Unique Varietals

Unique Varietals

Toogood Estate Winery

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes

About Toogood Estate Winery

In December 2019, Toogood Estate Winery was purchased by the Ron and Darin Mittelstaedt family from El Dorado Hills. Their sons, Bradley and Timothy, along with Tim’s fiancé Kayla, are involved in the daily operations, each contributing their unique skill sets to the winery. The family is supported by a dedicated staff that has previously provided excellent wine knowledge and expertise. Their daughter, Haley, plans to join the team after completing her studies in Texas. Ron and Darin can be found on-site most weekends, assisting with various operations.

With years of experience in diverse business sectors, Ron and Darin are excited to help Toogood Estate Wines grow and flourish. Plans for new developments are underway, building on the foundation established by Paul Toogood, who started the winery in 2001.

The talented and beloved winemaker, Marco Cappelli, will remain with the winery, continuing to craft the wines that many have come to cherish. The family looks forward to being an active part of the Fairplay wine community.

Toogood Estate Winery was established on a picturesque 40-acre parcel of rolling foothills purchased in May 2001. This quarter-mile square property features microclimates ideal for the carefully selected grape varieties. Excavation for the wine cave began on September 11, 2001, and was completed nine months later, resulting in 5,000 square feet of underground winery production and aging space, all maintained in a delicately controlled atmosphere.

The winery's first crush was the 2002 vintage, with the initial bottling occurring in January 2003. Since then, sales and acceptance of the wines have been remarkable.

Currently, the vineyards boast 12 acres planted with a variety of grapes, including Zinfandel, Primitivo, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Sirah. Visitors are always welcome to come by and say hello.

Photo courstesy of photographer Randy Caparoso

Oso Libre

looking at the moon through a glass of wine

Good wines, friendly owners, fun animals. A field full of alpacas greets you as you enter Oso Libre. The husband and wife owners were absolute gems, but let's face it, unfriendly people simply don't own alpacas. They shared a lot of interesting info about the winery and animals which made for an entertaining conversation. The wines were tasty and the term “wine farm” setting of Oso Libre is a great experience.

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!

Cougar Vineyard & Winery

Painting by Agata Zaborowski - enjoying wine with pet cat

They specialize in Italian varietals! But they have a number of non-Italian varietals too. And was really surprised at how much I enjoyed their White Cabernet. Yup... you heard right... WHITE CAB. It's light and refreshing.... fruity but not sweet.... on the dry side. It's a lovely rose to sit by the pool and relax with. Get a little bit of Italy while you are enjoying you Temecula Wine Tasting adventures.

Kings River Winery

Kings River wine tote and bottles of wine

Kings River Winery sits on the 40 acre farm that owner Bob Bagdasarian was raised on. Since 1954, Bob and his family have grown everything from grapes for wine and raisins, to peaches, plums, and apricots. In 2012, Bob decided to follow his passion and focus only on what he loves most, wine. With that passion came a lot of hard work and he planted 12 different varietals of wine grapes on the 40 acres and began building a state of the art winery, with wine making equipment unmatched by any winery in this region. Adding the finishing touches in 2014, Bob’s vision for a premium boutique winery, that would also fill the need for special event venues. Bob and Ashley (the Winery Manager) were so gracious on our first visit and made us feel at home. Bob even took the time to not only walk us through his winery but took John Krause of CaCorks for a walk through the vineyard and we got some video included in a short video presentation on a few of the wineries located in the Central Valley you can see HERE While we haven't tasted all of the wines produced at Kings River Winery, and we will be back, be sure you try: Alicante Bouchet, Barbara, Petite Sirah and Karmir to mention a few.

Hours:

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

Alfaro Family Vineyards

grape cluster - Pixabay

Alfaro Family Vineyards is everything a local Santa Cruz Mountains winery needs to be. The owner is incredibly passionate about his work and drove us over his lovingly cared for property in his pick-up truck. It was an adventure to remember! Fun fact: he is so passionate about the local environment that he re-fenced his property so that the deer can go through it, without being able to access his vineyards. I had a great time touring the vineyard and an even better time tasting the wine. There was a wide variety of wines available for the tasting, and all of them were both tasty and very reasonably priced. Everyone we met here was a great conversationalist and really made me feel comfortable and relaxed. I wish I lived closer so that I could come to taste wines every Saturday for their open tastings! Open Saturdays from noon to 5:00 pm year-round; Sundays June 16 - September 1. Enjoy a flight of 7 or more wines.

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.

Stephen Ross Wine Cellars

grape cluster

Stephen Ross's story begins with the "Stephen Ross Dooley wine story" in Minnesota, where in my teenage years curiosity in wine led Stephen to make rhubarb and apple wines in the family basement…

Things progressed on a nice upward trajectory from that point. Curiosity evolved into a passion for winemaking, which led to a degree in Enology from The University of California, Davis;  then 10 years of winemaking (all vinifera from here on out, thankfully) in the Napa Valley, two southern hemisphere harvests, and seven years in the Edna Valley before launching his brand, Stephen Ross.  Paula joined the team soon after Stephen hired their first employee in 2005. A companion brand, Flying Cloud, was launched in 2003. 

Stephen Ross was founded on the principles of working with quality vineyards and hand-crafting the best wines possible from the grapes they yield. 

Markus Wine Co

Markus Wine Co Team - Markus Wine

Founded in 2014, Markus Wine Co was launched from Lodi’s first boutique winery, Borra Vineyards. Swiss-born winemaker Markus Niggli selects from wisely-planted ancient vines and newly-planted unusual offerings.  The wines produced are ageless and memorable – to drink young or with a decade or more of age, and still be elegant. Markus Wine Co wines are fruit-driven, yet balanced with higher acidity than you find in many wines, and with soft, integrated tannins, to be enjoyed with meals. The Markus team believes that the real winemaking happens out in the vineyard and allow the vineyard and the wine grapes show their full expresion in your glass. 

Currently offering their delightful wines online through their website. Califonria Corks will be notified when on-site tastings become available. 

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