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Maurice Car'rie Vineyards & Winery

Painting by Agata Zaborowski - women enjoying wine

We ate at the kitchen first which was absolutely delicious. I never ever thought I would eat some tomato bisque. Yummy. Then walked next door to the tasting room and used our 2 for 1 coupons and started tasting. Donna was a very good host and was able to be attentive to everyone. She was Explaining what all wines were that we drank. And also offered some suggestions. Nice. The winery is very nice which have a kitchen next door. 

Ultimate Vineyards, situated in the heart of Temecula Valley wine country, produces wines primarily from its 75-acre estate vineyard. This vineyard benefits from a unique combination of geological and topographical features that result in fruit with exceptional intensity, weight, and richness. Positioned in the bed of the ancient Santa Margarita River, the vineyard has accumulated millennia of sediment deposits. It also rests in a natural geological bowl, where cooler nighttime air drifts in and settles, preserving higher levels of acidity and tannins in the grapes. The ample sunshine, combined with gentle ocean breezes, helps the grapes develop deep color and sugars.

The vineyard’s soil, mostly sandy loam, offers excellent drainage but has low organic matter due to limited rainfall. To foster "Living Soils," Ultimate Vineyards enhances soil health through annual applications of organic compost, inoculation with beneficial microbes, and the planting of nitrogen-fixing cover crops. Their philosophy centers on creating a thriving, healthy ecosystem in the soil to promote better vine growth, more consistent ripening, and higher quality grapes. To achieve this, Ultimate Vineyards avoids the use of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides on their soils.

 

Mount Palomar Winery

people sharing wine

Mount Palomar Winery, located in the Temecula Valley wine appellation, is a fine wine estate dedicated to making wines of distinctive taste and high quality. Located among rolling hills and mesa lands at 1400 feet elevation, Mount Palomar is a working wine estate with 45 acres of producing vineyards overlooked by the Palomar Mountain range. John H. Poole established the original Mount Palomar vineyards, and was Mount Palomar Winery's first winemaker in 1975. He created a place where people could immerse themselves in the world of fine wine in a pleasant and relaxed Wine Country atmosphere. Today, Mount Palomar’s winemaker James Rutherford is a Northern California transplant who received his degree from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. He gained most of his experience on the Central Coast in both the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo wine regions.

I sat on the Patio listening to some awesome music. Three very nice ladies were sketching while the music played! I had the best lunch, Chicken, Artichoke- sun dried tomatoes-feta cheese and roasted garlic flatbread! Glass of Dry Riesling! Delicious! The perfect outdoor day! If you have never been there, I suggest you go and relax on the patio for some great food and delicious wine tasting!

Zahtila Vineyards

corks and wine glass - Pixabay

We tasted: 2008 Dry Creek Zin - Old vine zinfandel, fruity with oak notes. I tasted pomegranate with some spice. Very enjoyable (too bad there isn't much left!) 2008 Oak Hill Estate Zin - I liked this zin. The grapes are grown on property. Hints of vanilla & caramel with the fruit upon first whif. Then a very silky mouth feel with plum and spice. We all agreed this would pair well with eggplant or other roasted/grilled veggies. 2008 Calistoga Cab Sauvignon - The bottle we tasted had been opened late the day before which helped soften the tannins. Hints of cherry on the palate. 2006 Napa Valley Cab - I liked this more than the 2008 from Calistoga. It was balanced acidity/fruit. 2010 Michael's Muse - Delicious tawny port style wine that they had just bottled! Complex fruit, not too over-poweringly sweet. I think it had zin & petite syrah grapes (I wasn't paying as much attention). Very good!

St. Amant Winery

wine cellar

St. Amant Winery is a family owned winery located in Lodi, California that prides itself in producing handcrafted wines of superb quality. Founded in 1979 by Tim and Barbara Spencer, St. Amant crafts distinctive wines from Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian varietals in addition to California’s own Zinfandel.

Birdstone Winery

birdstone winery logo

Tony and Kimberly Kirk established Birdstone Winery with the goal of producing world-class wines from Madera-appellation grapes. A friends and family effort from the start, Birdstone’s winemaking team includes Tony, Kimberly and their sons Travis & Conner. It’s not uncommon to find Tony & Kim’s siblings, parents or friends behind the bar in the Tasting Room or helping to crush grapes during harvest.

Christopher Creek Winery

Grape Cluster - Pixabay

The variety & quality of the wines were great. The owners were also very friendly & accomodating to our dogs, allowed them in the tasting room and even shut the door so they could run free. It was a gorgeous day and when another group decided to taste outside on the deck, we decided to finish ours there as well, a really nice outdoor space with great views.

Cedar View Winery

Glass or Red Wine - Saman Teher, Pixabay

Jim and Debbie Van Haun founded Cedar View Winery in 1999 with an emphasis on producing rare, eclectic, hard-to-find varietals. The winery's estate “flagship” grape, Alicante Bouschet, is made as a very popular award-winning red wine as well as a very rare Rosé and Port style wine.

Picchetti Winery

wine and cheese - ai generated - Pixabay

From the lofty heights of Montebello Mountain the grapes make the journey down to the historic ranch where they are examined, pressed and crushed in the shadow of the original Picchetti homestead house. Under the gaze of the ever watchful and vigilant peacocks, sweet juice is magically turned to wine.

Heitz Wine Cellar

clouds in the sky at sunset over the vineyard - Pixabay

A Napa Valley rarity, they have free tastings here. I went all the way to Anderson Valley and most of those places still charge $5. And it's not like Heitz is pouring low-priced wine. I tasted an $80 cab that was four years out of vintage which was a joy to drink. They also sell a decades worth of library vintages from both Trailside and Martha's Vineyards. If $75 to $150 cabs are too much, then pick-up a balanced bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for $20.

Miller Wine Works

wine and cheese - Pixabay

Confessions of a Winemaker Chef - I always considered winemaking to be “cooking”. Through my entire time as a chef, I wanted to work with the flavors, textures, and aromas of grapes from the California coast. Finally I took the plunge and moved to Napa Valley.

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