Last year's Big June Friends & Family Camp-Out was at William Heise County Park, just south of Julian, California, down at the southern end of the state. This year we were pushed a bit west of there due to construction work at William Heise, to the Dos Picos County Park near Ramona — which was just fine, as most of our winery touring last year was right there in the Ramona Valley, now five minutes from us rather than thirty.
(By the way, I can recommend either William Heise or Dos Picos. Very good facilities, well maintained. San Diego County Parks does a good job.)
We went out exploring wineries both Saturday and Sunday. We didn't hit too many places — more than three winery tastings and my palate is shot. The Ramona Valley is great for wine tourism because 9 times out of 10 it's the owner who's pouring for the tasting, and they seem genuinely pleased to have you visit. Most wines are $25-35/bottle at the winery, and most tastings are $10 (usually applicable toward a purchase, and at least half the time netting you a wine glass).
Here's where we went:
Woof-n-Rose Winery — a favorite of ours last year, and just as charming this year. They do all local grapes from the Ramona Valley AVA, and do a honest job of it. None of the wine weres spectacular, but all were quite palatable, and the place is charming in its rustic nature and doggy motifs. The owner was also very nice and engaging. It's just a fun visit, and we'll be back again next year.
[http://woofnrose.com]
★★★★☆
Kohill Winery — Sort of a night-and-day with Woof-n-Rose. The setting is very professional and polished, the wines are arguably marginally better, but the place seemed to lack personality and sense of place; I could have been anywhere, in any California wine country from Ramona to Napa. I can't argue against visiting there (like I said, good wines, and we bought a couple), but it's just not a place I feel compelled to return to.
[http://www.kohill.com]
★★★☆☆
Edwards Vineyards — way off on the northeast end of the valley, on the main highway toward Julian, across that highway from the camel farm and up the slope, a tiny little patio/pavilion sits on a hillside. Fortunately, rather than being sunbaked, the covering and the breeze make for one of the more scenic tasting spots in the region. They have darned good wines, too, and we always leave with a multiple bottles. Definitely worth the (re)visit.
[http://www.edwardsvineyardandcellars.com]
★★★★☆
Chuparosa Vineyards — More estate-grown goodness, blending a polished setting and presentation with personality and authenticity. I think we walked away from here with the most bottles, and from across the bottles provided.
[http://www.chuparosavineyards.com]
★★★★★
Poppaea Vineyard — On Old Julian Highway, near Edwards Vineyards. The English couple who run the place are charming, and the wine is clearly from their own vision, tastes, and processes around Italian grapes. I salute them for that, but I simply couldn't work up any excitement on my own part for the result, even for the Primativo (a varietal I adore). The tasting room is small and, on the day we were there, very noisy, but the view southwest is delightful if you brave the patio by the heat of the day.
[http://www.poppaea-vineyard.com]
★★☆☆☆
San Diego Sunshine Craft Distillery — We decided to throw in a couple of other forms of alcohol on the visit. San Diego Sunshine is all locally produced small-batch 100-proof whiskey from wheat, barley and honey, bottled in variants with natural flavorings. They also make their own brandy The tasting room serves also as a bar, and they have a number of unique cocktails and slushies they serve. It's located in an industrial park north of the main drag, but if you can find it, it's a unique visit. We didn't buy anything additional, but it was an interesting change of pace.
[https://www.sandiegosunshine.com/]
★★★☆☆
Smoking Cannon Brewery — Another break from the wine-tasting. Most micro-breweries will do a lager, a wheat, a red, and five different IPAs. The new Smoking Cannon provides a much greater and idiosyncratic variety, all of it palatable, some of it downright good (along with their own ginger ale and root beer). Good stuff on a hot afternoon.
[http://smokingcannonbrewery.com/]
★★★★☆
Plenty more places to explore in the region, and an increasing number of "Oh, we'll have to go back and visit next time" places, too.
Drunken Reunion?
While plenty of drinking occurs, that's not the main point of the soiree.
It's also worth noting that while it was around 105F in the Ramona Valley, most wine tasting rooms (et al.) are air conditioned.