July 2015
Orange Coast Vineyards
07-25-2015
This Corona del Mar tasting room was a delight. The small building was located at 3734 E. Coast Hwy. I was greeted by Colin in the tasting room and tasted through 6 of the 16 wines offered. Each wine had a beach/surf theme.
I started with the Endless Summer Chardonnay which had nice oak notes. 50% of the wine was aged in french oak. The other half was aged in stainless steel. The Endless Summer White Blend had about 1% RS and included varietals of Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. The Beach Red Blend was offered only in 1.5 Liter and was deemed the "BBQ" wine. The wine was quite nice and was quite tasty on a warm afternoon. Next up was the Endless Summer Red Blend, Primitivo and Big Wave Bordeaux Blend. The Big Wave Bordeaux Blend was the most tasty of all the wines tasted with a flavors of deep dark cherry and red licorice,
All the wines were produced by Orange Coast Winery at their main location located in Temecula, California. Most of the white grapes were grown in the Temecula area, whereas the reds predominately were grown in Lodi, California.
Orange Coast Winery
2724 E. Coast Hwy.
Corona del Mar, CA
949-645-0400
For more information, visit www.orangecoastwinery.com.
I started with the Endless Summer Chardonnay which had nice oak notes. 50% of the wine was aged in french oak. The other half was aged in stainless steel. The Endless Summer White Blend had about 1% RS and included varietals of Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. The Beach Red Blend was offered only in 1.5 Liter and was deemed the "BBQ" wine. The wine was quite nice and was quite tasty on a warm afternoon. Next up was the Endless Summer Red Blend, Primitivo and Big Wave Bordeaux Blend. The Big Wave Bordeaux Blend was the most tasty of all the wines tasted with a flavors of deep dark cherry and red licorice,
All the wines were produced by Orange Coast Winery at their main location located in Temecula, California. Most of the white grapes were grown in the Temecula area, whereas the reds predominately were grown in Lodi, California.
Orange Coast Winery
2724 E. Coast Hwy.
Corona del Mar, CA
949-645-0400
For more information, visit www.orangecoastwinery.com.
A Visit to Loess Hills Vineyard & Winery
07-17-2015
This was my first time visiting a winery in Iowa. Loess Hills Vineyard and Winery is located in Crescent, Iowa, a very small town just 10 minutes east of Omaha, Nebraska. I met Larry, the owner, in the tasting room on Friday afternoon and tasted through several wines produced on site. LHV produces several hybrid grapes including Frontenac, La Croix and Lacrosse. I particularly enjoyed the SBR dry red wine.
The winery has been operating for several years and was doing well until recent floods and Mother's Day frost damaged their vineyards. The winery has had to purchase nearly all of their grapes from grape growers across the state. With the cooler temps over the weekend, the winery was low on inventory and was literally bottling wine on their 6 bottle filler to be sold the next day.
LHV offers a frequent buyer program where if you purchase 12 bottle of wine, you get 15% off your next purchase. I kept my frequent buyer card so that I can keep adding up the savings on my return.
Loess Hills Vineyard & Winery
1120 Old Lincoln Highway
Crescent, IA 51526
712-545-3054
For more information, visit www.loesshillsvineyardandwinery.com.
The winery has been operating for several years and was doing well until recent floods and Mother's Day frost damaged their vineyards. The winery has had to purchase nearly all of their grapes from grape growers across the state. With the cooler temps over the weekend, the winery was low on inventory and was literally bottling wine on their 6 bottle filler to be sold the next day.
LHV offers a frequent buyer program where if you purchase 12 bottle of wine, you get 15% off your next purchase. I kept my frequent buyer card so that I can keep adding up the savings on my return.
Loess Hills Vineyard & Winery
1120 Old Lincoln Highway
Crescent, IA 51526
712-545-3054
For more information, visit www.loesshillsvineyardandwinery.com.