Unique Varietals

Unique Varietals

Poppaea Vineyard & Winery

Poppaea Vineyard LLC was established in May 2009 and the first planting took place in 2010 with additional planting each year since then. Currently there are about 2500 vines, all Italian red varietals. The site became bonded in January 2013 and it is expected that the tasting room will open for visitors in September 2015 after all of the wines will have had at least 2 years of aging in line with Italian guidelines. The strategy is to recapitulate the best red wines from Piedmonte, Tuscany and Umbria but in a Californian setting. Critical to the approach adopted by Poppaea is that all the grapes should be derived from the estate and processed on site – no importing of ‘foreign’ grapes – in this way it is hoped visitors will experience the true ‘terroir’ of the Ramona Valley AVA. Poppaea is derived from the name of the Roman princess, Poppaea Sabina, who used her beauty, charm and intrigue to seduce Nero and subsequently marry him. The company is jointly owned by three family members: John, his wife Marion and son Benjamin who originate from England and who settled in San Diego about twenty years ago.

Peter Franus Wine Co.

More than 30 years of winemaking experience, decisions based on intuition and feelings, a great respect for tradition, and access to some of the best grape sources in Napa Valley.
Distinctive wines come from outstanding grapes that are limited to certain unique sites and microclimates. Grapes from these sources do not require a lot of manipulation and have the greatest potential to produce exciting and memorable wines. Peter Franus has the good fortune to work with some of the best growers anywhere whose goal is to provide him with the highest quality fruit possible. Doug Hill’s and Jim Fore’s Stewart Vineyard in Carneros is my source for Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. Truchard Vineyards, also in Carneros, provides me with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from Rancho Chimiles, and Brandlin Vineyard on Mount Veeder is a single vineyard for old-vine Zinfandel.
A very small operation, and nearly all of their artisan wines have a case level production of fewer than 1000 cases.

Sunstone Vineyards & Winery

The tasting room is reminiscent of some of the small wineries in the Provencal French countryside, featuring a kitchen complete with a wood-burning oven and two stone barrel-aging caves built into the hillside. The gorgeous courtyards and picnic grounds provide the perfect place to experience the wines. The Villa at Sunstone now serves as an extension of the Sunstone Winery lifestyle by providing a culinary center to entertain guests for weddings, winemaker dinners and private culinary retreats.

Estate d'lacobelli

Perched on a hilltop above the Pala Mesa Golf Resort, Estate d’Iacobelli features breathtaking views to accompany our wine selections. Come and join us at our intimate Italian-inspired tasting room. Drink some wine, play some bocce ball, and be Italian for a day.

Vino Con Brio

In 1999, this family bonded their winery called Vino Con Brio, meaning “Wine with Passion” in Italian. Matzin was their other label for their Old Vine Zinfandel Wines. Vino Con Brio specialized in Rhone, Italian and out of the ordinary varietals, such as Pinotage, that are so well-suited to Lodi's climate.

Vino Con Brio is now closed.
The Matson Family has retired and the property is now owned by Mettler Family Vineyards.

Chiarello Vineyards

The 2011 Chiara Bianco is made from an Italian white wine grape, Ribolla Gialla, that hails from the northern region of Alto Adige. Just two acres of this grape is grown in Napa Valley. This is one of the few white wines made like a red, with two weeks of skin contact before fermentation, giving the wine wonderful mouth-feel, mild tannins, and enough acidity and structure to pair with range of richer foods.

Toogood Estate Wine Caves

Hidden from view off a narrow two-lane road in the heart of Fair Play, this winery takes advantage of the rocky outcroppings and protected valleys indigenous to the area. Toogood Estate Winery is unique in the Sierra Foothills because it has wine caves. There were many wines to choose from and the staff made the visit fun. They mixed in educating us about the wines and their process with jokes and kept things fun.

Moravia Wines

At this family operated Central Valley gem you will find some wonderful wines. We first enjoyed wines from Moravia Wines at a wine tasting conducted by Rob Bausinan who handles the outside sales for the winery. It was great to visit with him at this tasting being conducted at Total Wines in Fresno, CA. Rob extended an invited to visit him at the winery to learn more about what they were doing at Moravia Wines. When I was last there Rob was on vacation but Rich Hammond, CO-Proprietor and winemaker at the winery was available and happy to share. Often people forget just how long wines have been produced in the Central Valley, since the mid-1850"s. It was wonderful experience tasting and talking with the winemaker himself. While all the wines that were poured for me were delightful the two Symphony wines came into focus. I have always enjoyed Symphony since having tasted it in Lodi some years ago. Rich has done a wonderful job with his offering of his 2018 Symphony and 2018 Dry Symphony. The 2018 Dry is produced from a grape that is a clone from Grenache Gris and Muscat Alexander and is a totally dry wine with a floral and peach or apricot on the nose - delightfully crisp and bright. The other Symphony is semi-sweet with 4% residual sugar.*

Hours:

Mon-Fri     Closed
Sat      12:00 to 5:00pm
Sun     12:00 to 5:00pm

Lago Di Merlo Vineyards & Winery

The father-son duo of the Merlo family work together to produce varietals of Merlot, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Syrah, Moscato, and Cabernet Franc. Located on the Dry Creek Valley Appellation, the 200-acre (81-hectare) estate not only grows its own grapes, but also sells the fruit to other wineries. Wine barrel tastings are hosted for visitors to the place, while other events like Winemaker dinner, have its own fan base.

Barton Family Estate

Painting by Agata Zaborowski

The Barton Family Estate is the only site on the 46 West corridor in Paso Robles that offers Wine, Food, and Spirits all in one location. What more could you ask for when looking for a genuine Paso Robles tasting experience like no other. 

Today, Barton and his wife Jenny run the family business as a husband and wife-team. Joe’s mom, Shirlene, is also an integral part of the day-to-day operations still and they are a completely owned and operated family business to this day. Together they have modernized their family brand and added a beautiful urban farmhouse tasting room to the property. They added Barton’s Kitchen in 2013, offering farm-to-table, casual cuisine, and in 2022, Grain+Vine Craft Distillery was born. 

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