Mac got into food and wine during his early twenties via his friends and coworkers at Trader Joe's in Southern California. He soon began taking trips up to the Central Coast to just to taste, but quickly found himself volunteering his time on his days off to help out at a number of wineries. After learning the process for a few years and spending more and more time on the Central Coast, Mac was ready to start making wine for himself.

THIS WINERY HAS CLOSED

Tuscan Treasure in Temecula Cute little tasting room with a long bar set upon old wine barrels. Cozy hardwood floors with Tuscan style walls and faux awnings. Plenty of bar and table seating and many gift items for sale. But the best is it is pet friendly.  You can bring your furry pals right on inside and out of hot sun. You might want to discovered their wonderful hibiscus sparkling wine. I figured I would try a sparkling though I thought it would be too sweet. Well, the hibiscus was wonderful! Not sweet at all with a unique hibiscus twist.

Churn Creek Cellars is a winery started in the Churn Creek "bottom", just outside the city limits of Redding, California, in beautiful Shasta County. Churn Creek Cellars is a local, family owned business. The principals are . Denise and Layne started started their venture in viticulture and winemaking by planting a small vineyard on their property and named the vineyard after their Basset Hounds, and it is known as Fat Basset Vineyards. This little winery is a family owned business and Denise Evans and Layne McLean have been growing grapes and producing wine for seven years. A must stop if you visit or are passing through the Redding area.

Since 1999, the Blackbird Vineyard (a former a walnut orchard first planted with 5,717 Merlot vines in 1997), quietly provided fruit to many of Napa’s finest winemakers, for whom it yielded astonishing comments from Napa Valley veterans and noteworthy editorialists. Purchased by Michael Polenske in 2003, Blackbird Vineyards is now an ultra premium label in its own right.