Winery Tasting Rooms Remain Open During Ongoing Legal Challenges

Chris Polychron of Coast Law Group filed an appeal of the San Diego County Tiered Winery Zoning Ordinance of 2010 on behalf of the SD Citizenry group on June 10, 2011 with the Superior Court of California. It was received on June 22, 2011 by the California Appellate Court.

Polychron filed the required brief on Monday of this week  (Nov 14^th 2011) appealing Judge Timothy Taylor’s April 15, 2011 ruling denying the anti-winery group’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) based challenge.

Judge Taylor’s April ruling also ordered the SD Citizenry group as part of their lawsuit loss, to reimburse the County the $16,433.67 cost the County incurred to prepare the Administrative Record for the lawsuit.

The County is now working on a response brief, having 30 days plus an additional 30 day grace period. SD Citizenry’s attorneys will then file a response and then appellate court will schedule an oral argument.

The appeals process will take many more months but the current ordinance remains in effect and winery tasting rooms remain OPEN FOR BUSINESS for the enjoyment of San Diego wine lovers and tourists.

Legislative background: San Diego County Supervisors unanimously approved on august 4th 2010 a Tiered Winery Zoning Ordinance and General Plan amendment that allows boutique wineries by right of land ownership, to open tasting rooms on land with A70 or A72 agricultural zoned land. This action sought to encourage jobs, commerce, and agricultural activity in the County. The  stimulus provided by this ordinance is particularly needed during the current economic crisis.

From prior posts - Winery opponents appealed their April 2011 Court loss along with a $16.4K award of administrative record preparation costs to the County.

Opponents in their appeal are again asserting CEQA violations and contest the order to pay the County $16.4K in administrative record preparation costs.

The appeals process is long and complicated so the end date of this process is TBD, a current estimate is a several months beyond November 2011. 

As before, and in the mean time, the 2010 Tiered Ordinance stands enabling public Tasting Rooms in San Diego County Wine Country – so local wine lovers and visiting wine tourists are encouraged to visit and support San Diego County’s Award Winning Boutique Wineries.

As you may recall, the Superior Court of California issued a ruling Friday April 15th 2011 that upheld the San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance.

Back in September 2010 “San Diego Citizenry Group” challenged the ordinance on CEQA grounds, seeking an injunction against its provisions.

Furthermore Citizenry was ordered to reimburse the County $16,444 for legal defense costs.

This hard-fought ordinance was over four years in the making, and was finally passed unanimously by the Supervisors in August 2010.

The thoughtful ordinance provided for a multi-level or “tiered” winery industry and in part, grants badly needed by-right tasting rooms to Boutique Wineries eliminating an onerous ~$250,000 Major Use Permit process that was effectively preventing this fledgling industry from happening – ironically in one of the (potentially) best wine-grape growing regions in the state .

As in August 2010, local wine lovers and wineries must hold their collective breath for a few more months with the hope and expectation that the Appeals Court upholds the original ruling against the opponents and in support of the County winery ordinance.

Appeal aside, area wineries continue to face costly and prohibitive building permit mandates by the County Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU). This is the next issue that the Supervisors will need to address. Sadly the local building industry would benefit from these projects if excessive standards were not forced upon Boutique Wineries.

In the mean time, locals, please (again) raise a glass and toast the visionary Supervisors and wish the wineries the best as they begin work this next bureaucratic challenge. Let’s also toast to the future wisdom of the Appeals Court to decline the Winery Opposition’s appeal of their April lawsuit loss.

“Salute” (Italian)

“Salud” (Spanish & Latin America)
“Santé” (French)

My post in September 2010 started off saying “We had been holding off hoping to finally post good news for San Diego County wine lovers, tourism, and the community as a whole, but alas, that is not the case.”

The wine grape harvest for 2010 has been delayed in much of California, Oregon, and Washington state, due to cool weather so we have time to post on this topic today as we urge the brix (wine grape sugar content) upward.

You say: “Hey! I saw that the San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance passed on August 4th – Hooray!

When are the new winery tasting rooms opening? I can’t wait!!!”

Well wait you must.

Lawsuits as a weapon of mass obstruction: While the San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance still stands, anyone opening a tasting room under its current provisions is are risk of premature shut- down if the courts issue an injunction as a result of the lawsuit that has been filed (3 Sept) by a local group of ordinance opponents. A similar lawsuit threat was raised some two years ago by the same opponents.

CEQA a complicated well-meaning law: Those of you who are familiar with California Environmental law – primarily the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), know that this well meaning law has been used not only to protect the environment, but also in an unintended way, as a tool to stop development and projects beneficial to the community.

After the last lawsuit threat, San Diego County regrouped and spent $250,000 completing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) plus the cost of associated staff time, hearings, and public review processes to provide the legal means of moving forward with a county-wide winery ordinance.

Most folks in the county we’ve discussed these issues with, support San Diego’s nascent winery industry, agriculture and business in general. They cannot understand why the opponents continually block this beneficial initiative.

Others residents simply can’t understand the County’s prohibitively expensive permitting process – when wineries state-wide have reasonable and affordable opportunities for on-site tasting rooms and sales. The delays and cost inherent in the prior ordinance are the primary reason there has only been ONE new on-site winery tasting room open in the last few years. When advised of a $250,000 winery Major Use Permit (MUP) most citizens (rightfully) display a jaw- drop of significant proportions and typically say “That’s ridiculous.”

To be fair here, it’s important to point out the County Supervisors recognize the chilling impact the current permitting process has on agriculture and wineries and they took significant action to rectify the situation in the form of a two year effort crafting the Tiered Winery Ordinance and directing the EIR – but their visionary efforts were derailed by yet another lawsuit.

Economics (or not) of small wineries: Vince Vasquez and Eric Larson of the San Diego Farm Bureau explain the economics of water-wise wine grapes and small San Diego family-owned wineries in this May 15th weekly National University Impact San Diego radio public policy show “San Diego and the local wine industry!” The show can be streamed, or downloaded as a Podcast at this link .

The economics of scale that exist (well actually there are none) at a premium Boutique winery require on-site retail sales to maximize profits to sustain operations. Premium wines require tastings to appreciate their uniqueness and quality. For example, 100% of Eagles Nest 2007-2008 wines and Ports have won medals gold-silver-bronze – a total of 30 in the 2009-2010 competition year.

The overhead of an off-site tasting room for a family winery operation is untenable and cooperative tasting rooms in our area have consistently failed. Case study after case study have emphasized the importance of on-site retail and wine club sales for Boutiques – and the many years needed to achieve profitability due to the heavy capitalization of a winery. These are not high volume operations that can efficiently and amazingly produce, bottle, distribute, and sell a quaff-able daily wine for a profit at a few bucks a bottle. Many if not most wine tourists want to see the vineyards where the wines originated and meet the winemaker at the winery – this can’t be done with an urban tasting room.

For an insight into the amazing Two-Buck-Chuck story, see a post from earlier this year on this site detailing Fred Franzia’s Bronco Winery operation at this link. If you are interested in more information about Eagles Nest you can see a this week’s San Diego Reader magazine at this link.

We’ve stated in testimony at Supervisor and Planning Commission hearings (this link ) that tasting room permissions and on-site retail sales of wine are “mission critical” (in military parlance that veterans will understand) – a capability critical to achieving goals – mission success. Small wineries do not have the (immense) economies of scale that large operations have, and by-the-way 90% of wineries in California are small family operations. Boutiques cannot operate on a wholesale, retail, or restaurant basis alone particularly in the current economic malaise that exists locally and globally.

There will never be a large winery in San Diego County: Practically speaking, there will never be a “danger” of large wineries in San Diego County – the agricultural parcels are too small, the terrain too sloping, and the number of vineyards too low to sustain many wineries. The Boutiques reflected in the Tiered Winery Ordinance are by wine volume 1/100th of what would be considered a “small winery” in the industry – thus a Boutique is more a microscopic or nano-winery.

If and until until San Diego County leadership can overcome CEQA challenges, and deliver tasting rooms with retail sales permissions to small family wineries, the citizens of San Diego County will have to drive to Riverside (Temecula), Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Napa, or Sonoma counties – sadly, there will be NO wine industry here.

What you can do: San Diego County residents supporting wineries are urged to remain aware and involved politically and voice their support for legislation supporting the local wine industry. Communicate your support for the ordinance to your Supervisor contact them via this link. No problem ever got better without the participation of an educated committed constituency. Thank your Supervisors for their effort on this ordinance and offer your support for tasting rooms at local wineries!

If you are interested in more information about Eagles Nest you can see an article on us in San Diego Reader magazine at this link. Or simply visit the many blog posts on this (public) blog.

Our Web 1.0 website is http://eaglesnestwinery.com and our private blog for customers is http://eaglesnestwinery.ning.com . We’re a leading winery on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eaglesnestwine and on Facebook at this link.

Good news at long last!

The Superior Court of California issued a ruling Friday April 15th 2011 that upheld the San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance.

Back in September 2010 “San Diego Citizenry Group” challenged the ordinance on CEQA grounds, seeking an injunction against its provisions.

Furthermore Citizenry was ordered to reimburse the County $16,444 for legal defense costs.

This hard-fought ordinance was over four years in the making, and was finally passed unanimously by the Supervisors in August 2010.

The thoughtful ordinance provided for a multi-level or “tiered” winery industry and in part, grants badly needed by-right tasting rooms to Boutique Wineries eliminating an onerous ~$250,000 Major Use Permit process that was effectively preventing this fledgling industry from happening – ironically in one of the (potentially) best wine-grape growing regions in the state .

As in August 2010, local wine lovers and wineries must hold their collective breath for a few weeks and see if an appeal is filed by the winery opponents.

Barring an appeal, area wineries continue to face costly and prohibitive building permit mandates by the County Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU). This is the next issue that the Supervisors will need to address.  Sadly the local building industry would benefit from these projects if excessive standards were not forced upon Boutique Wineries.

In the mean time, locals, please raise a glass and toast the visionary Supervisors and wish the wineries the best as they begin work this next bureaucratic challenge.

“Salute”  (Italian)
“Salud”  (Spanish & Latin America)
“Santé”  (French)

My post in September 2010 started off saying “We had been holding off hoping to finally post good news for San Diego County wine lovers, tourism, and the community as a whole, but alas, that is not the case.”

The wine grape harvest for 2010 has been delayed in much of  California, Oregon, and Washington state,  due to cool weather so we have time to post on this topic today as we urge the brix (wine grape sugar content) upward.

You say: “Hey! I saw that the  San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance passed on August 4th – Hooray!

When are the new winery tasting rooms opening? I can’t wait!!!”

Well wait you must.

Lawsuits as a weapon of mass obstruction: While the San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance still stands, anyone opening a tasting room under its current provisions is are risk of premature shut- down if the courts issue an injunction as a result of the lawsuit that has been filed (3 Sept) by a local group of ordinance opponents. A similar lawsuit threat was raised some two years ago by the same opponents.

CEQA a complicated well-meaning law: Those of you who are familiar with California Environmental law – primarily the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), know that this well meaning law has been used not only to protect the environment, but also in an unintended  way, as a tool to stop development and projects beneficial  to the community.

After the last lawsuit threat,  San Diego County regrouped and spent $250,000 completing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) plus the cost of associated staff time, hearings, and public review processes to provide the legal means of moving forward with a county-wide winery ordinance.

Most folks in the county we’ve discussed these issues with,  support San Diego’s nascent winery industry, agriculture and business in general. They cannot understand why the opponents continually block this beneficial initiative.

Others residents simply can’t understand the County’s prohibitively expensive permitting process – when wineries state-wide have reasonable and affordable opportunities for on-site tasting rooms and sales. The delays and cost inherent in the prior ordinance are the primary reason there has only been ONE new on-site winery tasting room open in the last few years. When advised of a $250,000 winery Major Use Permit (MUP) most citizens (rightfully) display a jaw- drop of significant proportions and typically say “That’s ridiculous.”

To be fair here, it’s important to  point out the County Supervisors recognize the chilling impact the current permitting process has on agriculture and wineries and they took significant action to rectify the situation in the form of a two year effort crafting the Tiered Winery Ordinance and directing the EIR – but their visionary efforts were derailed by yet another lawsuit.

Economics (or not) of small wineries: Vince Vasquez and Eric Larson of the San Diego Farm Bureau explain the economics of water-wise wine grapes and small San Diego family-owned wineries in this May 15th weekly National University Impact San Diego radio public policy show  “San Diego and the local wine industry!” The show can be streamed, or downloaded as a Podcast at this link .

The economics of scale that exist (well actually there are none) at a premium Boutique winery require on-site retail sales to maximize profits to  sustain operations. Premium wines require tastings to appreciate their uniqueness and quality.  For example, 100% of Eagles Nest 2007-2008 wines and Ports have won medals gold-silver-bronze – a total of 30  in the 2009-2010 competition year.

The overhead of an off-site tasting room for a family winery operation is untenable and cooperative tasting rooms in our area have consistently failed.  Case study after case study emphasize the importance of on-site retail and wine club sales for Boutiques – and the many years needed to achieve profitability due to the heavy capitalization of a winery.  These are not Two-Buck-Chuck operations that can efficiently amazingly produce, bottle, distribute, and sell a quaff-able daily wine for a profit at a few bucks a bottle.

For an insight into the amazing Two-Buck-Chuck story, see a post from earlier this year on this site detailing Fred Franzia’s Bronco Winery operation at this link. If you are interested in more information about Eagles Nest you can see a this week’s San Diego Reader magazine at this link.

We’ve stated in testimony at Supervisor and Planning Commission hearings  (this link )  that tasting room permissions and on-site retail sales of wine are “mission critical” (in military parlance that veterans will understand) – a capability critical to achieving goals – mission success.  Small wineries do not have the (immense) economies of scale that large operations have, and by-the-way 90% of wineries in California are small family operations.  Boutiques cannot operate on a wholesale, retail, or restaurant basis alone particularly in the current economic malaise that exists locally and globally.

There will never be a large winery in San Diego County: Practically speaking, there will never be a “danger” of large wineries in San Diego County – the agricultural parcels are too small, the terrain too sloping, and the number of vineyards too low to sustain many wineries.  The Boutiques reflected in the Tiered Winery Ordinance are by wine volume 1/100th of what would be considered a “small winery” in the industry – thus a Boutique is more a microscopic or nano-winery.

If and until until San Diego County leadership can overcome CEQA challenges, and deliver tasting rooms with retail sales permissions to small family wineries, the citizens of San Diego County will have to drive to Riverside (Temecula), Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Napa, or Sonoma counties – sadly, there will be NO wine industry here.

What you can do: San Diego County residents supporting wineries are urged to remain aware and involved politically and voice their support for legislation supporting the local wine industry. Communicate your support for the ordinance to your Supervisor contact them via this link. No problem ever got better without the participation of an educated committed constituency. Thank your Supervisors for their effort on this ordinance and offer your support for tasting rooms at local wineries!

If you are interested in more information about Eagles Nest you can see an article on us in San Diego Reader magazine at this link. Or simply visit the many blog posts on this (public) blog.

Our Web 1.0 website is http://eaglesnestwinery.com and our private blog for customers is http://eaglesnestwinery.ning.com . We’re a leading winery on Twittter at http://twitter.com/eaglesnestwine and on Facebook at this link.

Typical winery sign post - Amador County near Sacramento

My post in September 2010 started off saying “We had been holding off hoping to finally post good news for San Diego County wine lovers, tourism, and the community as a whole, but alas, that is not the case.”

The wine grape harvest for 2010 has been delayed in much of  California, Oregon, and Washington state,  due to cool weather so we have time to post on this topic today as we urge the brix (wine grape sugar content) upward.

You say: “Hey! I saw that the  San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance passed on August 4th – Hooray!

When are the new winery tasting rooms opening? I can’t wait!!!”

Well wait you must.

Lawsuits as a weapon of mass obstruction: While the San Diego County Tiered Winery Ordinance still stands, anyone opening a tasting room under its current provisions is are risk of premature shut- down if the courts issue an injunction as a result of the lawsuit that has been filed (3 Sept) by a local group of ordinance opponents. A similar lawsuit threat was raised some two years ago by the same opponents.

CEQA a complicated well-meaning law: Those of you who are familiar with California Environmental law – primarily the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), know that this well meaning law has been used not only to protect the environment, but also in an unintended  way, as a tool to stop development and projects beneficial  to the community.

After the last lawsuit threat,  San Diego County regrouped and spent $250,000 completing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) plus the cost of associated staff time, hearings, and public review processes to provide the legal means of moving forward with a county-wide winery ordinance.

Most folks in the county we’ve discussed these issues with,  support San Diego’s nascent winery industry, agriculture and business in general. They cannot understand why the opponents continually block this beneficial initiative.

Others residents simply can’t understand the County’s prohibitively expensive permitting process – when wineries state-wide have reasonable and affordable opportunities for on-site tasting rooms and sales. The delays and cost inherent in the prior ordinance are the primary reason there has only been ONE new on-site winery tasting room open in the last few years. When advised of a $250,000 winery Major Use Permit (MUP) most citizens (rightfully) display a jaw- drop of significant proportions and typically say “That’s ridiculous.”

To be fair here, it’s important to  point out the County Supervisors recognize the chilling impact the current permitting process has on agriculture and wineries and they took significant action to rectify the situation in the form of a two year effort crafting the Tiered Winery Ordinance and directing the EIR – but their visionary efforts were derailed by yet another lawsuit.

Economics (or not) of small wineries: Vince Vasquez and Eric Larson of the San Diego Farm Bureau explain the economics of water-wise wine grapes and small San Diego family-owned wineries in this May 15th weekly National University Impact San Diego radio public policy show  “San Diego and the local wine industry!” The show can be streamed, or downloaded as a Podcast at this link .

The economics of scale that exist (well actually there are none) at a premium Boutique winery require on-site retail sales to maximize profits to  sustain operations. Premium wines require tastings to appreciate their uniqueness and quality.  For example, 100% of Eagles Nest 2007-2008 wines and Ports have won medals gold-silver-bronze – a total of 30  in the 2009-2010 competition year.

The overhead of an off-site tasting room for a family winery operation is untenable and cooperative tasting rooms in our area have consistently failed.  Case study after case study emphasize the importance of on-site retail and wine club sales for Boutiques – and the many years needed to achieve profitability due to the heavy capitalization of a winery.  These are not Two-Buck-Chuck operations that can efficiently amazingly produce, bottle, distribute, and sell a quaff-able daily wine for a profit at a few bucks a bottle.

For an insight into the amazing Two-Buck-Chuck story, see a post from earlier this year on this site detailing Fred Franzia’s Bronco Winery operation at this link. If you are interested in more information about Eagles Nest you can see a this week’s San Diego Reader magazine at this link.

We’ve stated in testimony at Supervisor and Planning Commission hearings  (this link )  that tasting room permissions and on-site retail sales of wine are “mission critical” (in military parlance that veterans will understand) – a capability critical to achieving goals – mission success.  Small wineries do not have the (immense) economies of scale that large operations have, and by-the-way 90% of wineries in California are small family operations.  Boutiques cannot operate on a wholesale, retail, or restaurant basis alone particularly in the current economic malaise that exists locally and globally.

There will never be a large winery in San Diego County: Practically speaking, there will never be a “danger” of large wineries in San Diego County – the agricultural parcels are too small, the terrain too sloping, and the number of vineyards too low to sustain many wineries.  The Boutiques reflected in the Tiered Winery Ordinance are by wine volume 1/100th of what would be considered a “small winery” in the industry – thus a Boutique is more a microscopic or nano-winery.

If and until until San Diego County leadership can overcome CEQA challenges, and deliver tasting rooms with retail sales permissions to small family wineries, the citizens of San Diego County will have to drive to Riverside (Temecula), Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Napa, or Sonoma counties – sadly, there will be NO wine industry here.

What you can do: San Diego County residents supporting wineries are urged to remain aware and involved politically and voice their support for legislation supporting the local wine industry. Communicate your support for the ordinance to your Supervisor contact them via this link. No problem ever got better without the participation of an educated committed constituency. Thank your Supervisors for their effort on this ordinance and offer your support for tasting rooms at local wineries!

If you are interested in more information about Eagles Nest you can see a this week’s San Diego Reader magazine at this link. Or simply visit the many blog posts on this public blog.

Our Web 1.0 website is http://eaglesnestwinery.com and our private blog for customers is http://eaglesnestwinery.ning.com . We’re a leading winery on Twittter at http://twitter.com/eaglesnestwine and on Facebook at this link.

The just-completed WBC10 was an outstanding compilation of Washington Wineries, eastern Washington AVA vineyards, and capable and passionate wine makers from the  Walla Walla , Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Prosser and Spokane regions. Wine tastings were offered from other areas including the Columbia Gorge , California wines, and Spanish wines to name others.

Pre-Conference tours of the Yakima Valley AVA (Barb Glover and the board on the Wine Yakima Valley association), and wines included Airfield Estates Winery, Barnard Griffin Winery, Chandler Reach Vineyards, Chinook Wines, Cote Bonneville, Cultura Wine, Desert Wind Winery, Grenache Vintners, Gilbert Cellars, Goose Ridge Estate Vineyards & Winery, Kana Winery, Kestrel Vintners, Knight Hill Winery, Mercer Estates, Mibrandt Vineyards, Naches Heights Vineyard, Owen Roe, Steppe Cellars, Thurston Wolfe, and Two Mountain Winery.  The Prosser area features a unique collection of wineries and tasting rooms named (Prosser)  Vintner Village.

The Post-tour to Red Mountain AVA (hosted by the wineries and grapegrowers of the Red Mountain AVA Alliance and Tri-City Visitor and Convention Bureau. was both enjoyable and informative including wines from Col Solare, Hedges Family Estate, Kiona, Terra Blanca Winery, and other wineries of the Red Mountain AVA Alliance.

Centered at the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel in Downtown Walla Walla, the event included practical and technical presentations on Web 2.0 technologies and techniques, wine tastings, food pairings (Chef Jeffrey Saad), Washington state wine geology (Professor of Geology Kevin Pogue of  Whitman College)  and valuable field trips including vineyard walks, winery visits,  and winemaker-lead tasting and discussion panels. An after hours Downtown Walla Walla tasting room walkabout provided an urban touch.   A fortunate few on the self named (Twitter) @jackpotbus toured the vineyards of,  met, and shared wine with – Washington’s winery icon Gary Figgins of Leonetti Cellar and toured the beautiful and eclectic  Basel Cellars Estate Winery.

In closing, the conference provided us an excellent insight into the the grape growing potential of the area, as well as the high quality wine offerings by the universally passionate winemakers/ winemaking staffs of the region.

We have always been cheerleaders of all wine regions and Washington state is no exception.

If you ever get the opportunity to direct your personal wine tourism towards the Northwestern-most corner of the Continental United States,  try Washington and its wines and don’t forget the neighboring Columbia Gorge wines including both the Washington and Oregon offerings.

Col Solare Estate Vineyards, Red Mountain AVA, Washington (Click for larger image)

Over 30 judges from around the United States evaluated via blind tastings, and scored nearly 2,000 total entries and awarding medals to wines worthy of merit.

This is a rigorous, professionally conducted wine competition where experienced judges award medals to less than one in four wines entered. Congratulations are in order for all winning International and US wineries!

The full listing of the 2010 competition can be seen/searched at this SDIWC link.

Presently 100% of our 2007 & 2008 releases of Estate grown Wines & Ports are Gold, Silver & Bronze medalists, and 88% of our total 2007 & 2008 releases are medalists – in highly credible National, International, and Regional wine competitions since last year.

Eagles Nest Winery, (TWITTER @EaglesNestWine and Facebook click here) a leading Boutique Winery located n the Ramona Valley AVA near San Diego, California was honored as one of only four medal winning San Diego County wineries in this year’s 201o competition including Fallbrook , Orfila,  and Shadow Mountain.

When you consider the large number of multi-million dollar national and international winery operations that participated in this professional competition, this showing reflects very well on Eagles Nest as a small, family owned and operated winery producing quality wines from locally grown wine-grapes.

Eagles Nest Winery’s winning wines were 2008 Estate Picpoul Blanc White-Port Styled Dessert Wine 100% grown and produced on the Estate from a unique Rhone varietal features a delicate tropical fruit nose and smooth character.

Eagles Nest 2007 Private Reserve Merlo t made from 100% Merlot, this is a rich full bodied, deeply colored with dusty tannins produced from high quality San Diego County Merlot grapes.

Both these wines scored Silver medals reflecting “wines that are well made, absent flaws, and expressive, reflecting good viticultural and winemaking standards..”

Michael Franz, Editor of Wine Review Online, returned for his third year as Chief Judge. The SDIWC was held at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego for the seventh consecutive year. The Westgate is a premier hotel property in the heart of San Diego, and provides an elegant and functional backdrop for visiting judges.

The Director is nationally syndicated wine columnist Robert Whitley. Judges for the 2010 San Diego International Wine Competition were hand-picked by Whitley, whose experience at managing wine competitions is second to none.

Robert also serves as Director of the Critics Challenge, the Sommelier Challenge, the Winemaker Challenge and the Monterey Wine Competition, which he co-founded with the Salinas Valley Fair in 1994.

SDIWC judging guidelines were as follows:

1.  The San Diego International Wine Competition is a blind tasting. Wines will be evaluated absent information about producer, vintage or price.

2.  Because wines have been submitted from the world over, judges may ask questions pertaining to origin so that wines can be evaluated in context.

3.  Judges should take into account the fact that winemaking styles vary. A wine that is well made within a legitimate style for the grape and category should be judged accordingly, regardless of any personal preference for an alternative style.

4.  Judges may compare notes with others on the panel, but each vote should be independent and reflect the personal opinion of each judge.

5.  Votes will be taken at the conclusion of each flight and recorded by the table monitor.

Silver Medal

A silver medal should be awarded to wines that are well made, absent flaws, and expressive, reflecting good viticultural and winemaking standards.

Gold Medal

A gold medal should be awarded to wines exhibiting outstanding intensity of flavor and/or complexity. While palate weight can be a positive factor in the evaluation, more delicate wines that possess exceptional nuance should not be overlooked for gold-medal consideration. Mineral-driven and fruit-driven wines should be given equal consideration. A gold-medal wine should leave the judge with an extremely positive overall impression.

Best of Show/Platinum

Any wine the judges believe would be competitive for best in its class should be put forward for the “Sweepstakes” round of judging to determine Best of Show in its category. All wines nominated for Best of Show will automatically be elevated to a Platinum medal.

Thanks go out to the judges and the volunteer staff of this year’s competition – Your hard work made this event a resounding success.

Adam’s Back, Wins SDIWC Best of Show Red
With LaZarre 2007 Central Coast Pinot Noir

By Robert Whitley
Creators Syndicate

There was a time, not that many years ago, when a brash young winemaker at Hahn Estates ruled the wine competition world from Los Angeles to London.

Under the skillful direction of Adam LaZarre, the Monterey County winery scored major trophies at big wine competitions around the globe. And they did it with modestly priced wines, such as a $16 Cabernet Sauvignon, a $14 Merlot and a red Bordeaux-style blend for less than $20.

For a time, it seemed a week couldn’t go by without a LaZarre-inspired wine winning best of show in Los Angeles or San Francisco or London, or some other important wine competition venue. LaZarre is no longer at Hahn, having moved 75 miles down U.S Highway 101 to Paso Robles, where he is running the promising start-up winery Villa San-Juliette. He also makes a number of wines under his own LaZarre label.

He may have moved, but LaZarre hasn’t changed all that much. He’s still brash, still prolific, and Sunday afternoon he returned to the winner’s circle at the 27th annual San Diego International Wine Competition.

“I’m back!” LaZarre exclaimed as it was revealed that his 2007 Central Coast LaZarre Pinot Noir ($35) had been voted Best Red Wine of the show. It was no small feat. Among the contenders for best red honors were the 2006 ZD Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($125), the 2007 Bell Clone 6 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($90) and the 2007 Spoto Napa Valley Syrah ($70), platinum award-winners all.

The venerable SDIWC attracted nearly 2,000 entries, bestowed more than 1,000 medals and crowned five best of show winners, including the LaZarre Pinot. Value-seeking consumers should be encouraged to note the 31 judges — winemakers and wine industry professionals — handed out one of the top awards, best of show sparkling, to the relatively inexpensive Korbel Brut Rose ($11). The sleek 2004 Domaine Carneros Le Reve Blanc de Blancs ($85) was in the running for the top honor, but the judges opted instead for the refreshing, bright berry fruit of the Korbel bubbly.

Other best-of-show winners included the 2008 V. Sattui Early Harvest White Riesling ($18.75) as best white, the 2008 Penman Springs Two Roses Syrah Rose ($15) as best rose, and the 2008 Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards Finger Lakes Vidal Blanc Ice Wine ($40 per half bottle) as best dessert.

The weekend was not short on stellar performance, and I have duly noted some of the more impressive efforts.

Fallbrook Winery, which produces fewer than 50,000 cases of wine a year in the far northeast corner of San Diego County (that’s in Southern California, merely 500 miles but light years from the epicenter of American wine, the Napa Valley) saw two of its wines advance to the finals. Though neither won the big prize, Fallbrook’s 2007 33 Degrees North BDX, Gracie Hill Vineyard ($30) was awarded the title Best Meritage and its 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve ($14) was named Best Sauvignon Blanc. Quite an accomplishment for a small Southern California winery few had ever heard of.

On the other hand, Frank Family Vineyards, a well-known Napa Valley producer, made a good deal of noise on Sunday afternoon with three wines in the finals — 2008 Carneros Pinot Noir ($35), 2008 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($32.50) and 2007 Napa Valley Zinfandel ($36.75).
To reach the finals, a wine had to be awarded a Platinum medal, which would be the equivalent of a double gold at other competitions.

Bargain hunters might want to take a close look at the Cycles Gladiator wines. These are produced by Hahn in Monterey County and are uniformly priced at $10 a bottle. The 2007 Merlot was voted Best Merlot, and the 2008 Syrah took gold. The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio all received silver medals.

Cameron Hughes was another big winner from the value category, claiming 11 medals, including a platinum and two golds. Cameron Hughes purchases small lots of leftover wine from prestigious wineries, bottles them under his own name without identifying the winery, and sells them for a fraction of the price they would otherwise fetch.

Cameron Hughes won its Platinum with a 2008 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay, Lot 159 at $15. His golds were for the 2007 Lot 116 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($22) and the 2007 Lot 164 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon ($22). These wines can be found at Costo nationwide in states where stores are permitted to sell wine.

Concannon Vineyard of California’s underrated Livermore Valley was equally impressive in the value arena, winning seven medals, the most expensive of which was the gold-medal winning 2008 Limited Release Central Coast Pinot Noir at $16. The 2008 Conservancy Livermore Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($14) earned platinum.

The East was well represented by Jefferson Vineyards of Virginia. This Charlottesville-area winery grabbed a platinum (2009 Monticello Pinot Gris, $18) and a gold (2007 Monticello Meritage, $30) along with two silvers.

Tiny Opolo Vineyards of Paso Robles earned three medals, but two of those were platinum: 2006 Serenade ($30), a red Bordeaux-style blend, and 2007 Paso Robles Tempranillo ($24).

California’s Amador County, in the Sierra Foothills, got a string showing from Renwood with a platinum, two golds and four silvers. The Platinum was a delicious 2007 Barbera at $23 and the golds were the 2007 Jack Rabbit Flat Zinfandel ($30) and the 2008 Amador Ice Zinfandel at $35 a half bottle.

And the Umpqua Valley of Oregon never had it so good. Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyard rounded up nine medals, including a platinum for its 2009 Gruner Veltliner, Revelation & Rorek Bloc at $24. Reustle Prayer Rock also scored golds with its 2008 Reserve Pinot Noir ($38), its 2008 Reserve Syrah ($38) and its 2008 Reserve Tempranillo ($38).

Of course, the big dog of the competition was V. Sattui of the Napa Valley, as usual. Sattui racked up 19 medals. Among the 19 were the best of show white wine, a platinum award for its 2007 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon ($40), and golds for four other wines.

Sattui wines can only be purchased at the winery tasting room in St. Helena, Calif., where there are expansive picnic grounds and a well-priced selection of all of its award-winning wines.

Many of the award-winning wines will be available to taste and for purchase at the annual Wine & Roses charity wine tasting, June 13, 2010, at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego, where the competition was held. Tickets to Wine & Roses may be purchased at www.WineAndRoses.net.

2010 SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION JUDGES

CHIEF JUDGE

Michael Franz, Editor, Wine Review Online

JUDGES

Thrace Bromberger, Gustavo-Thrace
Richard Carey, Winemaker, Vitis Research
Jac Cole, Winemaker, Spring Mountain Vineyards
Kimberly Charles, Charles Communications
Etienne Cowper, Winemaker, Wilson Creek Winery
Mark Deegan, Henry Wine Group
Traci Dutton, Sommelier
Gary Eberle, Winemaker, Eberle Winery
Bob Foster, California Grapevine
Patty Held, Winery Consultant
Linda Jones-McKee, Wines & Vines
John Larchet, Winemaker, The Australian Premium Wine Collection
Adam LaZarre, Winemaker, Villa San-Juliette
Tim McDonald, Wine Spoken Here
Kate McHugh, Quintessential Wines
Neil McNally, Rosenthal Estate
Jon McPherson, Winemaker, South Coast Winery
Linda Murphy, Decanter
Rebecca Murphy, Dallas Morning News
Ray Pompilio, Wine Appreciation Guild
Nick Ponomareff, California Grapevine
Ron Rawlinson, WineSmith
Lisa Redwine, Sommelier
George Riffle, Sommelier
Roman Roth, Winemaker, Wolffer Estate
Eric Runyon, Southern Wine & Spirits
Jeff Siegel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jennifer Simonetti MW
Bob Small, Los Angeles International Wine Competition
David Stevens, Winemaker, Davon International
Mark Stuart, TheCorkHead.com
Paul Wagner, Balzac Communications
Kevin Walsh, Henry Wine Group
Duncan Williams, Winemaker, Fallbrook Winery
Wilfred Wong, Beverages & More



Back in December of 2009 we were so disappointed to hear that Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher were no longer working for the Wall Street Journal and that their long running Tastings Column was no more.

Below is a summary of their recommendations for a quality winery experience – typically at a small winery is where you can have an unsurpassed, personal experience – and in the words of our favorite Boston Globe Travel writer – Tom Haines: (please read his eloquent article)  “You may never return so buy one wine.”

Further below we share some insights into Wine Tourism, this from a University of Iowa study. Opponents of wineries and tasting rooms are blind to the fact that small winery operations and the insignificant traffic they generate are beneficial to local economies and that wineries are among the most generous and desirable of charitable venues – after all how bad of a mood can community benefactors be in when you are around winery hosts and other wine lovers!?!?

At Wineries Small is Beautiful:

WSJ: DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

Visiting wineries anywhere in the world is a joy and excites many people into a lifetime love affair with wine.

• Visit the small winery you’ve never heard of. You will not be disappointed.
• When people ask us about visiting wineries… they’re simply looking for someone to meet with intimate knowledge of the wines, some interesting wines to taste, and a welcoming environment in which to taste them. This is all most likely to happen at that little winery with the unfamiliar name.
• There are thousands of wineries all over the world that you’ve never heard of. They’re small, family-run and charming. Those are the ones we target.
• Our goal was simply to identify those that were open to the public and drop in. Many wineries are open by appointment only… We prefer to be spontaneous, so we rarely visit those…
• Our own favorite visits, however, are the ones where we’re surrounded by the vineyards and the tanks.
• That’s our kind of winery: small, quirky, friendly and passionate about wine.
• To feel the passion of wine and winemaking, it’s important to seek out the smaller places where you can really spend some quality time with the people behind the bar.

Fifteen (15) Steps to a Successful Winery Visit

Boutique Wineries Offer a Premium wine Experience

Sharing a CLASSIC, time-proven list of sage suggestions from two of our favorite wine writers. This list is  sure to make all your future wine tastings visits a huge success!

We recommend you review before, or take this list with you on each wine outing until you have it committed to your wine appreciation routine.

Fifteen Steps to a Successful Winery Visit ‐‐‐ Go Early, Ask Questions, Don’t Get Carried Away;  The Empty Box Rule

WSJ: 15 Steps to a Successful Winery Visit

June 29, 2007

By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118306817695252069.html?mod=Tastings

There has never been a better time than now ‐‐ right now, this week ‐‐ to go visit a winery near you. All over the U.S., more wineries than ever are open and eager for you to drop by. Many of them plan special events during the summer and entire regions now are heavily promoting their wine trails. (If you missed Weekend Journal’s recent cover story about the spread of American wineries and wine tourism, drop us a note at wine@wsj.com and we’ll send it along.)

Winemakers and winery owners are among the world’s most charming and interesting people, and they often give away samples of their art for free. Why wouldn’t you go? If you do, here are some tips on how to visit wineries, with some suggestions for winery etiquette. We’ve focused here on visiting wineries in newer wine regions, where tourism might not be as well advanced as places like Napa and Sonoma.

‐‐ Get an empty box for wine. Grab one at your local wine store, or think about buying a Styrofoam wine carrier from the shipping store. Trust us on this. You are going to start buying bottles of wine that will rattle around in your car unless you’ve brought a box. You’ll thank us for this advice when your box is full (and this might have an added benefit; see below).

‐‐ Hire a car or have a designated driver. Chances are you will taste more wine than you expected to ‐‐ those little tastes add up. Not only that, but if you’re not used to drinking wine early in the day, it could catch up with you fast. In many of the newer wine regions, the wineries might be spread out, so you have some driving ahead of you. Various tour companies are popping up in wine regions all over the country that are happy to chart your visits to wineries and take you to them.

‐‐ Take the kids, but, if you do, find something for them to do. Wine regions are very pretty around now, so green and lush, and winery people are nice, so it’s a shame for children to miss the experience. But tasting rooms can be boring for children, so ask right away if there are cookies or crackers, animals to play with or anything else for kids to do. Some, though not nearly enough, have basketball nets, bocce courts, coloring books or Play‐Doh. Take along a Rubik’s Cube, which did the trick for our kids for a while.

‐‐ Go early, especially on weekends. The thing that’s the most fun about a winery visit is chatting with the people behind the bar, who are often the owners or winemakers, especially at smaller wineries. They won’t have time to talk with you if it’s busy.

‐‐ Focus on the smaller places. There is something comforting and unintimidating about the larger places with big parking lots, T‐shirts for sale and lots of hired help. But to feel the passion of wine and winemaking, it’s important to seek out the smaller places where you can really spend some quality time with the people behind the bar.

‐‐ Be polite. Yes, this seems obvious, but we’ve visited hundreds of tasting rooms over more than 30 years and we’re always amazed how rude people can be. In a smaller winery, you are likely to be in part of someone’s home and possibly talking to the owner. And you’re probably getting wine free, or for a small charge. Be nice, and show them the respect they deserve.

‐ Try new, unfamiliar things. In many parts of the country, the grapes that grow best are native American grapes or hybrids. Perhaps the winery makes a Chardonnay, but it’s not as good as its Vignoles. If you stick to grapes you know, you could miss out on the regional specialties.

‐‐ Have an answer to the question, “What kind of wine do you like?” Tasting‐room personnel tend to ask this reflexively as an ice‐breaker, but many people who aren’t totally comfortable with wine find it hard to answer on the spot. In any event, we’d be hesitant to answer it directly because we don’t want to try only the kinds of wines we already know we like. Even if you think you only like dry wines, you should try some that are sweet, and vice versa. Think about saying something like, “I enjoy all kinds of wines. Which would you start with?”

‐‐ Ask where the grapes were grown. Many wineries these days all over the country make wine from grapes grown in California or someplace else far away. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but when we visit a winery in, say, Connecticut, part of the fun of the visit is tasting wines made from grapes grown in Connecticut, near where we’re standing. If you don’t want to ask, just peek at the label. If it says “estate bottled,” that’s a sign that the grapes were probably grown right around the corner.

‐‐ Ask questions. Don’t be shy. If you ask simple questions like “Does this look like it will be a good year?” or “What food goes best with this wine?” the person behind the counter will appreciate your interest. Don’t try to show off with questions like, “Did this get any ML?” unless you really, really care about malolactic fermentation. There are no stupid questions ‐‐ and, in any event, you can’t do worse than the visitor who once asked a tasting‐room pourer whom we’ve known for years, “How long does the wine stay in caskets?”

‐‐ Remember that it’s a tasting room, not a bar. If you want to drink a big glass of wine, buy a bottle and have a picnic. And even if you are not driving, be very careful about how much you’re drinking. People who have had too much to drink ruin the tasting experience for everybody.

‐‐ Be careful how much you buy. It’s a nice gesture to buy a bottle or two, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to. Still, we tend to get carried away at wineries and buy more bottles than we intended. You’ll be amazed how quickly those bottles add up. Many wineries now can ship across state lines, so you can probably call and get those wines after you get home if you have non‐buyer’s remorse later.

‐‐ Keep wines out of the hot car. A car that’s sitting in the sun will cook your wines in no time flat. Find a way
to avoid that.

‐‐ Ask wineries how to ship your wine back. If you have bought a case or so at various wineries, you might find it easier to ship it back, so ask if there is a local shipping place that specializes in this. This might not be possible, depending on various state laws, so this is where your Styrofoam carrier comes in: Just pack it and check it on the plane with you. There are obviously some risks involved, but we have done this for decades without incident. (Check with your airline to make sure it has no rules against this.)

‐‐ Finally, keep this in mind: The wines you bought at the winery will not taste as good at home as they did at the winery. We’re sorry to end this list with a downer, but it’s true. When you’re there, surrounded by the wondrous sights and smells of a winery, with the winemaker across the bar, pouring wine in pristine condition that has never traveled, the wine tastes special. You simply can’t replicate those conditions at home. But this is exactly why you should go taste wine at a winery this week.

WSJ: 15 Steps to a Successful Winery Visit

June 29, 2007

By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118306817695252069.html?mod=Tastings

Boutique Wineries Offer a Premium wine Experience

Sharing a CLASSIC, time-proven list of sage suggestions from two of our favorite wine writers. This list is  sure to make all your future wine tastings visits a huge success!

We recommend you review before, or take this list with you on each wine outing until you have it committed to your wine appreciation routine.

Fifteen Steps to a Successful Winery Visit ‐‐‐ Go Early, Ask Questions, Don’t Get Carried Away;  The Empty Box Rule

June 29 2007, The Wall Street Journal. by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher (Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

There has never been a better time than now ‐‐ right now, this week ‐‐ to go visit a winery near you. All over the U.S., more wineries than ever are open and eager for you to drop by. Many of them plan special events during the summer and entire regions now are heavily promoting their wine trails. (If you missed Weekend Journal’s recent cover story about the spread of American wineries and wine tourism, drop us a note at wine@wsj.com and we’ll send it along.)

Winemakers and winery owners are among the world’s most charming and interesting people, and they often give away samples of their art for free. Why wouldn’t you go? If you do, here are some tips on how to visit wineries, with some suggestions for winery etiquette. We’ve focused here on visiting wineries in newer wine regions, where tourism might not be as well advanced as places like Napa and Sonoma.

‐‐ Get an empty box for wine. Grab one at your local wine store, or think about buying a Styrofoam wine carrier from the shipping store. Trust us on this. You are going to start buying bottles of wine that will rattle around in your car unless you’ve brought a box. You’ll thank us for this advice when your box is full (and this might have an added benefit; see below).

‐‐ Hire a car or have a designated driver. Chances are you will taste more wine than you expected to ‐‐ those little tastes add up. Not only that, but if you’re not used to drinking wine early in the day, it could catch up with you fast. In many of the newer wine regions, the wineries might be spread out, so you have some driving ahead of you. Various tour companies are popping up in wine regions all over the country that are happy to chart your visits to wineries and take you to them.

‐‐ Take the kids, but, if you do, find something for them to do. Wine regions are very pretty around now, so green and lush, and winery people are nice, so it’s a shame for children to miss the experience. But tasting rooms can be boring for children, so ask right away if there are cookies or crackers, animals to play with or anything else for kids to do. Some, though not nearly enough, have basketball nets, bocce courts, coloring books or Play‐Doh. Take along a Rubik’s Cube, which did the trick for our kids for a while.

‐‐ Go early, especially on weekends. The thing that’s the most fun about a winery visit is chatting with the people behind the bar, who are often the owners or winemakers, especially at smaller wineries. They won’t have time to talk with you if it’s busy.

‐‐ Focus on the smaller places. There is something comforting and unintimidating about the larger places with big parking lots, T‐shirts for sale and lots of hired help. But to feel the passion of wine and winemaking, it’s important to seek out the smaller places where you can really spend some quality time with the people behind the bar.

‐‐ Be polite. Yes, this seems obvious, but we’ve visited hundreds of tasting rooms over more than 30 years and we’re always amazed how rude people can be. In a smaller winery, you are likely to be in part of someone’s home and possibly talking to the owner. And you’re probably getting wine free, or for a small charge. Be nice, and show them the respect they deserve.

‐ Try new, unfamiliar things. In many parts of the country, the grapes that grow best are native American grapes or hybrids. Perhaps the winery makes a Chardonnay, but it’s not as good as its Vignoles. If you stick to grapes you know, you could miss out on the regional specialties.

‐‐ Have an answer to the question, “What kind of wine do you like?” Tasting‐room personnel tend to ask this reflexively as an ice‐breaker, but many people who aren’t totally comfortable with wine find it hard to answer on the spot. In any event, we’d be hesitant to answer it directly because we don’t want to try only the kinds of wines we already know we like. Even if you think you only like dry wines, you should try some that are sweet, and vice versa. Think about saying something like, “I enjoy all kinds of wines. Which would you start with?”

‐‐ Ask where the grapes were grown. Many wineries these days all over the country make wine from grapes grown in California or someplace else far away. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but when we visit a winery in, say, Connecticut, part of the fun of the visit is tasting wines made from grapes grown in Connecticut, near where we’re standing. If you don’t want to ask, just peek at the label. If it says “estate bottled,” that’s a sign that the grapes were probably grown right around the corner.

‐‐ Ask questions. Don’t be shy. If you ask simple questions like “Does this look like it will be a good year?” or “What food goes best with this wine?” the person behind the counter will appreciate your interest. Don’t try to show off with questions like, “Did this get any ML?” unless you really, really care about malolactic fermentation. There are no stupid questions ‐‐ and, in any event, you can’t do worse than the visitor who once asked a tasting‐room pourer whom we’ve known for years, “How long does the wine stay in caskets?”

‐‐ Remember that it’s a tasting room, not a bar. If you want to drink a big glass of wine, buy a bottle and have a picnic. And even if you are not driving, be very careful about how much you’re drinking. People who have had too much to drink ruin the tasting experience for everybody.

‐‐ Be careful how much you buy. It’s a nice gesture to buy a bottle or two, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to. Still, we tend to get carried away at wineries and buy more bottles than we intended. You’ll be amazed how quickly those bottles add up. Many wineries now can ship across state lines, so you can probably call and get those wines after you get home if you have non‐buyer’s remorse later.

‐‐ Keep wines out of the hot car. A car that’s sitting in the sun will cook your wines in no time flat. Find a way
to avoid that.

‐‐ Ask wineries how to ship your wine back. If you have bought a case or so at various wineries, you might find it easier to ship it back, so ask if there is a local shipping place that specializes in this. This might not be possible, depending on various state laws, so this is where your Styrofoam carrier comes in: Just pack it and check it on the plane with you. There are obviously some risks involved, but we have done this for decades without incident. (Check with your airline to make sure it has no rules against this.)

‐‐ Finally, keep this in mind: The wines you bought at the winery will not taste as good at home as they did at the winery. We’re sorry to end this list with a downer, but it’s true. When you’re there, surrounded by the wondrous sights and smells of a winery, with the winemaker across the bar, pouring wine in pristine condition that has never traveled, the wine tastes special. You simply can’t replicate those conditions at home. But this is exactly why you should go taste wine at a winery this week.

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We recently rounded up a bunch of wine loving associates and friends to visit the beautiful and relaxing Paso Robles  wine country of Central California. This started up as a Twitter wine “tweetup” event and was renamed a “Twamping” event (Twitter+ camping) – by-the-way we’re currently the #2 winery on Twitter – please follow us at @eaglesnestwine

Paso wine country is centered off Highways 101 and 46, the Paso Robles wine region includes 26,000 vineyard acres, producing more than 40 winegrape varieties – from Spanish to Italian, Bordeaux to Rhône, including the area’s heritage variety Zinfandel.  There are over 130 wineries in the region.

Our group stayed at the Wine Country RV Resort off Air Port Road. Wine tasting and wine making research aside, we spent several evenings enjoying the company of new and old friends and culinary delights including fresh grilled oysters,  chicken, and beef, ravioli soup, clams and linguine, and spaghetti with red sauce, fajitas, and assorted salads and desserts – and of course wine.

We visited wineries including Caparone Winery a small father and son operation that makes only red wines including Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Aglianico- all were smooth and very enjoyable. Several cases were purchased. See the YouTube video here.

The owner Dave Caparone was gracious and informative. He also showed us his private collection of restored and in-restoration antique autos.

Next was Jada Winery – a newer winery that focuses on Bordeaux and Rhône-style blends.  Their swanky tasting room was quite a contrast to Caparone’s minimalist approach (but isn’t it all about the wine?)  and they pair some excellent cheeses with their wines.  We paired up on the tastings to remain within their limited industry complimentary tastings policy. A few bottles were purchased.

A late noon tasting and picnic was planned at Justin Winery. Justin features  “left bank” Bordeaux style blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, named ISOSCELES, and JUSTIFICATION, it’s “right bank” Merlot and Cabernet Franc cousin, along with varietal bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and limited amounts of Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot, OBTUSE (Port wine), Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Viognier. The tasting room had a warm rich feel, and the picnic area under old walnut trees providing  shade and a view of the surrounding vineyards.  Several bottles were purchased.

We then proceeded to Tolo Cellars’ historic 1800′s farm house tasting room where Josh the wine maker explained his approach to winemaking in a YouTube video we posted to the Internet.

Tolo features Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and exotic Rhone blends. Tolo’s wines are fermented on native yeast and in Josh’s words ” allow the robust and wild flavors of the vines to exude in the wines.” Several bottles were purchased.

We wrapped up the day with a delightful visit to Tablas Creek Vineyards the source of Eagles Nest Winery vineyard’s Picpoul Blanc vines used in grafts from Santa Rosa’s  Nova Vine nursery.  Megan Buss was our knowledgeable and enthusiastic tasting room host featured in this YouTube video.
Megan and John (tasting room manager) also introduced the winery to our group and discussed the Picpoul Blanc grape in this YouTube video.   Several bottles were purchased.

The following day we visited Jeff Pipes at his family’s Pipestone Vineyards. Jeff is a former environmental engineer and lawyer. His small family operation is 100% solar as of a year ago and is an organic operation. He even used draft horses to plow his vineyard rows to reduce his use of petroleum.  A couple of cases were happily purchased.

We talk with Jeff in this YouTube video.

Our  group also visited several other wineries in the Paso Robles area. We encourage wine lovers to visit the many wine regions of California and support the many smaller family and boutique wineries that need your business and love!

Paso Robles located in California’s Central coast is one of our favorite wine destinations. Napa and Sonoma are “King” and rightfully so. They benefit from their proximity to the San Francisco and Sacramento metro areas.

In October the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is sponsoring CRAVE distinctive event, now in its second year, blends wine tasting tradition with a stylish format geared toward younger millennial wine enthusiasts.

Guests at CRAVE 2008 Paso Robles

Please see below press release

CRAVE – A Paso Robles Wine Experience, Slated for Friday, October 23, 2009

Sunday, 27 September 2009

Paso Robles Wine Country satisfies all your cravings this October with the popular wine tasting event,

CRAVE – A Paso Robles Wine Experience! The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance announced tickets are available at www.pasowine.com for CRAVE, slated for Friday, October 23, 2009 from 7:30 – 10 p.m. This distinctive event, now in its second year, blends wine tasting tradition with a stylish format geared toward millennial wine enthusiasts.

According to the Wine Market Council, the millennial generation exhibits the same receptivity to wine as leading edge baby boomers and offer the wine industry the kind of growth potential not seen in more than thirty years. With wine consumption among this age group on the rise the Alliance recognizes the need to focus marketing programs on millennials. CRAVE targets the next generation of wine consumers, educates in a fun way and positions Paso Robles as the choice wine region.

“CRAVE attendees are encouraged to join us in Paso Robles Wine Country during the harvest season to experience wine country,” said Stacie Jacob, executive director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. “CRAVE is the ideal way for millennials to familiarize themselves with Paso wines. November and December is the perfect time to take advantage of wicked wine steals in preparation for the holiday season.”

Don't see this sign... Get tickets on-line

CRAVE takes place at the Veterans Hall in San Luis Obispo (801 Grand Avenue). Various Paso Robles wine varietal bars are featured and paired with the finest fare of San Luis Obispo County. More than 60 Paso Robles wineries showcase a single wine from their portfolio allowing attendees to focus on each varietal presented. CRAVE is the ultimate Paso Robles wine tasting experience complemented by music in a relaxed, lounge-like atmosphere. Visit www.pasowine.com for a complete listing of the nine varietal bar descriptions and food pairings to be showcased during the event.

Thanks to The Wine Wrangler (www.thewinewrangler.com), various safe rides will be offered free of charge. A safe ride from Downtown Paso Robles, to and from the Veterans Hall in SLO will be available. In addition, three drop-off spots will be offered throughout the evening, including to the Cal Poly Student Union, Laguna Shopping Center and Downtown SLO. Responsible tasting is also an important element of CRAVE. Practice of the Four Ss of responsible tasting — swirl, smell, sip, spit — is a valuable way for wine enthusiasts to experience and understand each wine from first taste to last. This practice is encouraged and is essential to make the most of this Paso Robles Wine Experience.

Tickets are $40 presale and $50 at the door, and include an evening of unlimited tasting, food pairings, as well as a commemorative glass made by Riedel. Be sure to follow Paso Robles Wine on Twitter and become friends with Paso Robles Wine on Facebook to stay updated CRAVE enhancements, exciting offers as well as pre parties and after parties.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.pasowine.com or at 800.549.WINE (9463). Photo identification verifying age will be required at time of entry. Tickets are limited, and advance purchase is highly recommended, as CRAVE sold out in advance in 2008. Free parking will be available at the Veterans Hall Parking lot. For a complete list of wineries participating, to purchase your ticket, or for more information about CRAVE, go to www.pasowine.com.

The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance represents wineries, growers and businesses in Paso Robles Wine Country. Centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California’s Central Coast, Paso Robles Wine Country is California’s fastest growing wine region. It encompasses more than 26,000 vineyard acres and more than 180 wineries. For more information, visit www.pasowine.com

Shared below is SF Chronicle’s Karola Saekel article on Lodi

Lodi: Markus Bokisch sees potential for Lodi in Spanish varietals

Lodi wines get a chance to shine

Karola Saekel

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/28/WIF21939NQ.DTL&type=wine

Friday, August 28, 2009

When fourth-generation grape grower Lance Randolph decided in 1992 to make his own wine, it was not unusual for him to be asked by potential customers, “Lodi where?”

The owner of Peirano Estate would patiently respond with a brief history of his San Joaquin Valley city and extol its potential to produce wines of excellent quality at competitive prices.

More than competitive, in fact. When you don’t have the draw of a name like Napa or Valley of the Moon, he says, you have to entice customers with exceptional value.

Today, not even two decades later, those questions about Lodi’s location are far less likely. With their newfound dedication to not just growing great grapes, which in many instances their grandfathers and great-grandfathers already did, but to also making wines that do the fruit justice, today’s Lodi winegrowers display true pride of place: They put the name Lodi prominently on their labels, a tribute to their thriving little town.

For the record, it’s a city of about 60,000 roughly halfway between Sacramento and Stockton, and the 550,000-acre winegrowing area around it produces more grapes than Napa and Sonoma combined.

At the very least, people in the wine business now are familiar with old-vine Zinfandel from the Lodi appellation, established in 1986. And many know Lodi Rules, a particularly stringent regulation of sustainable practices. As Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Ranches points out, certification is handled by a third-party nonprofit panel, Protective Harvest – not the growers themselves, as is customary in most areas.

Not only do the grapes have to be grown and handled properly, but the farmer has to commit to preserving the environment, from water quality, oak growth and bird habitat to the utilization of human resources.

Bokisch and wife Liz have found their own special niche on the Lodi wine map. Drawing on his heritage – from what is now the Czech Republic on his father’s side, to Spain’s Catalonia on his mother’s – he specializes in Spanish varietals like Albarino. Bokisch produces about 2,000 cases annually, retailing between $16 and $26 per bottle.

That’s a typical price range for local wines, and there are some very drinkable bottles that sell for less. Randolph makes 60,000 cases of 14 different varietals under the Peirano label, retailing for $10 to $15 per bottle.

None of the 70 or so wineries, mostly smaller operations, tries to go head to head with one of the San Joaquin Valley’s biggies, Bronco Wine Co. and its famous Two-Buck Chuck. Other nearby mega-producers are Woodbridge, the bargain Mondavi spin-off (Robert Mondavi grew up in Lodi), now owned by Constellation, and still family-owned Gallo in Modesto.

Despite its long history of growing grapes that made some prominent wineries their loyal customers, Lodi growers have gotten little public recognition. The growers-turned-winemakers of the last 20 or so years aim to get a little respect. Organizations like the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission bolster individual growers’ efforts.

A burgeoning hospitality industry – restaurants, B&Bs and other accommodations – aid the change. It offers wine touring at a price well below what glamour spots like St. Helena or Healdsburg might cost.

Lodi’s economy looks relatively bright. Unlike many prominent wine regions, it doesn’t have a monoculture. The area still supports extensive orchards and grows some of California’s best asparagus. This versatility stood Lodi in good stead during Prohibition, when it also supplied grapes for home winemaking, which was legal. Lodi shipped ton after ton of fruit to the East Coast.

In an odd twist, even the current recession has had a silver lining. Pressure to convert agricultural land to subdivisions for Sacramento and Stockton has eased. It has made life easier for people like Bill Stokes of Benson Ferry Vineyards, another third-generation grape grower, who also plants alfalfa. Stokes says the climate of Lodi’s seven distinct subregions, approved in 2006, allow great flexibility.

He is a major advocate of old-vine Zin, which is distinguished by open growth – no trellises, no wires in these vineyards. It is, he says, an extremely food friendly wine for both fancy and simple dishes. With a laugh, he compares it to a pair of khakis: “You can dress it up or down; it’s always great.” –

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