Great winery conveniently located next to a chocolate shop. Moondance offers wine and port tasting for $5 apiece. In addition to wine, they also have mustard, olive oil, and balsamic samples for you to try. They are in a mutually beneficial relationship with their chocolate selling neighbors. They offer chocolate samples as a pairing with their wines.
As often happens with family-run wineries, Moonstone Cellars started in the basement of Todd Clift and his dad Muril. The hobby quickly got out of control and became a full-time passion. This little gem has won about 500 wards for his creations, working with California Coastal Grapes. The tasting room is just blocks from where it all started in Cambria and offers to delight your palate with a lighter style Grenache, a full-bodied Zinfandel, a Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc, and a dry Gewurztraminer. You can even reserve a room right above the tasting room to spend the night! How convenient. There is a little something for everyone at Moonstone Cellars - a great little stop right in the heart of Cambria's West Village.~
Hours:
Mon- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Tues- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Weds- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Thurs- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Fri- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Sat- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Sun- 11:00 to 5:00pm
Moraga Vineyards, nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains within the prestigious Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, is one of California's most unique wine estates. Perched at 550-900 feet of elevation, the vineyard benefits from a distinctive terroir that shapes its refined wines. The property, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has a rich history and a commitment to excellence.
Winemaking in the Los Angeles Basin dates back centuries, with wild grapes growing in the region since the 1700s. Moraga’s estate honors this history, and its wine label features wild roses, which still bloom on the property today. Originally owned by Victor Fleming, famed director of Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, the land was transformed into a horse ranch in the 1930s. In 1959, Tom and Ruth Jones purchased the property, and by 1980, they had planted grapevines inspired by their love of Bordeaux. Despite early setbacks from Pierce’s disease, they eventually replanted the vineyard with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, establishing Moraga as a serious contender in California winemaking.
The estate’s first commercial vintage was released in 1989, with winemakers such as Bruno D’Alfonso and Tony Soter contributing to its success. A state-of-the-art winery was completed on-site in 2005, cementing Moraga’s status as one of the first bonded commercial wineries in Los Angeles since Prohibition.
In 2021, winemaker Paul Warson joined Moraga, bringing extensive experience from Napa Valley, Australia, and Santa Ynez. Warson’s expertise in estate vineyards ensures that Moraga continues to produce wines of exceptional quality, staying true to the legacy established by the Joneses and carried forward by Murdoch. Alongside his work at Moraga, Paul also crafts his own wines under the Warson Wine Company label, drawing from the Santa Ynez Valley and Los Angeles County.
Painting by Agata Zaborowski
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 him at this tasting 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 of Grenache Gris and Muscat Alexander and is a 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
With over thirty years of experience, Dan Lee has made Morgan Winery a name to know for anyone who loves artisan, vineyard-centric wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands and Monterey.
Originally hailing from a small town in California’s Central Valley, Dan was on a path to study veterinary medicine at UC Davis. However, as fate would have it, he discovered a passion for enology late in his college career—combining his love for science and agriculture in a delicious way! He quickly enrolled in the graduate enology program and landed a winemaking position at Jekel Winery in Monterey County.
After honing his craft at Jekel, Dan moved to Durney Vineyard, where he continued to create exceptional Monterey wines. While making wine full-time, he dreamed of launching his own label. At a Monterey County Winegrowers Association meeting, he shared his vision with a banker who would not only become his business advisor but also his wife, Donna Lee.
In 1982, Dan and Donna opened the doors of Morgan Winery, and their very first Monterey Chardonnay snagged a Gold Medal at the LA County Fair and a Platinum Medal from Wine & Spirits Magazine. Since those early days, Morgan Winery has blossomed into one of the Central Coast’s most celebrated labels, earning “Winery of the Year” honors from both Wine & Spirits in 1996 and the San Francisco Chronicle in 2003.
As Dan’s expertise grew, so did his focus on the Santa Lucia Highlands and single vineyard releases. In 1996, he and Donna made a significant investment by purchasing the Double L Vineyard, which has since become one of California's most renowned vineyards. Dan’s leadership was further recognized when he was named the first Board President of the Santa Lucia Highlands Winegrowers Association in 2005.
Today, Morgan Winery is synonymous with high-quality, artisan wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands and Monterey appellations. Located conveniently off Rio Road at Highway One in the Crossroads Shopping Center of Carmel, Taste Morgan invites wine lovers to immerse themselves in the family’s history and craftsmanship through a relaxed tasting experience.
Guests can enjoy tastings indoors or on the pet-friendly, heated patio, where they can savor a flight of four locally grown and produced wines from a curated tasting menu. Each flight is just $25, and the fee is waived with a $50 purchase. Club members enjoy complimentary tastings!
Whether visiting as a walk-in or reserving a spot in advance, everyone is welcome to indulge in the latest vintages— Join Morgan Winery for a delightful journey through the flavors of the Santa Lucia Highlands!
Chardonnay grape clusters - by photographer Randy Caparoso
We tasted three pinot's a syrah and two cabs. The three pinot's were from the same vineyard in Sonoma but from three different blocks. Three distinctly different wines. All very Burgundian in crafting but with that amazing Sonoma Coast fruit. My favorite style...French winemaking but with CA fruit! The Syrah was amazing. Once again, very French. Northern Rhone in crafting but with Bennet Valley fruit. The Cabs...well, they were quite simply amazing. Two totally different wines from two different AVA's.
Unconventional by Nature - Winemaker Robert Morse
Terroir is everything, but so as they say is location, and sometimes those aren’t the same place. We have chosen to stay at our vineyard, winery and estate tasting room to allow our customers to experience our unigue terroir. Opposed to what might seem apparent by the concentration of valley wineries, the best vineyard sites are not necessarily alongside the pre-existing major thoroughfares.
In the Foothills, we can grow any warm climate varietals but focus on those that perform at their best in granitic soils. Italian and Rhone varietals benefit from our consistently ideal climate. Our vineyard and winery’s location straddles ridgelines above an elevation of 2000 ft, benefitting from cooling afternoon breezes, abundant sunshine and low yielding rocky soils resulting in our unique terroir.
The Il Gioiello, “the jewel,” name comes from the final home of famed astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei. Our 2 Roads brand name was inspired by my favorite Robert Frost poem and Morse is my name and most importantly the name of my parents. All three have inspired a slightly different approach to my choices and my respect for integrity, honesty and hard work.
Our wines and winery reflect these values; unpretentious, no concentrates or additives, just wine grapes and great value wines. In my life, the right wine has always been the wingman of a good meal, not the star of the meal. I recall great meals far better than other pleasures and that is why we make “food wines”.
As the French proverb says, “to have a great meal, one requires great hunger”. Having 17 unique estate varietals and clones allow us to create complexity and balance in our wines difficult to achieve with single varietals.
When asked about my favorite wine, the answer is always the same, “what are we eating”. If I’m having a glass of wine without the benefit of food, our 2 Roads blends Crossroad and La Strada are soft, fruity and complex.
photo - courtesy photographer Randy Caparoso
Moseley Family Cellars is a small, family-owned winery in Redding California. Mimi and Marty did not start out with tons of dollars in the bank when starting Moseley Family Cellars. However, Mimi and Marty Moseley had tons of passion and some experience in traveling around the sun on this planet for a few years and being involved with other ventures. It has been enjoyable to watch Moseley Family Cellars grow from a small storefront to a fully operational winery. When they say; “Come as friends, leave as family." You know they mean it.~
Hours:
Thu 12:00 am to 5:00 pm
Fri 12:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sat 12:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sun 12:00 am to 5:00 pm
If you like Pinot you will love this winery. Just driving to this winery is reason enough to visit! Its a small winery, that isn't super cute, but the service and tastings were great! Our server asked if he could just pour what he wanted and we ended up getting an extensive tasting.
Mount Eden Vineyards, a historic gem, perches at 2,000 feet in the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation, offering breathtaking views of Silicon Valley, about 50 miles south of San Francisco. Established in 1945, this pioneering boutique winery specializes in small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. With the longest lineage of estate-bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in California, Mount Eden's vineyards, planted in the austere, infertile Franciscan shale of a cool, exposed mountaintop, have produced world-class wines for over half a century. In 2007, the vineyard expanded by acquiring a 55-acre estate in the Saratoga foothills, known as Domaine Eden.
In addition to their estate wines, Mount Eden Vineyards crafts non-estate Chardonnays from the Central Coast, notably the Edna Valley. Their Chardonnay from the Wolff Vineyard is particularly acclaimed, consistently earning accolades.
Since 1981, Jeffrey Patterson has been at the helm of Mount Eden's winemaking and grape growing. His philosophy prioritizes wine growing over winemaking, with a fervent commitment to gentle and natural handling of the grapes and wines.