Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo

Santa Barbara Winery

glass of wine - Pixabay

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.

Witch Creek Winery

cluster of grapes - ai generated - Pixabay

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.

San Pasqual Winery

grape cluster

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.

Karmere Vineyards & Winery

glass of wine - Pixabay

Karmere is a good gateway winery. It has light, fruity champagnes almond, raspberry, and regular. They offer a wide range of Zinfandels and other reds here too. The wines are named after the female members of the family. Could the the place for a wedding or special occasion, beautifully designed for events. Spent quite a while there, tasting at the counter and barrel-tasting as well.

Arthur Earl

Grape Cluster - Pixabay

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.

Midnight Cellars

grape clusters in the vineyard -Pixabay

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

Cyotote Oaks Label

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.

Tres Hermanas Winery

glass of wine

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.

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