From Italy to Temecula: The Unexpected Old World Charm of SoCal Wines
-old world elegance in a new world setting
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Where have you been?
Palm Springs…
They don’t make wine there.
That is why we made a side trip to Temecula for a couple nights.
Never heard of it.
As you see on the map, Temecula (#7) is one of the most southern wine sub-regions of California, and part of the Southern California wine region.
Although Spanish missionaries planted the first wine grapes in 1820, the Temecula wine sub-region only established its first commercial vineyard in 1968. It is home to approximately 50 wineries with vineyards producing more than 30 grape varieties at elevations of 1000-1500 ft (300 - 450 m). Temecula’s topography, composed of gently rolling hills and steep slopes, is only 22 miles (35 km) from the Pacific Ocean and is sheltered on both sides by mountain ranges. The difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures (diurnal range) is however large, with ocean air to cool the vines through gaps in the coastal mountain range. This allows the grapes to retain acidity and slows down ripening to allow for more aroma and flavor complexity to develop.
The grapes grown range from the classic California varietals like Cab Sauv, Chardonnay, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc to Italian, Spanish, and French varietals like Sangiovese, Syrah, Tempranillo, Montepulciano, Vermentino, and Barbera.
We only tasted wines from three different wineries - two had very good wines, and the third, from which we only sampled 2 wines with dinner, rated as only acceptable quality.
Juicy. Let’s start with the loser of the bunch – drop the winery’s name, baby!
Nope. High road.
Stinker.
The first very good wines were from Doffo, where Mitchell at the tasting bar did a great job representing their range of wines.
What was your fav?
Good question… the one that was $150 US. (sigh)
This is where I will explain that this is NOT a value region. These wineries, even in February low season, had a steady stream of customers with visibly active Wine Club Memberships. I suspect that due to their proximity to L.A. and surrounding communities, they are very well supported, and as a result of this demand can charge higher prices. I have seen the same thing in the Canadian Okanagan Valley. People want to support local and Canadian and will pay relatively more money for less value because of it. I cannot argue with that except that I have taken it upon myself to find value wines …. Call it the engineer in me where I want to optimize the quality per buck… After all, that is a big part of engineering - problem solving to achieve the lowest cost for the desired functionality.
Yawn.
Okay so these are not value wines, so why are you writing about this region then.
This can be a vacation destination if you like to hang out in the vineyards! Like most wine regions, they also have great cafés with awesome cappuccinos and a delicious high-quality food scene! In other words, there is a value to fun!
So what was the other quality winery?
Robert Renzoni Vineyards was more Italian focused in terms of varietal and winemaking, interspersed with some French varietals, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. Brian had us sample most of line up with the majority landing at very good.
The wines I want to highlight here are the two Super Tuscans I tasted: the Robert Renzoni ‘Sonata’ 2022 & ‘Fiore di Fano’ 2021. The first is a Sangiovese/Cab Sauv blend and the latter also includes Merlot.
As I was analyzing them, I was starting to short circuit. Something was not computing. I drink a lot of Super Tuscans – they are very popular on the Calgary market. SO, I was trying to compare the Renzoni ones to those and put them in a bin.
Finally, I got out of my feedback loop and realized, wait a second… of course, these Italian and French varietals blends from Temecula are NOT going to taste like Tuscany, AND these are REALLY delicious! I ordered the Sonata with my pizza at the winery restaurant to fully appreciate it and it did not disappoint.
How would summarize succinctly the difference between the Super Tuscans from Tuscany and Temecula?
The Temecula Super Tuscans are very elegant while the ones from Tuscany tend to be more bold.
Any overall ah-ha observations about Temecula?
Given the sub-region’s southern California location, I expected the wines to exhibit very ripe fruit flavors and perhaps lack acidity. I also expected a classic new world style, more fruit dominant. However the wines we tasted evidenced, for the most part, an old world influence in style, perhaps a result of the Italian backgrounds of both wineries’ owners.
It was worth the trip!
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Castello di Bolgheri ‘Flocco’ 2021 from Tuscany, Central Italy
Style: Old World Style Full Red Wine
Varieties: 75% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot
This savory wine has notes of raspberry, sour cherry, red crunchy sweet cherry, black cherry, blackberry, balsamic, cereal, and earth with hints of leather and tobacco. This moderately intense wine has high grainy tannins which makes for an appealing mouthfeel.
Best pairings: Grilled or roasted red meat, Hearty pasta with meat sauce, Risotto with porcini mushrooms, Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Toscano cheeses.
Serving Temperature: 16-18 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant 30 to 60 minutes
Price: $31Cdn
Apologies: I have had technical difficulties with my compilation - please stay tuned. I have compiled all my wine recommendations in one place. I will do my best to keep this up to date. I also include the link(s) to the article in which the wine was featured.
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SOURCES:
California map of vineyards wine regions (no date) vineyards. Available at: https://vineyards.com/wine-map/united-states/california (Accessed: 13 February 2025).
Doffo Winery (2024) Doffo Wines. Available at: https://doffowines.com/ (Accessed: 13 February 2025).
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Robert Renzoni Vineyards ((No date). Available at: https://robertrenzonivineyards.com/ (Accessed: 13 February 2025).
Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association: Southern California’s wine country (no date) Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association | Southern California’s Wine Country. Available at: https://www.temeculawines.org/ (Accessed: 13 February 2025).
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
I like who you always teach the high road! There is always somebody who loves every type of wine!
I always have wanted to go here. The wines intrigue me. But admittedly, I have zero hope of getting to California again. Maybe, but odds are pretty low sadly.