We would like to introduce you to a new winery in San Diego — Rustic Ridge Vineyards. They just opened their doors a few months ago and are located southeast of San Diego in the hills of Jamul. They boast it’s the only winery with a view of the Coronado Islands and Point Loma!
This small boutique rustic winery is run by Kerri and Rusty. On the weekends you will find them moving about serving wine, pizza and talking about their wines. Rusty is in the fifth year of making his selection of wines — Sauvignon Blanc , Rosé of Malbec, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. He sources grapes from local vineyards (South Coast AVA), Sonoma and Paso Robles.
We started off our tasting with a Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc that was truly refreshing. The 00 of Malbec was a beautiful color of pink and had aromas of floral strawberry and hint of spice with fruit forward strawberry & melon flavors, perfect for the summer (we purchased a couple bottles it was so nice). The Pinot Noir was good and went well with cranberry goat cheese. The Malbec was enjoyable but if you were thinking of Argentina then this was not that style. The Cabernet Sauvignon was from Paso Robles and very drinkable, but I wish it had been aged in oak.
We really enjoyed the warmer weather, blue sky, sitting outside and sipping wine in the fresh air with friends. There was even a guitarist filling the air with music. We recommend a visit to Rustic Ridge Vineyards on Lyons Valley Road, you will love the hospitality, the view and of course the wine!
About myredwineguys
My red wine guys, Jim and Rich, have been drinking and comparing red wines together for the last 10 years. We drink reds exclusively (except for champagne during New Year’s Eve celebration's or special occasions). In our search to find the best red wine for the buck, we are constantly buying and drinking a variety of reds. Frequently, we see many of our favorite reds increase in price (making them impractical to buy and consume with the dismal economy). This motivates us to try and compare lesser known reds from a variety of wineries. We are constantly telling our friends where to buy and save on these great reds. One weekend over a bottle of red wine (of course), we decided to share our recommendations with the world via a blog (with the support of our wives who really think this is another way for us to drink more red wine). We are going to be making road trips up the coast and sharing our opinions on some great California Reds.
Jim is a retired Navy Senior Chief now working as a Navy Technical Rep. His world travels have given him the opportunity to taste wines on different continents. He finds himself often comparing them to his favorite region – Napa Valley’s Oakville/Rutherford districts that produce some of the world’s best Cabernet Sauvignon's.
Richard is a musician who grew up in Santa Maria with a family rich with red wine tradition. According to the family legends, his grandfather used to make wine out of grapefruit when grapes were not available. He grew up drinking and making wine with his father and other Italian families in the central coast, long before there were grape vines in the area. In fact, the reason his family located to California was to make wine!
Thank you for visiting our site! We hope you enjoy a glass of exceptional red wine soon!