One of our hobbies is to visit wineries and wine tasting rooms wherever we travel. Sometimes, we don’t want to travel much and stick close to home. Fortunately, there is a fairly wide selection right in our home county, Ventura.
The first winery we ever visited was after attending a tasting event at the Simi Valley Bevmo. Malibu Winery sent a representative and many of their wines for us to taste. We were each given a token for one free tasting at the winery. Usually, we don’t use this sort of thing. However, it was close to my birthday, so we went there to celebrate.
The tasting area is in a covered pavilion style building. There is a park-like area with several tables, and a lot of interesting farm and winemaking related stuff to look at. The wines are superb.
The Baron Herzog Winery was the most fascinating to visit. Many of the wines were a little sweet for our tastes, but they have a winery tour that is amazing. There is an upper hallway that rings the bottling area. The day we were there, the area was capping and labeling bottles.
On the opposite walls was information about how wine is made and how the Herzog Winery got its start. There is also a restaurant on the premises that uses (and pairs) the wines. Both establishments are kosher.
Our most recent adventure might have had an unhappy ending. On the wine trail, there was an establishment called “Mr. Suds.” I was attracted to the name, though I am not a beer fan. When we got there, they were shutting down the store for good. The only things left, aside from equipment, were balloons and stuff to use in beer making.
Fortunately, we used my husband’s iPhone and found another location quite a lot closer to home. It’s called The Vineyard, and offers four flights, ranging from $10 to $20. We each had a different flight and tasted both. We hadn’t intended to buy anything, but it was so good, we did.
There are several things I like about The Wineyard. First, it isn’t vineyard owned. While I enjoy visiting them, it’s nice to get a chance to taste a variety of wines from several locations. The location the grapes are grown makes a big difference in how the wine tastes.
Second, we loved the friendly, knowledgeable woman (thank you, Lisa) who poured the flights and answered our questions. It was a relaxed atmosphere. Not all tasting rooms are relaxed, and very few of them have seats…another thing The Wineyard has. There are also tables for those who want to stay and enjoy a glass or bottle.
In many tastings we’ve been to, there has always been at least one wine that gets dumped by one of us. Not here; all of them were quite good. That speaks well for the knowledge of the owners and the quality of their products.
Last, we liked the prices. Many tasting rooms, especially vineyard owned rooms, charge upwards of $25 for the least expensive wines they sell. Usually, the best tasting wines are over $30. The Vineyard has them beat there, too. The prices were reasonable, especially given the quality of the wine.
If you live in or near Ventura County, have fun trying the various tasting rooms, but don’t miss out on The Vineyard. It’s located at 1948 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360.
