Welcome to the San Diego Wine Scene

Before I can expect you to take anything I have to say about wine seriously, I have to make a confession:  five years ago, my wine of choice was Charles Shaw Cabernet.  Granted, I was in college, so I should get bonus points just for drinking something that didn't come out of a can.  Or a box.  However, I will lose those points all over again when you find out that I went to college in San Luis Obispo, a mere 30 minutes South of Paso Robles, which is home to some of the best wineries in California (the region is especially well-known for their Zinfandel...the red kind).  In any case, to say my palate was untrained is an understatement.  I was perfectly happy to linger in this ignorant bliss, and it didn't hurt my budget either.

That all changed when I took a job during my last year of grad school to work in the tasting room at Foley near Lompoc, CA, an hour South of San Luis (are you seeing the pattern? Surrounded by great wine and still drinking barrels of Chuck. A travesty).  For six months, I was exposed to mouthwatering Pinot, spicy Syrah, and buttery Chardonnay.  I was teaching people about the wines I poured and simultaneously learning more than I ever thought possible about planting, growing, picking, processing, bottling, pairing, and, of course, drinking. I began to appreciate what wine was all about.

That appreciation has continued to grow even though I no longer work in a tasting room.  Some of my best memories involve drinking wine in Lompoc, in Napa, in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, even in Italy.  I can't name most of the wines I have tasted, but I can tell you some amazing stories.  And now that I'm in San Diego, I am committed to finding not only great tasting wines, but also great wine experiences.