Southern California is having a renaissance in the wine industry, but mostly due to the growth of the Temecula area. However, eighty years ago, when Napa was just getting started, the largest concentration of wineries (over 130 by many accounts!) was in a small community north of San Diego, in a town called Escondido. Now if we play with Mr. Peabody’s Way-Back Machine, we can literally step into a winery that was built in 1932 and experience a winery, as though it was 1932. Much of the oddity of going to Ferrara is its location; set now in an entirely residential area of 1950’s-style bungalows, the locale was once entirely agricultural with Ferrara being the last remnant of those days gone by.
Sadly, even those last vestiges of agriculture are being plowed under. The bulk of the wine produced by Ferrara these days are from grapes purchased from growers in Temecula and Rancho Cucamonga. Construction is underway adjacent to the grounds where yet another house is being built on a plot of land which just a few weeks prior, was home to wine grapes. There is one small plot of vineyard left next to the buildings, but these are more decorative than anything.
Walking into the tasting room is also a transformation — a low ceiling with a heavy wrought-iron candelabra casts dim light on the dark wood shelves, laden with screw-top jug bottles. The back of the room had an abandoned kitchen area, complete with a refrigerator display unit, a meat slicer, and counter. The story I was told that when Grandfather George passed away, only a few years ago, they shut down the food service. Now, with health department regulations the way they are, it would be impossible to re-open without substantial renovation. Had they stayed open, the grandfather laws would have been in affect and the health department could say little about their operation.
The dichotomy of Ferrara is two-fold; there is a vast array of the large-format jug wine that is on display and sold, but not offered for tasting. These include bulk Chablis, Kellermeister, Weis Wine, and Mellow Vin Rosé. When I queried what some of these were (being unfamiliar with the term Weis Wine, for example), I was basically told the bulk wine was made from "any grape the owner can buy…" Then there is also the selling of grape juice in jugs — a variety of grape juices including Chardonnay and others which are never made very apparent.
Much of the wine that IS tasted is in the standard 750ml-sized bottle with actual pull corks. There are a variety of labels, both recreations of the historic label dating back to the 1930s and a more austere, classic label with the winery name and the varietal. In general, the wines are not of a quality that would justify aging or even proper cellaring. It is generally common plonk but with an occasional surprise. The prices are affordable with the downside that tastings are done with plastic sample cups (you know, the size that pills are dispensed in when at a hospital). Considering the expansive list of what is being made and the years they have been in business, they must be doing something right!
2000 Chardonnay – Like a fino sherry, aromas of apple cider or an off martini. Very, very dry. $9.85
NV Chardo Cat – 60% Chardonnay and 40% Muscat de Alexandria. Intensely sweet nose or orange blossom and flowers. Clean and sweet, but not sickly syrupy in its sugar. $9.53
NV White Zinfandel – Only 11% alcohol. Pale, salmon colored. Sweetish entry with heightened acidity. Not as harsh as a more famous Napa offering of the same… $5.50
NV Carignane Rouge – Clear garnet, looking all the while like a Pinot Noir. Overtly sweet strawberry aromas. Candy sweet entry that, like a Beaujolais, is served well chilled, but does not diminish its sugar. $9.25
NV Muscat of Alexandria – 11% alcohol, made in a demi-sac style. Sweet, floral tones of backed honey buns and candied orange. Surprisingly clean, but turns harsh at the end. Not unengaging, surprisingly. $12.50
NV Vino Rosso – "A classic Chianti of Carignane, Merlot, and Zinfandel." [sic] Faint, woodsy aromas with a tinny entry, flabby, fruit, and no finish. $9.53
NV Red Zinfandel – Painfully sweet bouquet. Harsh entry that goes no where. $10.50
Nonie Gino, Vino di Caspano – Same red make-up as the Vino Rosso, but in different proportion (never told what those were!) Not nearly as flabby as the Vino Rosso, but softer and sweeter with a thin, flaccid, metallic grapey finish. $9.53
Generation III Tawny Port - Here’s where I was shocked and awed. Entitled Generation III as this is a true tawny, made in the classic style with some of Grandpa’s circa 1930s port contained within the current offering. A dark, golden brown color, the aromas were sweet and very nutty, showing hazelnut, caramel, toffee, and butterscotch. The toffee and caramel flavors continued into the mouthfeel and were enhanced by a subtle, erotic coffee tone. Shockingly good at $32.95.
NV Nectar de Luz – A sweet wine made from the Muscat de Alexander. Dark amber color showing toasted sweet honey in the nose. Tad harsh entry with dark, rustic toffee tones. $20.49
NV Cream Sherry – Very, very sickly sweet. $20.49
Almond de Luz – White wine-based liqueur with natural almond flavoring and fortified with brandy. $12.50
Ferrara Winery ~ 1120 W. 15th Street ~ Escondido ~ CA ~ 92025 ~ 760-745-7632
I daresay that Witch Creek Winery might very well be the only winery within a walking block’s distance to the Pacific Ocean. Located near a community of antique stores in historic Carlsbad, the working building and tasting room is hardly special or decorative. 
A slump of concrete with signs that badly need re-painting marks the home of Witch Creek, tasting room, barrel room, offices, lab, and all. The winery’s name comes from a small creek which runs near a vineyard in the east county of San Diego, near Ramona.
Started by the Wodehouse family in 1993, one of the things I was told was that they pride themselves on is that most of the grapes are grown within an 85-mile radius of the city of Carlsbad. However, a list near a complete list as I could obtain goes like this:
There is a cat that often appears on the labels, alludes to a witch’s familiar – or companion – so I wonder if there are any occult affiliations within the establishment?!?!
