Wife and I will be in Newport Beach this weekend. I would like to drive around and visit a couple of socal wineries. Any recommendations, esp woot wineries?

pgsanth wrote:Wife and I will be in Newport Beach this weekend. I would like to drive around and visit a couple of socal wineries. Any recommendations, esp woot wineries?

How far are you willing to drive? It looks like Temecula is pretty close by, while Santa Ynez is probably a 3 hour drive through LA.

I think there is one winery in Newport somewhere. There are several wine bars. If you are looking for a "wine country" experience, you can head to Temecula or San Diego within about an hour's drive (depending on traffic).

There are threads about this in WOWW, so you might try the search. I think a discussion about San Diego was in the SoCal #9 thread.

gcdyersb wrote:How far are you willing to drive? It looks like Temecula is pretty close by, while Santa Ynez is probably a 3 hour drive through LA.

Temecula is about an hour away from Newport Beach, IIRC. Need to take the 55 north to the 91 east to the 15 south.

Stuart Cellars Winery has been on Woot.

More info on Temecula Wineries. I've enjoyed Hart, Bella Vista (PS Rosé that was enjoyed at Detroit's Woot D&D), Leonesse, and Wiens. Callaway and Wilson Creek are out there as well.


San Diego Wineries are more spread out, and about maybe an hour or so from NB.

Witch Creek Winery has a Tasting Room / Winery in Carlsbad, right off the 5. About an hour from NB. Maybe less.


These may be more than an hour from NB.

Bernardo Winery is supposed to be the oldest in SD County.

Belle Marie is in Northern Escondido off the 15 (south of Temecula).

Orfila is also in Escondido.

Ferrera Winery is in Escondido as well.

annsalisbury wrote:I think there is one winery in Newport somewhere. There are several wine bars. If you are looking for a "wine country" experience, you can head to Temecula or San Diego within about an hour's drive (depending on traffic).

There are threads about this in WOWW, so you might try the search. I think a discussion about San Diego was in the SoCal #9 thread.

I think you are thinking of the Vegas Annex (SoCal #4) from last year, when Nallie was getting some wine from a SD winery to compare with the Finger Lakes wines that ddeudeg and bahwm were bringing.

MarkDaSpark wrote:I think you are thinking of the Vegas Annex (SoCal #4) from last year, when Nallie was getting some wine from a SD winery to compare with the Finger Lakes wines that ddeudeg and bahwm were bringing.

Sheesh! How do you remember stuff in that much detail?
EDIT: Oh yeah, so could I when I was that young.

ddeuddeg wrote:Sheesh! How do you remember stuff in that much detail?
EDIT: Oh yeah, so could I when I was that young.

You know you are a wine.woot addict when ...

... you remember details from a Wine.Woot event months or even a year ago better than you remember yesterday.

Here is the info for the Newport Beach winery. It doesn't look like they have a tasting room.

I highly suggest going to Hi-Time Wine Cellers. They're located in Costa Mesa, which is not far from Newport. Not a winery, but they do have a most impressive wine selection and you can call ahead to see if they have any tastings. Their wine staff is also very knowledgeable. It's the only place I've been to that has the wines sectioned by regions of the world, with a sparkling wine room, walk-in humidor, and walk-in beer fridge. If you have time, stop by and check them out.

Hi-Time Link

Here's an old thread on Temecula & Santa Barbara, for what it's worth.

LoonBoarder wrote:Here's an old thread on Temecula & Santa Barbara, for what it's worth.

Thank you all for the pointers. I think we will do Temecula, and try and focus on Stuart, Palumbo, Leonesse and Weins.

"Temecula is about an hour away from Newport Beach, IIRC. Need to take the 55 north to the 91 east to the 15 south."

Mark, is the Ortega Hwy worth the drive?

pgsanth wrote:Thank you all for the pointers. I think we will do Temecula, and try and focus on Stuart, Palumbo, Leonesse and Weins.

"Temecula is about an hour away from Newport Beach, IIRC. Need to take the 55 north to the 91 east to the 15 south."

Mark, is the Ortega Hwy worth the drive?

I would not recommend Ortega. While pretty, it is one of the most dangerous highways in California (very narrow in spots), and if there is a wreck, they may close the highway until it is cleared (figure a one to two hour delay or having to turn around and go 91, 15 route anyway). If you want a drive with a view, you could take 5 south to the 76, and then go north on 15.

I second Leonesse, and would also recommend Alex's Red Barn.

annsalisbury wrote:I would not recommend Ortega. While pretty, it is one of the most dangerous highways in California (very narrow in spots), and if there is a wreck, they may close the highway until it is cleared (figure a one to two hour delay or having to turn around and go 91, 15 route anyway). If you want a drive with a view, you could take 5 south to the 76, and then go north on 15.

I second Leonesse, and would also recommend Alex's Red Barn.

Ditto about Ortega.

Also, the Pechanga Casino is right there too, and they have a good buffet, if you have any money left after a wine country visit ....

MarkDaSpark wrote:Ditto about Ortega.

Also, the Pechanga Casino is right there too, and they have a good buffet, if you have any money left after a wine country visit ....

If y'all are free on Sunday, I'd be willing to host something informal. I'm a bit over half an hour away in Lakewood (405 to 605).

-- T

zTimothyBz wrote:If y'all are free on Sunday, I'd be willing to host something informal. I'm a bit over half an hour away in Lakewood (405 to 605).

-- T

Thanks zTim, unfortunately, we have to be back in Newport Beach on Sunday.