South Coast Winery communicate
In one of my first articles I mentioned an anniversary trip that my wife and I had made to South Coast Winery in Temecula. After writing that post I noticed that the winery is active on Twitter, so I sent them a quick message and told them that I had mentioned them in my blog. Although I'm happy to share personal information on this blog I am hesitant to show personal family pictures-at least those that are so very personal as an anniversary trip... At least showing those in my 2nd blog entry seemed a itsybitsy soon.
South Coast Winery communicate
I was surprised and very encouraged that South Coast took the time to retort both via Twitter. I asked them to send me a few more photos of their winery and resort since it is a unique place in Temecula and as I said before(and I legitimately do believe) that it's a great trip, especially for whatever from San Diego, the Oc, La or whatever visiting Southern California.
One thing that South Coast has brought up with me via email is that they were named the 09-10 Golden Bear State Winery of the Year, which is the second year in a row they've won the award.
I mentioned before that the resort itself is great, luxery villas, spa a very good bistro on site etc. The conception of combining leisure and leisure activities is legitimately one way that South Coast and I see eye to eye.
Since this is a wine blog and my intention isn't to ever sound like a Pr someone for a winery we need to take some time to discuss the wines themselves.
Let's start with some normal information, South Coast has only been producing wine for about 5 years now so for a winery it's a young one. Additionally they legitimately focus on the - per bottle range....so obviously you're not going to get a 100 point wine there.
What are you getting though?
Since I'm not blessed with an foreseen, palate and quite frankly all tastes good when I'm there with my wife thoroughly enjoying myself I wanted to find an outsiders view of the wine. I found a nice quote posted by Was Hagen who is the winemaker at Cois Pepe Vineyard in Santa Barbara and has written in more then a few publications about wine as a profession.
Some highlights:
"The judges were put up at Jim Carter's South Coast Winery Resort and Spa-which is legitimately spectacular. Very nice digs with a good bistro and solid hospitality. The South Coast wines, vinted by Jon McPherson and his team, were also a standout. Their Sparkling Shiraz is an unapologetic slut of a wine and I drank most of a bottle myself in the hotel room the day before the competition began. Good match with some Ghost Recon 2 on the Xbox 360 I snuck into the room."
He goes on to state that Temecula winemakers are in an curious predicament, their best wines are often not the best known wines around. I've seen a similar question in the central coast of California (think Pinot Noir before Sideways)
"Almost all of Temecula Wines are sold in tasting rooms, and as a result they choose the 'big' varietals (Cabernet, Chardonnay, Syrah) that get attention, and off-dry and sweet styles (Gewurtz, Riseling, and Viognier being some of the best) that motion to the tour-bus and amateur taster.
Temecula stands at a crossroads: do they want to make the Best varietals distinguished for their region, struggle to teach the wine world about their choices, and take a hit in the pocketbook for a decade to be taken seriously, or do they want to make soft and slightly sweet wines that few 'geeks' will take seriously, and laugh all the way to the bank as they focus their enterprise colse to casual tasters, events, weddings, limo and bus tours, etc.?
What varietals belong in Temecula? The best wines I drank were 'fringe' varietals. itsybitsy Sirah and Tempranillo for Riverside County Fruit. The Cabs and Merlots were hard as nails and many had too much Brett(anomyeces) to be palatable. Interestingly, the San Diego County Bordeaux varietals showed much softer and palatable fruit character and were, as a rule, good wines."
Not surprisingly I enjoy tasting in Temecula because the bold itsybitsy Syrah's are a popular of mine, maybe it is because I was introduced to port by my in laws as soon as I was of legal drinking age.
In windup he gives us some more information:
"Temecula represents a larger issue for all of us to consider. Sometimes that which sells easily, whether by leaving a wine sweet (like many in Temecula) or by trying to motion to the 'kingmaker critics' keeps newer winegrowing areas from developing a true regional identity by producing well-matched varietal wines that showcase their somewhereness as opposed to masking it by virtue of sweetness or the 'New World'/overripe style. It's hard to convince a newer wine region to strut its 'terroir' in a wine culture where population buy ripeness and citation over craft, balance and elegance.
I had a blast wading straight through 200 wines in Temecula. Even my least favorites had something to teach, and the best wines were truly Gold Medal quality. Take time to go visit and taste. And if you like your wines a itsybitsy dryer, or would like to see more itsybitsy Sirah or Tempranillo, or Grenache Rose', make sure to tell the staff, the owner or the winemaker."
To me all of this reminds me of a few trips I've made overseas. Having been to both France and Italy fairly recently I can legitimately remember waking up on the train in Italy and not realizing that I was no longer in Southern California. If Temecula is able to focus on more Mediterranean style vintages as opposed to the Bordeaux style that is seemingly becoming more popular I do believe we may yet get the kind of high quality, affordable, local wine that everybody in Southern California is yearning for.
share the Facebook Twitter Like Tweet. Can you share read review South Coast Winery communicate.
No comments:
Post a Comment