Wine down Wednesday - Wine tasting review: Temecula.

It was a wine tasting weekend for me! My friend Liz and I took our first night away from our little ones. Our husbands watched our little ones and we were on our way!

We went to the following wineries:

Leonesse Cellars
I talk about this winery quite often. This is one of the first wineries I've joined. The wine there is the BEST in the valley. Period. There are 3 types of membership at Leonesse. 1. CS (Cellar Select), 2. VS (Vineyard Select), and 3. SS (Signature Select). I belong to the SS membership. The bottles are generally $90.00 a bottle (if your not a member), and $70.00 if you are. They are the best of what Leonesse has to ofter. The wine shipment is quarterly. :)

Some of the wines we tasted and really enjoyed were (just going to name a few):

Limited Collection Series SEVEN - Tasty! I bought this wine because I missed out on SIX since I was pregnant last year! ;)

Melange De Reves (which my next SS shipment is the SS Melange). - EXCITED PEOPLE!! Very good middle of the road blend red.
$28.00 for non members.

Melange de Rêves is a very special blend of Syrah, Cinsaut, Mourvedre and Grenache. Medium bodied with lively aromas and flavors of cherry and raspberry with hints of smoky tobacco and black pepper, this wine was aged for 19 months in small French oak barrels.

Barrel Tasting Room at Leonesse.

2007 SS Cabernet Sauvignon
$90.00 for non members
When you go to Leonesse this bottle is usually waiting in the decanter for you to taste. If your there you must taste anything that is an SS. I HIGHLY recommend the wine at Leonesse. I have to say I've never met anyone at Leonesse that doesn't like to work there. They are proud of their wines and are very knowledgeable.

Wiens
I used to belong to Wiens. They have pretty good red wines. When I went down my list of memberships this one didn't make the cut. There is so many wineries in CA and I need to keep my options and other memberships open! I belong to too many to name. ;)

GROW BABY GROW! ;)

I did purchase one for Grant so that we could have that on a date night.

2007 Reserve Petite Sirah
$59.00 for non members
Spicy dark fruit, and toasted oak notes.

Mount Palomar
With all the years I've been going to Temecula, I have never been there. I've seen the winery, but never actually gone.

The wine was ok. I didn't buy anything. Nothing really stood out. Perhaps because it was busy and really crowded I lost interest? There was a couple that wouldn't stop talking to Liz and I so I was very distracted the entire time. YIKES. The winery itself might be the prettiest winery in Temecula. It's gorgeous (wish I would have taken more pictures of the winery). I also found out it was owned by Greeks... perhaps because of that reason alone I should go back?

They have a restaurant on site. The food smelt good. I will definitely come back to the restaurant and try it. Maybe re-taste as well.

Churon
The only reason why we went there is because we were staying there. The winery has a bed and breakfast. They had a free tasting for people staying at the hotel from 5:30-6:30pm. Liz and I got down to the tasting around 6:15pm (after we were all checked in) and we didn't get great service. I'M ALL ABOUT SERVICE. If I don't get proper attention I will not only not buy the wine, but I wont go back. And then winegirl15 will blog about it! ha ha. JK. I didn't think the wine was all that good in general. I don't recommend the winery. The rooms were ok. For $295.00 a night I would have rather stayed at the villas at South Coast Winery. I was able to negotiate the room for $250.00, but still...

You live and you learn. I was proud I went out of my box to try new things, but I'll continue to go to my favorite places.

I will list those for you:
LEONESSE
MONTE DE ORO
WIENS
SOUTH COAST WINERY.

To end Churon on a good note is that the people were friendly (despite the girl at the tasting room... she may have just been stressed with the amount of people tasting), and they had a Tempranillo that was decent.

View from our room. Pretty.

On Sunday, we Toms Farms in Corona, CA. I highly recommend this open market. They have fresh produce, nuts, candy, wine, etc. They have live music on the weekends as well. Growing up my parents would take my brother and I there. We would buy lunch meats, bread, cheese, and drinks and sit out on the tables and listen to the music. Then on the way home my mom would buy produce. It wasn't very close to our home but it was a place we went every so often. If your close, or going to be in the area... GO!

Cheers,
winegirl15

Wine Down Wednesday

Umm... It's Thursday... Better a day late than never!

This weeks wine selections are some from my wine shipment from Santa Maria region (Santa Barbara county). I had 3 Cambria wines.

1. Cambria - 2008 Tepusquet Syrah - $19.00
Notes: Ripe blackberries, blueberries, pomegranates, and subtle earthly aromas are in the nose. Integrated oak flavors and firm, yet balanced tannins enhance cherry cola, dark fruit, cedar, and mocha flavors. A rich, silky mid-palate carries through into the long finish.

2. Cambria - 2008 Clone 23 Pinot Noir - $48.00

Notes: The color of this 2007 is deep, dark and purple. The nose unites ripe blueberry fruit, subtle earth and rich oak aromas. The mouth feel is silky and smooth with firm underlying tannins. The finish lingers with oak speck, earth, and dark fruit.

3. 2008 Clone 115 Pinot Noir - $48.00

Notes: Deep garnet color. The aromas are packed with dark, ripe cherries and blueberries, vanilla and oak. In the mouth, there are ripe cherries, blueberries and sweet vanilla flavors. Firm tannins provide structure and the finish lingers with cinnamon spice and dark fruit flavors.

Winegirl15 Notes: This is my favorite of the shipment. I totally suggest this bottle of wine for purchase. I wasn't the biggest fan of Cambria my first visit there... but, after I visited again I was able to taste their big reds and was VERY impressed. 

4. St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc - $20.00

Notes: This wine exhibits brilliant hues of light yellow speared by vibrant streak of green. Aromas of exotic grapefruit and green lime dominate with hints of caper, fennel and lemon zest. Flavors follow with tremendous ruby grapefruit, citrus, kiwi and guava through a crisp finish. This Sauvignon Blanc complements a wide variety of foods from mild cheeses and fish to boldly flavored Asian dishes. 

Winegirl15: I'm not the biggest white wine drinker, however there are certain whites that I prefer. Sav Blanc is one. This is a good "day time" drink. Or a summer white. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! This weekend I'm going wine tasting... so, check back for where I went and what I drank! 

Cheers,

Winegirl15

Wine down Wednesday...

What is Wine Down Wednesday (WDW)? WDW will be a blog that I talk about wines I had over the week. From Wednesday to Wednesday. I will list them out, talk about them, and give pricing. Hopefully if your looking for something in that price range or varietal it will help!

I don't always drink a $100 or more bottle. But, I do enjoy good wine. Life truly is too short for cheap wine. It doesn't mean that you can't enjoy a good priced bottle though. :) That is why I'm blogging. I try to write things down, journal, etc. But, I find that I don't keep that up or I miss place the papers I have written on. So, hence this fabulous blog. :)

Anyhow, let's continue with Winegirl15's week of wine.

Recommendations:

1. Tangles Cabernet $49.00
Tangles Homepage
At first I wasn't sure what to think about this wine. My husband and I were in Lodi a few months ago and came across this bottle. We bought 2 of them. I thought this was the best bottle of wine I got during this trip. I would recommend this bottle.

2. Kenneth Volk Mourvedre $48.00
Kenneth Volk Homepage
My husband and I belong to Kenneth Volk Winery so I'm sure you'll see quite a few bottles of this on my blog. This winery is very dear to me. The wine maker used to be at Wild Horse Winery in Paso. Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County) is known for Pinot's and Chard's. Keep that in mind if your looking for those varietals. The Mourvedre was tasty.

3. Kenneth Volk Syrah $48.00
Kenneth Volk Homepage
I'm also not the biggest fan of Syrah's. I like them, but I generally don't go out looking for them. This bottle was good. I would definitely drink it again... but, I would prefer there pinot's of this particular bottle. They have terrific pinots!

4. La Crema Chardonnay $20.00 

La Crema Chardonnay

This is always my go to Chardonnay for a day time glass or a party wine. It's not expensive but it's very tasty. I suggest this for a mid priced wine. 

5. Simi Chardonnay $28.00
Simi Winery
I had a glass of this wine during a sushi dinner. This is very similar to the La Crema as far as quality and taste. I would also suggest a bottle of Simi.

Until next week!

Cheers,
Winegirl15

Sneak Peak for next Wednesday: Pinot, from Santa Maria (Cambria shipment arrived yesterday)...

Wine night - Napa Cabs.

I'm having a hard to posting after I drink wine. Not sure if it's because I'm writing too much on my other blog Stone Chic or if I drink too much good wine to blog about? I have told myself that I want to blog more about the wine I drink, so I can reference back. So, I will make an effort to do a better job with that.

My husband and I recently went to a fundraiser for children's scholarship and sports. It was  a wine tasting event with an silent auction and a live auction. It's one of my favorite wine events. The doctor that hosts the event really loves his wine. He drinks only the best. So, I look forward to the tasting.... and the spending! :)

One of my favorite Napa wineries is Beaulieu Vineyards. Not your typical BV you can pick up at the grocery store... But, there speciality wines. The hirer priced varietals. I had to take a picture of one of my favorites from the event. I actually talked the doctor into letting me buy one (the money would go to charity... blame me? Great cause!) and he did! I bought it for $100. I think it actually retails for $175.00.

We also had Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. This wine retails for $95.00. It was also very tasty.... So, I also bought this one.

This doctor is big into Silver Oak... so we tasted a 1992 and a 1995 Cabernet as well. Silver Oak is another favorite of my husbands and mine. I wish I would have spent some time a month ago talking about the 1992 cab we opened and drank! ha! Well, going forward I will be blogging more about wine.

We drank many other wines and champagne (Dom and Cristal), but, I didn't buy those bottles... and they are quite common. Figured I'd blog about the good ol red wine!

Anyhow, thanks for stopping by and reading! Check back soon... I have lots of wine to drink! ;)

Cheers,
Winegirl15

"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world."
-Ernest Hemingway