Friendly and full of fun reds.

Rebecca greets you as you approach the wine bar with “hello friend.” I could tell this was going to be an engaging wine tasting adventure. The winery, grounds, architecture, glass floor peering into the barrel room, all exceptional and stunning. With 65 owners, I wonder how they make decisions? Monte De Oro Winery has 70 acres of estate grapes in the Temecula valley.

A few intriguing descriptions:

Vigna Vincini — …nutmeg, and Heath Bar, pair with margherita flatbread

Syrah — …long gripping finish

We purchased several bottles of the Syrah with the long gripping finish, and joined their wine club.

Things I learned at this winery:

Racking is a process by which wine is taken out of the barrel, the sediment is cleaned, then the wine is returned to the barrel. Monte De Oro racks 3 times a year.

Hungarian Oak isn’t from Hungry, it is mostly grown in Missouri and Arkansas.

If you age wine in a barrel made from Hungarian Oak, it will taste different than the same wine aged in French Oak. A trend in wine making is to use bourbon barrels, because of the unexpected flavor added to the wine. A good to great oak barrel can cost between $1500 and $1800.

In order to have a varietal name such as Merlot or Syrah, the bottle must contain at least 85% of that varietal.

More often than not, you don’t purchase a bottle of these wines: Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Grenache, or Cinsaut. They are typically used to blend with other varietals, hence GSMs.

I’ve been pronouncing Riesling wrong. It has a long i, not a long e.