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Wine Lover's Guide to Southern California
While it's not the epicenter of the wine world, Los Angeles nevertheless has many offerings in the area that have a big appeal to the wine lover. Here we take you to our favorite L.A. wine related sites, starting on the outskirts and working our way into downtown. Enjoy, and when you're finished here you might want to skip over to our Wineries Page to see some of our favorite wine makers.
180 Miles away
The Central Coast wine region centered around San Luis Obispo and the Edna Valley make some fine whites and pinot noirs. Our favorite thing to do here is to take a bike tour of the many backroads of the region dashing from winery to winery. The Edna Valley Winery makes a great stop after a couple of hours huffing it through the hilly back country of San Luis Obispo.
SLO Links:
140 Miles away
The Central Coast wine region of Santa Barbara County centered around Santa Ynez and Solvang has a slightly hotter & drier climate than the SLO region. The wineries here tend to be a little smaller easier to navigate. It also makes a great change of pace from the touristy kitsch of Solvang.
Solvang & Santa Ynez wine Links:
Los Olivos Wine & Spirits sellers of Santa Barbara County wines.
80 Miles away
Temecula is inland and hot. Robust reds like cabernet do very well here. Be sure to save some time to tour the Thornton champagne winery at the head of the valley.
Temecula wine Links:
Wineries of the Temecula Valley Page
40 Miles away
The Cucamonga valley is Southern California's oldest wine making region. Due to rampant growth & development, not much remains of the valley's once abundant vineyards. In fact, only two wineries that I know of (e-mail me if you know of more) still exist here...the wineries of Galleano & J. Filippi. San Antonio also maintains a shop here but the winery is in L.A.
Cucamonga Valley wine Links:
20 Miles away
Ever get those fliers in the mail for the Wine of the Month Club? This is the program you sign up to get 2 bottles of different wines delivered to your door each month. Well, the club has come out of the mailroom and opened a store front with their great little Wine Shoppe in Old Town Monrovia. Paul & Ed will make sure you have just the right wine and will even help you not to spend too much. Located at 116 W. Lime Ave.
0 Miles away...the Epicenter
You're driving down a post-industrial stretch of Main Street in East L.A. thinking you've got to be lost. Rust and decay surround you. A perfect vision of L.A. but where's the winery? You turn down a little side street just before the railroad tracks, drive a block, and there it is. A vision straight out of Tuscany...the entrance to San Antonio Winery.
Downtown L.A. has two spots that should be on every wine lover's list when they're here. San Antonio Winery...L.A.'s last winery...and Philippe's. Why Philippe's? Because where else could you get a glass of superb Atlas Peak Sangiovese for $3.00 to go with your delicous french-dipped sandwich (and if you have too much, coffee is only 9 cents!).
Downtown Los Angeles wine Links:
Philippe, the Original Home Page