantage of diverse microclimates and strong relationships with vineyards to produce an exciting array of varietals. While classic favorites like Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon shine, adventurous wine lovers can also discover hidden gems like Tannat and Teroldego.
The fun doesn’t stop there! The winery features a thrilling line of passionfruit-based wines, including the spicy “Hot Passion,” inspired by habanero peppers—perfect for the sunny San Diego lifestyle. With numerous awards from local to international competitions, their Tannat and Cabernet Franc have even won double golds at prestigious events like the Toast of the Coast and San Francisco Chronicle competitions. A few years ago, their Malbec represented California’s style in Cahors, France—the birthplace of Malbec!
Unique Experiences at Every Location
San Pasqual Winery offers four distinctive locations, each designed for a memorable wine experience:
La Mesa Wine Works: Conveniently located off Interstate 8, the production winery welcomes visitors from Wednesday to Sunday. Guests can enjoy live music on the patio and delicious bites from local food vendors on weekends.
La Mesa Village Tasting Room: This cozy wine bar invites guests to become fast friends over sidewalk seating and lively conversations with the owners every Friday afternoon.
Seaport Village Tasting Room: Ideal for vacationers and locals alike, this spot offers stunning views of San Diego Bay from the deck patio, creating the perfect backdrop for sipping exceptional wines.
Toast Bubble Bar: Recently opened in Seaport Village, this sparkling wine haven provides an elevated experience every weekend, along with a fantastic venue for private parties or corporate events.
This is a great little winery along the Foxen Canyon trail. If you want a winery where the owners pour and you can actually talk about winemaking and the whole experience you get it here. Tres Hermanas does not make super jammy Central Coast wines but rather produces numerous wines in a more European style...lower in alcohol, higher in acid and basically more food friendly. I will have to say I enjoy 90% of what they produce. Their Tres Hermanas Cuvee is incredible as is there Nebbiolo, Refosco, Syrah/Sangiovese blend and Muscat Cannelli.
Tasting Room and award-winning Witch Creek Winery is located in Carlsbad, CA directly on the historic Highway 101 just a block from the beach and the Coaster. Founded in 1993, this boutique winery focuses on quality over quantity, by producing small-lot,handcrafted wines using traditional winemaking techniques. The result is full-bodied well balanced wines rich in flavor that have earned many medals over the years at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and Orange County Wine Competition. Witch Creek prides itself on being a source of some of the more unique and harder to find domestically produced varietals,such as Nebbiolo, Teroldego and Montepulciano.
Come taste the beauty of Vineyard Grant James wine on our stone veranda overlooking our Sangiovese vineyard and the hills of the Ramona Valley. You will be welcomed with pure hospitality and have the opportunity to experience luxury wine in a perfect relaxed countryside setting. We hope that you come to visit us in Ramona, California for the chance to enjoy our wine and share in the simple pleasures of good wine and good people. While you're here be sure to try our popular and award winning wines, including: Viognier, Rose of Syrah, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, Merlot, Syrah and Petite Sirah.
Aglianico Clusters - courtesy photographer Randy Caparoso
Dominick and Gloria Chirichillo’s choice of name for their winery is a reflection of their commitment to their Italian heritage and the tradition of family winemaking. In 1955 in New York, Dominick who is called Domenico in Italian was introduced to these traditions by his Nonno (grandfather), Domenico Giovinazzo. In the basement of their home was a wine press that Nonno showed Dominick; passing down from one generation to another the love of handcrafting wine. Affordable, delicious Santa Cruz Mountain wines, great tasting room, wonderful owners/winemakers. It has been inspiring in seeing Domenico Wines expand and grow. Kudos, and wishing the team the very best on their latest wines and their new tasting room location in San Carlos. Domenico Wines was included in a brief video presentation of wineries that are part of the 3rd Annual Mid Peninsula Summer Wine Trail. You can get a peek HERE We are looking forward to getting an interview (video) with Dominick Chirichillo in the near future.~
Hours:
Mon-Tue Closed
Wed 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Thu 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Fri 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Sat 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Sun 12:00pm to 6:00pm
With a small overall production, yet making a dozen or more wines, case production is small, with some lots between 50 and 300 cases. Wines are sourced from Los Alamos, Ballard Canyon, and Santa Ynez Valley, as well as the warmer climes of Paso Robles for their Zinfandel, Nebbiolo and El Pomar Syrah. In additional to their individual varietal wines, the winery makes a “Cote du Rhone” style blend, as well as a blend from the Italian grapes of Nebbiolo and Barbera.
This is a cute little tasting room in downtown Santa Barbara if you don't want to make the trek up to Los Olivos, or just want to stop by for another tasting. Tastings are $10. Friendly, attentive staff. Great wines and a shop filled with olive oils, they had olive oil tasting there, cheese boards, wine-infused chocolates and tons of things that would be great to accompany a wine party.
In 1962, at the age of thirty-two, Pierre Lafond founded the first post-prohibition commercial winery in Santa Barbara County. Two years later, he located a winery facility on Anacapa Street, just two blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara Winery has become an extremely visible and successful wine concern, winning many medals for an array of wines. Lafond is now in the midst of a significant expansion in order to meet the desires of the consuming public.
Lafond was originally a retailer, and his wine and cheese shop was a meeting place for many of Santa Barbara's wine aficionados. He decided to go into wine production for two reasons: he enjoyed fine wines, primarily French, and it would be a good business venture.
Celebrating forty years as a small artisan winery, they specialize in high-quality red wines. Their approach involves crafting wines that reflect their own preferences, emphasizing complexity, balance, and the right amount of acidity and tannins to ensure aging potential and meal compatibility. By carefully aligning their vines with their microclimate, they produce wines with vibrant fruit and varietal character at a moderate alcohol level. Their passion lies in classic-style wines—those that can age and enhance over decades, offering multi-dimensional profiles without excessive oak influence. This is the essence of what they strive to create.
