white wine excursions are a lot of fun. but if we’re talking understatements, the excursion I went on with San Diego Beer and white wine excursions recently was the best yet! It had the best mix of an entertaining guide, extraordinary southern Californian scenery and some surprisingly good wines.
San Diego is kind of best for making wine. plenty of sun, not much water, rolling hills and fertile land… and a lot of importantly – very thirsty locals!
And those locals have had a thirst for quite some time.
This region of southern California we were headed for has the oldest grape vines in the whole of the States.
San Pasqual Valley and Ramona Valley are what’s called AVA regions. AVA is an American Viticultural area – a designated region for growing grapes and making white wine defined by the Government.
I know all this thanks to the very educational cellar door white wine tour of the San Pasqual and Ramona Valleys I went on recently with San Diego white wine & Beer Tours.
Our guide, Paul Anthony, told me all this as we zoomed down the freeway heading north-east. On the way he pointed out some fascinating elements that made the drive to the first winery go very quickly.
He gave us a quick run-down on the history to California and of San Diego, and how the vines growing in the San Pasqual Valley were planted here in the 1770s, and he gave us some very helpful guidelines on what to do and how to act at the cellar door.
Our first winery, Bernardo Winery, was started by 5 Sicilian people in 1889.
It’s an remarkable configuration at Bernado. The tasting room and gift shop is also the cellar door now. but you can take your (impressively full) sampling glass outside into the cute little street to explore.
From its clearly humble beginnings, where the white wine was originally made, little shops and cafés have sprung up, there’s a place where blown glass is made and sold, a pottery shop and even a little museum. A lot of the old equipment they used to use is still here on display. If you’re anything like Mrs romance and take pleasure in taking photos of old farm machinery, you’ve hit the jackpot here!
Take your white wine to the Sweetie Shoppe for a complimentary pairing with their lollies and chocolates, or the olive shop can do the same for you with their savoury goods.
We sat down and had a tasty cheese platter with the group while Paul gave us a quick white wine appreciation class and took some group photos.
We were given 5 complimentary tastings at Bernardo, and the pours were particularly generous. I took pleasure in their clean and spritely Chablis – especially as the tour’s first drink. I tried the burgundy next, but that wasn’t really my thing. I like reds with a bit a lot more body. The Mulino Syrah I tried next though was delicious. and after that I had the Petit Syrah, which was so smooth and juicy, you couldn’t help but like it.
I finished off my 5-hit card with a taste of the chocolate Bar Port. It was like drinking a chocolate-covered cherry that’d been dropped into a bucket of alcohol and left to soak. absolutely amazing.
We were all a bit sad to leave this place, but on we went.
Next was Orfila Estate and a punch card of not 5 but 6 white wine tastes!
Driving into the vineyard’s grounds, Paul pointed out the rose bushes at the edges of all the vine blocks. The roses act as early alerting systems to attacks from disease or pests. They’re like the miners’ canaries of the white wine industry. another interesting element of this winery is the odd little huts on poles dotted around the fields.
These huts are owl houses, and the owners nurture these birds’ growth and reproduction. Each owl can carry away about 5 rodents a night, so they earn their keep!
The tasting room at Orfila is enormous, with a big run-around bar you get your tastings from. On two walls they’ve pinned up every flag from every American state, which is quiet interesting. Out the back are stacks and stacks of barrels.
Outside the scenery is absolutely stunning. It’s not unusual that while we were there, I observed about three groups of people talking to events organisers talking about wedding plans for the venue.
The vistas out over that classic Californian mountainscape, coupled with the rolling hills of the grapevines, seating under a stunning grapevine trellis and 5 glasses of wine… very enjoyable!
For me, the best white wine here was the Petit Syrah. It was rich, inky and full of berry goodness. The other wines – the Viognier, the Gewürztraminer Tracken, the Sangiovese, the Ambassador’s Merlot and the Syrah were ok.
If you get hungry here, they’ve only got snacks in the tasting room. However, there are food trucks you can feast on.
All too soon it was time to step on again (just as the band were about to start) to our final stop for the day.
Our last vineyard of the day was Cordiano Winery.
Cordiano is another Italian place owned by Gerardo and Rosa, childhood sweethearts back in the old country. here they’ve been making white wine considering that the ‘80s and have a white wine club called Primo Amore – it indicates first Love. Aww!
Membership to the white wine club gives you 20% off all white wine and merchandise. The white wine – also following the lovers’ theme – is all marked with a different coloured heart on the label to denote the different variety.
This winery gave us 7 tastings and they came served to us as we ate dinner. The pizzas that came out were really good – all made in the winery’s wood fired oven. one of our group was even gluten intolerant and said her GF pizza base was the best she’d ever had!
The only thing that was able to distract me from my white wine and pizza was the view as the sun set. The elevated cellar door, the suspended decking area especially for events and the little bar lit with little lights were all beautiful. What a charming little place.
And as we drove back towards the city, that was the thought going through my mind as I reflected on all of the places we’d checked out today. They were all small wineries, off the beaten track and probably not ones we’d go to if we hadn’t been with SD Beer & white wine Tours.
Interestingly, each place had standout features the other places were lacking:
Bernardo had the best wine, Orfila had the best views and Cordiano had the best sunset and food. but then I mean that’s why Paul our guide chose those places in that order. how very cunning!
San Diego Beer & white wine Tours
Tours run a lot of days.
Pick-ups for chauffeured excursions are from a lot of places in the San Diego city area.
Call or text: +1 (858) 551-5115
W: SanDiegoBeerWineSpiritsTours.com
Ig: @sdbeerwine
Fb: @SanDiegoBeerandWineTours
Tw: @sdbeerwine
SD white wine & Beer excursions also runs daily beer and brewery excursions – either chauffeur-driven, walking or by train, the same with the white wine tours. check their web site for a lot more details.
For a lot more ideas on what you can do while you’re in San Diego, here’s our First-Timer’s Guide to San Diego and our review of San Diego’s world class zoo.
What draw cards do you look for in a winery: scenery, food or wine? What about white wine excursions – what’s the most crucial aspect in a tour? tell us in the comments!
Images by Mr Romance.
Mr romance toured as a guest of SD Beer & white wine Tours.