Wineries of San Diego County – Good So Cal Bottles of Wine

San Diego County Wineries

Southern Coast’s Bottles of Wine

From San Diego’s surfing beaches in Oceanside to Fallbrook, down through Escondido and east to Julian and Ramona and all the way out in Campo you’ll find winemakers creating interesting bottles of wine. It’s a continuation of the Winefication of California.

As this region has become a hotbed of micro beer breweries, 65 winemakers have quietly built up their businesses, importing Mexican and California grape while tending new fields of grapes destined for a good bottle of wine.

One of those wineries is Beach House Winery just inland of Oceanside in Fallbrook. It sits high on a ridge overlooking East San Diego County out to the Pacific Ocean.

Owners George and Kim Morrow started as hobbyists in 1998 while working in San Diego’s aerospace industry. They were the first to grow grape in the hills of Oceanside. By 2010 they established Beach House Winery, eventually establishing ‘Vigna al Mare’ (Vineyard at the Sea)  with a wine tasting room, winemaking facility and breathtaking views of the local panoramas.

They’re fine tuning their wine using grape from Baja California, San Diego County and Sonoma. Their offerings are worth a taste, and a visit to San Diego County.

Here’s what we tasted:
2012 Viognier – San Marcos $27 ✰+
2014 Shades of White – Blended Viognier & Chardonnay $28 ✰+/✰
2012 Sangiovese – Baja Calif. $34 ✰+/✰-
2012 Syrah – Escondido $32 ✰/✰-
2012 Cabernet Franc – Sonoma $36 ✰
2012 Montepulciano – Baja Calif. $36 ✰+/✰
2012 Petite Sirah – Sonoma $36 ✰/✰+
2012 Merlot – Sonoma ✰+
2012 Melange – Sonoma, Blended Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon $45 ✰+
2012 Malbec – Baja Calif. $38 ✰-
2012 Zin On The Beach – Zinfandel blended with Cabernet, Malbec, Petite Sirah. $45 ✰
2012 Beach Break GSM – Grenache, Syrah & Mourvedre $36 ✰+/✰

San Diego County’s cool coastal influence makes this area much different than the wine in Temecula where conditions are warm. Coastal fog and overcast days keep it cool in the winter time before warming up in the summertime. You won’t see the extreme temperature variations that you’ll see in Paso Robles, Sonoma or Napa. But the locals here are exploring their terrior, weather and wine making skills to create good bottles of wine. You owe it to yourself to explore them.

You’ll find Beach House Winery on 1534 Sleeping Indian Road in Fallbrook. There is no charge for tasting.

Bill Hodge & Erin O’Neill-Hodge enjoy a good bottle of wine, visiting and enjoying California wineries from Lake County to Orange County, from the Paso Robles Gold Coast to Gold Country and from Lodi to Temecula.

Some notes on our wine ranking system.

– -✰ means -What’s next on your list of wines
-✰ means -Not liking it too much
✰ means -We’ll drink this wine, especially if it’s hosted!
✰+ means -You’ve got our attention and we might buy this wine.
✰++ means -We’re hooked and we’re going to buy this wine.
When you see -✰/✰+ with a slash, it signifies our opinion differs.