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The local wine label is bringing the Sonoran Desert’s fruitful offerings to Tucson
Sand-Reckoner’s wines are made from grapes grown on the Willcox Bench, a couple of hours southeast of Tucson.
Arizona’s desert-born wine scene is starting to heat up, like a summer day just before dawn. In Tucson, Sand-Reckoner Vineyards is, at the moment, the only local wine label with a downtown tasting room. Here, curious wine drinkers can stretch their assumptions about the saguaro-speckled Sonoran Desert’s fruitful offerings. The first is challenging the notion that the desert produces wine at all.
“The soil is very good,” Sarah Fox says. She owns Sand-Reckoner with winemaker Rob Hammelman. Fox is referring to the dirt in the ringed-by-mountains Willcox wine region located about an hour and a half southeast of Tucson. Its earthy terroir comes from a Chex Mix of sand, clay, and minerals. Burrow three feet further down, and you hit limestone. In other words, it’s a classic wine soil profile, similar to France’s famed Burgundy region.
This part of the desert also touts an elevation of at least 4,000 feet and seasonal monsoon weather flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico. The elemental combination prevents grapes from shriveling into raisins during scorching summers. During monsoon season, producers have to play lifeguard, lest the fruit drown. And some growers have learned to cultivate varieties that play nice with a little extra hydration. “Sangiovese is very well-behaved in the vineyard,” Fox says. So are syrah and tempranillo.
When it comes to wine making, Sand-Reckoner has transitioned to a mostly low-intervention approach. That means opting for organic sprays, eschewing herbicides, and using naturally occurring yeast—a critical ingredient that turns sugar into alcohol. In the glass, Sand-Reckoner wines are an elegant ballroom dance. Its malvasia bianco bursts with lychee. Its grenache rosé is more understated than other punchy or candied strawberry-watermelon bottles. Its sangiovese includes grapes from Sand-Reckoner’s own vineyard and hints at bright cherry and earth.
Well-known grapes like cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay grow well in most areas, but Fox says exploring “outside of the norm” grapes in Arizona’s unique terroir is more exciting. By fall 2023, Fox and Hammelman hope to move into a larger space within the downtown Warehouse Arts District, where their current tasting room is situated, to include room for bottling, cellaring, and tasting. “It takes a certain amount of grit to forge forward in an area that’s not known yet for grape growing,” Fox says.
What used to be a newspaper building is now Tucson’s Citizen Hotel, which boasts wine-soaked amenities like a bottle fridge in every room.
Courtesy of The Citizen Hotel
Keep the wine theme going at The Citizen Hotel. What was once Tucson’s first newspaper press building was reimagined in 2022 with muted pastels and light wood, stone, and bronze accents that mimic the desert landscape. Vino-centric amenities include wine fridges in each of its 10 high-ceilinged rooms. In the world of shrinking hotel perks, an in-room French press coffee kit, a soaking tub, and bathrobes feel luxurious.
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A minimalistic lobby bar offers red, white, and fortified wines made by regional producers from Arizona and Mexico and occasional complimentary wine tastings. Around town, find more local wine at bottle shops and specialty markets like nearby Pearly Baker Fermentables and Time Market.
Ligaya Malones grew up in Kaua’i, Hawai’i and is a San Diego-based writer covering the intersection of food, travel, and culture. Her work has appeared in publications including Food52, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, and Salt & Wind Travel.
The North Park winery & Mabel’s Gone Fishing collab on a special San Diego vermouth
Nerdy drinks people and Euro-philes, alike, rejoice. Bay Park’s Oddish Wines has just released a special edition white vermouth with Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded restaurant Mabel’s Gone Fishing. Called “Mabel’s Gone Foraging or: How I Learned to Stop Hurrying and Love the Biome,” it’s a hyperlocal fortified wine—perhaps the first of its kind on the market in San Diego.
The base wine is chardonnay. Botanicals like sagebrush, mugwort, sagewort, Torrey pine, Pinyon pine, Cleveland sage, fig leaf, coriander, elderflower, Oro Bianco grapefruit zests, and Sorrento lemon zest, all of which were foraged in San Diego County, were used to bitter and aromatize. Sweetening was accomplished with local wild buckwheat honey.
I am so relieved that vermouth culture is finally catching on here in the United States. I know, I sound like one of 800 people you follow who just got back from their August Italian vacations, waxing poetic on the way Europeans just know how to live.
The thing is, your annoying friends are kind of right. At least when it comes to drinking. Vermouth culture on the Iberian peninsula and in Italy is a social event, made to be shared with friends, especially during happy hours or weekends. Northern Italy is particularly known for its aperitivo culture, which boasts vermouth-spiked cocktails with salty bites as a pre-meal indulgence.
In Spain, “la hora del vermut” is typically the time where people gather at a cafe in a square to drink dark red vermouth on the rocks with an orange slice and maybe a spritz of soda water, also with salty snacks. It’s an excuse to chill out, shoot the shit.
What do these gorgeous locales have in common with our fair city? Sunshine, a temperate climate, arid hills ripe for growing grapes, and salt water. There’s a reason San Diego’s climate is referred to as Mediterranean. So, it makes sense that the Oddish x Mabel’s vermouth fits right in here.
“This vermouth IS San Diego,” reads the Instagram post about Gone Foraging. “It smells and tastes like walking through a trail along the bluffs in La Jolla or in Switzer Canyon or Lake Hodges or Mt. Laguna. Not sure there is anything that expresses the terroir and native flora of this beautiful region like this here bottle.”
“We were very stoked that we could find the bittering botanicals right here in San Diego,” says Oddish Wine owner Billy Beltz. “When we first started the project, we assumed we’d have to use gentian root or rhubarb root or something more common in vermouth that wouldn’t be native [to San Diego].”
He added that foraging was a “team effort” over several months with both the Mabel’s and Oddish crews, as well as some hospitality industry friends.
“I love that vermouth is so broad and regional in its experience,” says Chelsea Coleman, co-owner of Mabel’s, to that point. “My palate leans agrodulce, so it’s kind of my dream aperitif. When I drink vermouth I can believe, if only for a moment, I’m at a cafe table in a lively European square. Maybe with a cigarette. Definitely with olives and some kids playing futbol.”
It’s a nice dream, to be sure. Good thing I know a place in town where this can be a reality. Pick up the bottles in Oddish’s El Cajon Boulevard tasting room or at Mabel’s on 30th street.
Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.
Small but increasingly mighty, California’s hottest emerging wine region is just up the road
The sun is just starting to set, and it seems like every table is popping bottles at Bluewater Grill in downtown Temecula. The sustainable seafood restaurant lets diners bring two bottles of local wine with no corkage fee, making it a favorite among winemakers and visitors alike.
With 17 Temecula wines available by the glass or as part of a flight, this is also a great place to begin a visit to Temecula Valley and get a taste for which wineries you prefer. Raul Ramirez’s tempranillo pairs remarkably well with chipotle blackened swordfish, while Carter Estate’s Blanc de Blanc cuts through the rich beurre blanc sauce dousing the restaurant’s sautéed sand dabs.
Within a two-hour drive from 21 million people in surrounding cities (including San Diego, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs), Temecula has become an unlikely wine destination in Southern California. In recent years, Temecula wines have achieved impressive scores from national critics, with Wine Enthusiast naming Temecula one of the top wine travel destinations in the world in 2019.
John Kelliher, founder of Grapeline Wine Tours, has seen the region explode since he began operations in 2002.
“When we started, there were between 14 and 17 wineries that you could go to in Temecula for a wine tasting,” he recalls. “Now, there are more than 50 wineries.”
The vast majority (more than 90 percent) of Temecula wines are sold direct-to-consumer, making it rare to find bottles on store shelves or restaurant wine lists. If you haven’t visited, you probably haven’t tasted them before. Some people may have the misconception that it’s too hot here to grow great grapes, but the large diurnal swing and mountain gaps allow cool air to funnel through the decidedly Mediterranean climate.
“Twenty years ago, it was pretty easy to find a bad wine and it was pretty hard to find a good one in Temecula,” Kelliher says. “Nowadays, the level of winemaking has really gone up, and I think that all of the new competition coming in just keeps raising the bar.”
For a tiny wine region with just 1,300 acres planted to vine, Temecula is impressively diverse, growing more than 30 different grape varietals. Many of the most successful wineries embrace the Spanish and Italian grapes that thrive here rather than sticking to the same Bordeaux blends that are common throughout California.
Olivia Bue, winemaker at Robert Renzoni Vineyards, recently ripped out 28-year-old estate cabernet sauvignon vines and planted Montepulciano, a medium-bodied red wine grape cultivated widely in central Italy. Bue is also growing sangiovese and barbera. All three of Renzoni’s wines made with these Italian varietals have achieved scores of 92 points or higher from Wine Enthusiast.
“Barbera thrives in Temecula Valley,” Bue says. “The vines love heat and produce high-yielding clusters, and the roots integrate deep into our soil, producing complex, layered flavor profiles year after year no matter what climate challenges come our way.” The ruby-red wine is naturally acidic, but low in tannins, making it easy to pair with food.
Similarly, Nick Palumbo, owner and winemaker at Palumbo Family Vineyards, replaced his original merlot vines with sangiovese. One of Temecula’s newest wineries, Altísima Winery shines with garnacha and Super Tuscan Italian red blends, paired with Spanish charcuterie and grilled octopus.
“Temecula is similar to the warmer regions where vitis vinifera [or grape vines] originally evolved,” says Greg Pennyroyal, vineyard manager at Wilson Creek Winery and professor of viticulture at Mount San Jacinto College. “We can produce rich expressions of wines that are considered less noteworthy table wines in their traditional regions.”
Compared to some of California’s more established wine regions, the Temecula Valley Wine Country Community Plan is a lot more permissive, with land-use ordinances allowing wineries to operate restaurants, events, and lodging. For example, Europa Village offers multiple wineries, hotel rooms, restaurants, and event spaces (plus a wine cave where guests can book a private sound-bath meditation) under one roof. South Coast Winery Resort has a full-service spa and heated, outdoor saltwater pool.
You can blend your own bottle of wine at Bottaia Winery, experimenting with estate-grown Italian varietals like aglianico, sangiovese, sagrantino, and barbera in a wine lab complete with beakers. There’s no right or wrong answer here—just whatever suits your personal taste.
When it comes to dining, Leoness Cellars and Avensole Winery have some of the best bites and views in the region, and Peltzer Winery features food trucks and live music. The fifth-generation family farm hosts an annual autumn pumpkin farm and petting zoo and builds an 8,400-square-foot ice-skating rink each winter. At times, it might feel a little like the Disney World of wine—but you’re allowed to have fun when your wines are this damn good.
And, after all, fun is what keeps people coming back. “We have a lot of loyal customers that we call ‘repeat offenders,’” Kelliher says. “Temecula becomes their regular getaway and mini vacation. They like that we’re not pretentious like some other wine regions.”
Start your Temecula wine-tasting journey with one of these 10 winners.
An ideal bottle on hot summer days, flavors of pineapple and pink grapefruit in this crisp white wine whisk you away to a tropical paradise. Pair it with mild cheeses or oysters.
It’s rare to find a traditional Champagne-method wine in Temecula, but this racy sparkling wine with notes of apple, lemon zest, and toasted brioche is an improbable Champs dupe.
Easy to drink on its own, and a nice complement to charcuterie or spicy Chinese stir-fry, this is a fun, crushable zinfandel rosé reminiscent of strawberry and orange Starbursts.
Winemaker Olivia Bue’s favorite, this high-acid, low-tannin barbera is rich with ripe strawberry and pomegranate flavor. Sip the lighter-bodied red with red-sauce pasta, pizza, and grilled vegetables.
Syrah is one of Temecula’s signature grapes, and this vibrant rosé is a delicate expression of syrah’s intense flavor, displaying the subtle sweetness of plump red cherries and aromatic rose petals.
This velvety Super Tuscan is predominantly sangiovese, rounded out with touches of merlot, cabernet, and syrah. Drink it now with grilled meat, but it’s sure to age gracefully, too.
Rhône grape varietals do well in Temecula, and this powerful syrah is a prime example
by winemaker Justin Knight. Bold black cherry on the palate leads to a savory, peppery finish.
This plummy, Bordeaux-style field blend is the first wine that Marcelo Doffo made in his garage two decades ago. It received a gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
An elegant blend of sangiovese, syrah, malbec, mourvedre, petite sirah, and merlot, this red wine displays a soft, well- rounded complexity punctuated by a bright, elderberry finish.
Named for the ancient Greek goddess of justice, this grenache, syrah, and mourvedre blend has been aged for 30 months in Hungarian oak, creating a creamy palate and hints of smoked raspberry.
Cassandra Schaeg, founder of Escondido’s Sip Wine & Beer, highlights diverse entrepreneurs in the first season of <i>Fresh Glass</i>
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Eight years ago, Cassandra Schaeg opened Sip Wine & Beer in Escondido to support “local, women, and BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] brands.” Launching then and there was a risk, she admits, one that she wasn’t sure was going to pan out.
But Sip didn’t just survive. It thrived, allowing Schaeg to feature diverse entrepreneurs and producers that tend to face high barriers of entry in the beverage alcohol space. “To be here eight years later is obviously a sign of how important and necessary it is to continue doing the work,” she says.
During that time, Sip’s ground-breaking efforts have both continued and evolved. At the peak of Covid-19, Schaeg met Theresa Hoiles, a television producer with an idea: Why not take the Sip mission further, creating a TV series to improve representation in wine, spirits, beer, and beyond? That series, dubbed Fresh Glass, debuted on September 15, 2022 as a six-episode series on KPBS and PBS.
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The initial guests were all people behind brands Schaeg already carried at Sip. The existing foundation of history and trust allowed the unscripted discussions to reach new heights. “It’s as real and raw as it gets,” Schaeg says.
She describes the series as “an intentional circle,” one that began with Camins 2 Dreams, a Santa Barbara-based winery founded by Tara Gomez, the only Native American woman winemaker in the country, and her wife Mireia Taribó, a Spanish winemaker. The couple uses old-world techniques to make wow-worthy wines in Lompoc, California. Their bottles can be found in various locations, including Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas.
Iris Duplantier Rideau
The season’s final episode features Iris Duplantier Rideau, the first Creole woman to own a winery in the United States. “I think God gave me something that made me different, that made me strong, that made me determined,” Rideau says in the episode. She outlines her life and her journey from New Orleans to Los Angeles, with multiple self-made careers along the way.
Schaeg points to Rideau as a pioneer in multiple fields, even outside of wine. “She grew up [under] Jim Crow … She was the first Black woman to hold a city contract with the city of L.A., [and] she started the 457 pension program for the city of L.A.,” Schaeg says. “Her story is now cemented in history on television as part of her legacy. Opening a winery was just the cherry on top.”
Toward the end of the episode, Rideau reflects on her accomplishments and laughs. “You know what I want on my tombstone?” she remarks to Schaeg. “’Don’t cry for me, I did it all!’”
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These guests, along with those featured in other episodes, represent diversity not only in the beverage alcohol industry, but within leadership positions in that space.
“If you turn on the TV and you watch the news or television shows, Black people or people of color aren’t displayed in the light of entrepreneurship [or] leadership, or [that representation is] very few and far between,” Schaeg says. “It’s very hard for people to see themselves in spaces where they can’t see it in real life. So this was the opportunity to show it in real life.”
Schaeg says the possibility of a second season remains in question. “The reality is it costs money,” she explains. “Now that the show is out there, I believe it has the meat and the chops to go on a bigger scale, and we’re trying to see how that could happen in the future.” But regardless of the hurdles, Schaeg is committed to the work.
“There’s so many stories out there,” she says. “I am going to do my damnedest to figure out how to continue sharing those stories.”
Stream Fresh Glass on the KPBS app or online at KPBS.org/show/fresh-glass.
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
The annual event honors middle market companies creating jobs, scaling up, and investing in the region
San Diego is known for its startup culture and innovation economy, but what happens when the company moves beyond its early-stage years? The San Diego Business Impact Awards aim to answer that question, spotlighting the middle market businesses helping drive the region’s economy.
Hosted by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and JPMorganChase, the second annual awards celebration takes place on Thursday, July 23, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Scripps Research Auditorium. More than 200 executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are expected to attend the networking and cocktail event honoring some of San Diego County’s fastest-growing companies.
Businesses headquartered in San Diego County that have operated for at least two years are encouraged to submit their nomination by Thursday, June 18 at 4 p.m. Companies across industries—from technology and life sciences to tourism and consumer products, as well as pre-revenue startups—are eligible for recognition.
For EDC President and CEO Mark Cafferty, the event is as much about building connections as celebrating success. “We’ve had a longtime partnership with JPMorganChase; their work aligns with our efforts to support underserved communities and drive talent development,” says Cafferty. “And the networking was invaluable last year. I’m still in touch with people I met at last year’s awards.”
EDC is an independently-funded nonprofit that works directly with San Diego companies to help them grow the local economy, make the region as a whole more competitive, and attract and retain top-tier talent with quality jobs. Through EDC, companies can get help starting or expanding their business with support for things like site selection, permit navigation, and regulatory guidance, plus connections to local resources and potential business collaborators.
The San Diego Business Impact Awards began as an idea with one of EDC’s longtime strategic partners, JPMorganChase. The two organizations share a commitment to San Diego and are dedicated to bolstering middle market businesses.
“We’re blessed with a robust innovation economy and startup community,” says Aaron Ryan, San Diego Region Manager for JPMorgan’s Commercial and Investment Bank and vice chair of the firm’s’ San Diego Market Leadership Team. “But one of the segments of the business community we felt was overlooked was emerging middle market companies—the businesses that are no longer small but not yet large.”
Ryan says supporting those companies is critical as they scale and decide where to invest, hire, and grow.
San Diego’s high cost of living remains one of the region’s biggest business challenges, making talent recruitment and retention increasingly competitive. But local leaders point to the region’s quality of life, climate, and collaborative business community as advantages that continue to attract employers and workers.
“In order to support thriving households, there has to be enough high-quality jobs for people to be able to afford to live here,” Cafferty says. “Once a company grows and excels past that middle market point in their growth cycle, they become much more likely to pay higher wages and compete globally.”
Both Cafferty and Ryan proudly tout the unique collaboration that exists among San Diego County businesses. Bringing together top universities producing high-quality talent, cutting-edge research institutions, a robust military and defense presence, leading ocean science and environmental organizations, and a binational, cross-border identity creates a distinct business ecosystem that defines and strengthens the San Diego region.
Last year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards celebrated nearly 60 honorees from 49 industries, representing a total of 8,232 jobs across eight sectors, including: software and technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer goods, professional services, finance, construction and manufacturing, defense, and hospitality and tourism. On average, honoree companies doubled their revenues over the previous year, employed more than 145 San Diegans each, and offered an average annual compensation of $192,415.
Top honorees included defense contractor Innoflight, environmental consulting firm Bancroft Construction Services, life sciences startup Element Biosciences, defense technology contractor GALT Aerospace, organic grocery store chain Jimbo’s, and biopharmaceutical company LENZ Therapeutics. During the event, Innoflight Founder and CEO Jeff Janicik held a fireside chat offering his insights on investing in the community and embracing San Diego culture.
This year, organizers hope to continue highlighting the middle market players driving economic impact across the region. Nominations are now open through June 18 at 4 p.m. Get your tickets to the San Diego Business Impact Awards celebration to enjoy drinks by Snake Oil Cocktail Co., light bites, live music, and networking.
This Valentine’s Day, celebrate the single life by reclaiming solo travel
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The last time I liked someone was two years ago. We had lingering picnics at Balboa Park. We played our favorite songs on my record player while lying side by side on my apartment floor. We were annoyingly adorable—but we hadn’t kissed. Then, he took me to Julian. After filling the sexual tension with road-trip chatter, we explored the town. We cooed at its charm, snapped polaroids in the graveyard, and somehow didn’t eat any pie. Eventually, like most romances, it ended, but the trip stuck with me.
Before our demise, we talked about visiting more of those cozy, romantic places I had wanted to go to: Idyllwild, Valle de Guadalupe, Catalina, and all of the California spots where coupledom seems to be the visa required for entry—if Instagram is to be believed—or are at least more enjoyable with someone by your side.
After the breakup, I felt like those destinations were off-limits. And if I did go, I thought it might be a study in boredom. But after spending a good chunk of time researching the single life, I am happy to report that there’s plenty of other places and ways to fill one’s time.
As we look towards Valentine’s Day—a holiday typically reserved for couples—I think it’s high time to buck the romance myths of these San Diego–adjacent getaways and enjoy them solo. No partner required.
Bloodlust Valle
Valle de Guadalupe is a home away from home for the oenophiles of San Diego. It’s closer than Napa and has a culinary scene that can put its dukes up against any Thomas Keller concept.
Don’t have SENTRI? Start your cross-border sojourn by securing a driver to pick you up once you land in Tijuana. People & Planet is a friendly service that offers custom tours or simple driver service if you want to plan your own itinerary.
There is no shortage of wineries in the valley, but the standouts are natural wines made by female winemakers. Be sure to visit Pouya, helmed by Fernanda Para. Last seen in San Diego at 2022’s NatDiego natural wine festival, Para makes natural wines that complement, rather than fight, the natural terroir of Valle. Try her skin-contact chenin blanc and—if there are any bottles left—her collab with Tecate’s Bichi Winery, a pét-nat of colombard called (wait for it…) Pichi. Henri Lurton and Bruma also make the shortlist for winery visits.
For an overnight stay, Siempre Valle is a hotel-meets-vacation rental that has sprawling views of vines and some of the best off-season rates around. Take a quick room respite, then start your evening with some local bubbles and oysters at the charming Conchas de Piedra to, well, aphrodisiac yourself.
Cap off a stay with dinner at the newly opened hipster staple, Bloodlust, a wine bar. The architecture of the grounds nearly outshines the stellar food and natural wine list, as it plays host to an amphitheater- like stage for live music, while local DJs command the decks inside the garlic-bulb-shaped restaurant. (Blood… vampires… garlic… get it?) If you didn’t get enough wine in, stop by Baja Divina, a wine shop brought to you by Lauren Plascencia, daughter of chef and hospitality giant Javier Plascencia.
Julian cidery
To keep it even more local, go quaint with a jaunt to Julian. Known for its homespun charm, Julian is an ideal place to stroll on your own and take things slow. Bring a journal and snag a bench in the Julian Pioneer Cemetery that overlooks the town, featuring famous corpses dating back to the 1870s, including Julian’s founder, Drury Bailey.
Once you depart the home of the departed, peruse the bucolic vendors on Main Street, like the Antique Boutique that peddles vintage wares or the Julian Book House to find funky used volumes. Take a breather from touristing and settle in for bites and sips at Julian Beer Co., your North Park away from home, featuring nearly 15 rotating house beers and a shaded patio. If you’re abstaining, head to the cute and kitsch at the Julian Tea & Cottage Arts where you can have high tea for one with finger sandwiches and all the Laura Ashley décor you can handle.
On the way home, take a detour at Lake Cuyamaca, the 110-acre body of water that is surrounded by the wilderness of Lake Cuyamaca State Park, with campgrounds and water activities. Since you’re by yourself and can’t make out on the docks, opt for a meditative walk or a paddle boat (quite the workout for one) or kayak rental. Grab lunch at The Pub at Cuyamaca, partly owned by the same folks as Julian Beer Co.
The 420 room at Idyllwild’s Hicksville Pines is decked out in plush furnishings and glow-in-the- dark psychedelic velvet posters.
Due north some ways in the mountains is Idyllwild. This unassuming mountain town is home to some of the most creative getaways, namely the 420-friendly Hicksville Pines Chalets & Motel. With 11 themed rooms, ranging from a palace of Dolly Parton worship to a Twin Peaks reimagination of David Lynch’s Black Lodge and a suite rocking perennial Christmas trimmings, there is a room for everyone’s quirk. Pro tip? Enjoy the gratis nug you get upon arrival while lounging in the jacuzzi. (Bonus points if you go when the tub is surrounded by mounds of snow.) Who needs company for that?
After your submerged relaxation, head to the town to find a string of thrift stores and search for the off-the-beaten-path Speakeasy Books for graphic novels, books, and games. Interested in less indoors and more outdoors? Gear up for a hike at loops like Suicide Rock, Deer Springs Trails, and Panorama Point. Things close early in town, so get ready for the wind down with a bottle from the Wine Finch natural wine shop or wine and dine yourself at Ferro, the town’s hotspot Italian bistro.
Bustling-with-boat-traffic Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island.
Photo: Love Catalina
For San Diegans, snow is a novelty, but water is home. Catalina Island is familiar enough with its beachy surroundings but exotic and far away enough to soothe the travel itch. Drive up to Dana Point, then take in the sea air on the hour-and-a-half Catalina Express ferry that will set you back just under $100 for a round-trip ticket to the main town of Avalon. Rent a golf cart to see the beachy cliffs and local Bison lowing, or bathe in the winter sun (it does exist) at Crescent Beach.
Sink into the island life and take yourself out to Luau Larry’s. Is it a tourist trap? Yes, but if someone has to cuff me, I want it to be Larry. This decades-old tiki bar is an institution for a reason. Have a Wicki Wacker and revel in your excellent decision-making. To make things chicer, head to the Naughty Fox and sup on crab sandwiches in modern surroundings. If you decide to stay the night (probably a good idea after Larry’s) and want to splurge, consider houseboat rentals to live as some intrepid locals do. If you want to do a deep dive of the island, head to the only other town, Two Harbors, and glamp it at Whites Landing with its two-person tents just to yourself, just offshore.
Danielle is a freelance culture journalist focusing on music, food, wine, hospitality, and arts, and founder-playwright of Yeah No Yeah Theatre company, based in San Diego. Her work has been featured in FLAUNT, Filter Magazine, and San Diego Magazine. Born and raised in Maui, she still loves a good Mai Tai.
The difficulties of turning water into wine during drought in San Diego County and Valle de Guadalupe
Chris Broomell of Vesper Vineyards is dry-farming vines (relying on rain) to avoid irrigation as drought becomes the norm in SoCal.
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
On the surface, everything in Valle de Guadalupe seemed great. I lounged in a small pool on the deck of a gorgeous villa at Bruma winery, sipping a glass of the winery’s sauvignon blanc in the intense late afternoon sun, gazing past the winery—built sustainably with reclaimed materials—out toward the arid, baked mountains in the distance. I’d spent the day sampling cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and chardonnay in modern design tasting rooms, along with crowds of other day-tripping Americans, before dining al fresco with local, organic ingredients, overlooking a vineyard.
Things are popping in Baja’s emerging wine scene. Earlier this century, there were only a dozen or so wineries. Now, there are almost 200. By all indications, Valle de Guadalupe is ready to take its place among the world-class gastronomic destinations.
But, under the surface, there’s something larger lurking.
“The big problem today is lack of water,” says Camillo Magoni, the 82-year-old winemaker of Casa Magoni, who’s worked 58 harvests in Baja. “We don’t have enough rain, and the water table is going down.” As moisture in Valle de Guadalupe dries up, there’ talk of winegrowers abandoning vineyards. New hotel and winery construction is pitting neighbor against neighbor, as some developers drill deeper wells, forcing others to pay higher prices for water from those who have it.
As more water is extracted from the valley’s ancient ocean-bed soil, the quality of the water that remains becomes saltier and poorer in quality. Often, you can taste an odd saline, briny note in Baja’s wines, particularly curious in the reds. Some say it’s “terroir.” Others blame it on the water.
“We need to solve this problem as soon as possible,” Magoni says, “Or the valley is gone.”
Winemaker Lulu Martinez of Bruma Vinícola worked in Bordeaux before her beginning her current role in Valle de Guadalupe, where she finds herself harvesting grapes earlier and earlier each year.
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
San Diego County’s own winegrowers are also facing a water crisis. “We thought we were irrigating enough, but we’ve never been in this kind of drought,” says Alysha Stehly, enologist and co-owner (with her husband Chris Broomell) at Vesper Vineyards. Stehly says she saw a 25 percent smaller yield in her vineyards during this fall’s harvest. “Everyone needs to start thinking: How do we farm without water?” she asks.
With all the crises facing the world, some might dismiss the issue of growing grapes for premium wine to be a minor, bougie, first-world problem. But wine has always been a window into much larger farming issues.
“In some ways, wine is like the canary in the coal mine for climate change impacts on agriculture because these grapes are so climate-sensitive,” said Benjamin Cook from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Cook is the co-author of a 2020 study that determined the world’s area suitable for growing wine grapes could shrink by more than half over the next several decades if climate change continues its pace. According to the study, some famed wine regions in Spain, Italy, Australia, and elsewhere are already too hot to grow their traditional grapes. Valle de Guadalupe and San Diego County share many characteristics of these regions. So what is a 21st-century winemaker in a hot climate supposed to do?
Lulu Martinez, a winemaker at Bruma, spent half her life working in Bordeaux, returning in 2015 to work with Bodegas Henri Lurton and then moving on to her current position. Baja is a completely different growing situation than a cooler, rainier environment like Bordeaux. “Here, it’s like, ‘Ok, tomorrow it’s going to be hot again,’” she says with a laugh.
Vines at J. Brix in SD County. “In the next 20 years, there’s going to be a huge change in the varieties planted,” co-winemaker Emily Towe says of area vines.
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
Martinez finds herself harvesting grapes earlier and earlier each year. This year, she harvested her sauvignon blanc in late July, a date nearly unheard of in the world of wine. She is also experimenting with techniques in the vineyard, such as adding algae from the sea to the usual crop cover between rows of vines. The algae helps to maintain humidity in the soil. Martinez insists that organic farming must be part of any solution. Right now, Bruma is organic in practice but still seeks certification. “Being organic?” she says. “Seriously, sincerely, we have to be. Today, making good wine is not enough. What’s your social ethic? What’s your environmental ethic?”
Despite her forward-thinking agricultural efforts, for Martinez, it all comes back to water. “We have to deal with the drought. Everything else is just easy,” says Martinez. “But Mother Nature only gave us so much water.” You’ll find the same conversation with every winemaker in the valley. “We started talking about this in 1986,” Magoni says ruefully. “We specialize in talking.”
Some have suggested desalination as a possible solution to the water problem. Magoni notes that south of Ensenada, there are around 60 private desalination plants used for agriculture. But he believes wineries like his in the valley may be too far from the ocean for that to be feasible. He sees reclaimed, treated water as a more likely solution. One plan that’s been talked about is a pipeline from Tijuana to bring reclaimed water to the valley. But as Martinez notes, “In Mexico, the government isn’t going to give this to us. We have to do it privately.”
Twelve years ago, with the permission of the water commission in Tijuana, Magoni planted an experimental vineyard inside the perimeter of the city’s water treatment plant. “I made water and soil analysis and did microbiology studies of the grapes. No problems at all. The vines are beautiful,” he said. This year, they harvested three tons of cabernet sauvignon from the water treatment plant.
Winemaker Lulu Martinez of Bruma Vinícola worked in Bordeaux before her beginning her current role in Valle de Guadalupe, where she finds herself harvesting grapes earlier and earlier each year.
“We need water, and the only source is treated water. But no one wants to communicate that,” says Victor Segura, winemaker at Madera 5, which is based on the outskirts of Ensenada in an industrial area that has been repurposed and now houses a handful of smaller wineries.
In San Diego County, growers are finding different challenges and solutions. Growers such Chris Broomell at Vesper Vineyards are having to implement dry-farming techniques to avoid irrigation, such as growing bush vines rather than the trellis system you find across most California vineyards. The bush vines need much less water and form a canopy that shields grapes from direct sunlight—something growers do in hot climates like the South of France, Spain, and Australia. “The trellis system is set for cheap economics, not quality,” Broomell says. “But with bush vines you have to farm it, and understand farming. Everything is way more expensive.”
Even that may not be enough. According to Broomell, vines need about 12 inches of rain per year for dry farming, and San Diego only got between 3 and 10 inches last year, depending on factors like elevation, proximity to the ocean, and other environmental factors. Broomell saw his grape yield drop by about a third this year. The drought is also causing another new threat: Coyotes. Broomell says coyotes will eat grapes from certain vineyards, and they also chew through irrigation systems, rendering them inoperable. Broomell estimates he lost about 20 to 50 percent of his grapes in certain vineyards to coyotes.
Beyond dry farming, water treatment plants, and coyote management, there’s also possibly a more straightforward solution: Grow different grapes. Both San Diego County and Valle de Guadalupe are very different than Bordeaux, Burgundy or Napa. Many suggest it’s time to move on from the internationally famous grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, or chardonnay and to focus on new varieties—ones that like heat and don’t require as much water.
“We are working with so many grapes here,” Segura says of Baja. “It’s crazy, but there’s not been much investigation into it. Sooner or later, we need to decide which grapes do better here.”
As he moves Madera 5 more toward hotter-climate Italian varieties like barbera or sangiovese, Segura believes that half of the grape varieties currently grown in Valle de Guadalupe need to be abandoned for the future. But that’s easier said than done. Wine drinkers still love and cling to what they’re familiar with. “People like the words cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir,” he says.
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Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
All over the wine world, there is talk about which new varieties need to be planted to deal with climate change. That’s the message of the study by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which looked at models for how various grapes would thrive in various climates.
“By switching these varieties around, you can reduce losses by a significant amount,” said Cook. For example, the study’s authors say Burgundy could cut its projected vineyard losses in half if it switched from pinot noir to heat-loving grapes like mourvèdre or grenache. In Europe, where regions have grown the same grapes for hundreds of years, these are not easy conversations, and changes must happen via legislation. Last year, it was huge news that the French government allowed Bordeaux to add six new grape varieties to the five it has grown for centuries.
The wine regions of Baja and San Diego are not bound by tradition. Many have already embraced grapes from France’s southern Rhône Valley, like mourvèdre. “For a long while, this was too weird for a lot of people,” says Broomell. “But mourvèdre is something special that can come out of San Diego.”
“In the next 20 years, there’s going to be a huge change in the varieties planted,” says Emily Towe of J. Brix in Escondido. Towe also sees varieties from the south of France, such as grenache, picpoul, and carignan, as the answer. “Because San Diego is so experimental and they’re planting so much Rhône, they’re ahead of the game,” she says.
Jody and Emily Towe lug a few bottles through their J. Brix vineyard.
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
In Valle de Guadalupe, which bills itself as the “Napa of Mexico,” changing grape varieties is more challenging. Right now, the signature grape of the region is the Italian grape nebbiolo—though many put “nebbiolo” in quotes since there’s a genetic link to the famous Nebbiolo of Italy’s Piedmont region.
“Climate is forcing us to choose,” says Magoni, who experiments with growing 120 varieties. “If you ask me, ‘Which one is the future?’ I don’t know,” he says with a laugh. “We need to find a grape that’s an icon, like malbec in Argentina.”
But how do you convince wine tourists to switch to unfamiliar grapes like mourvèdre, falanghina, fiano, vermentino, and aglianico? “Maybe we need to start blending to introduce the grapes,” Magoni says. “Some chardonnay with 20 percent vermentino, so people start hearing the name vermentino. It could take another ten years, but we need to start.
The top winemakers in the region see these changes as more positive than negative. “I hate what climate change is doing, but I love that it’s pushing the boundaries of what people do,” says Stehly of Vesper Vineyards. “You can’t just grow pinot noir anymore.”
Perfect pairings make this fundraiser one of our favorites
The San Diego Young Professionals Committee (YPC) and the University Club Charity Classic will host the 10th Annual Chocolate & Vino on Friday, September 5th at the University Club. Deemed an “Around the World Tasting,” guests get to sip and sample their way through different cuisines and wines of the world. Take in the city views from the 34th floor where the sunset alone is worth the ticket price. Proceeds from the event go to three different local organizations: Big Brothers Big Sisters, ALS Therapy Development Institute and Employee Partners Care Foundation.
Event Details:
Friday, September 5, 2014
The University Club atop Symphony Towers
750 B Street Suite 3400, San Diego CA 92101
6:00-9:00PM
Tickets: $60 per person
Purchase tickets HERE
10th Annual Chocolate & Vino
