Campo Creek Vineyards opens new Poway Tasting Room

While out and about for the holiday season festivities, I came across a newly opened San Diego Winery Tasting Room in Poway. So I decided to stop in and give these wines a try. The host Paul was super approachable, knowledgable and friendly. We had a wonderful time talking about the wines, the grape source(s), and the winemakers of Campo Creek Vineyards. Of the 9 wines we tasted through today, all but 1 are made with fruit completely grown in San Diego county. The one wine that they make with fruit from another region, is a Chardonnay that they source from Napa Valley, California. 

Our tasting started with the 2016 Viognier (link), and the nose leapt from the glass. The tropical tones & stone fruit made this a pleasure to drink. We followed this up with the other white wine, the 2015 Chardonnay. This wine has the telltale markers of Oak treatment on the nose & palate with a creamy texture without the "buttery" effect. It was a very full wine that would do well against a heavy cream sauce.

We next moved into the Rosé selections on the menu. The first was the 2015 Blushing Rose (link), made from a Viognier and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was an interesting nose, but very intriguing body. Full of flavor & easy to drink, this would be a great hot day chiller. The other rosé today was the 2015 Pink Syrah (link), a fun drink that gets its color distinctive Salmon color from a light 2-hour skin contact before pressing. This refreshing drink was initially sour fruit, but warmed up into jammy fruit over time.

At this point we began out journey exploring the Red section of the tasting options. The first up was a 2013 Rancher's Red (link), a blend of the 3 estate grown grapes they produce: Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This interesting blend would make for a great food pairing, but was a little heavy for hot day. I can see drinking this around a nice fireplace with a burning fire. The next red wine poured this afternoon was the 2014 Estate Grown Syrah (link), with a complex nose & full bodied with hints of garden herbs. 

The next wine on the list was a 2015 Estate grown Merlot (link) that had the distinctive aromas of merlot grown in a hot climate. With a nose of blue fruit & cocoa, the body was typical for a SoCal Merlot with medium tannins. The last glass of the afternoon was a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon (link). When I put this to my nose, I would have sworn that I had a dessert wine in front of me. The nose did not match the palate, as the tannins were mild, the fruit was forward & stewed, while the medium body provided needed structure to the whole thing.

The tasting ended with us discussing the newly opened Tasting Room location Poway. The bar is set for approximately 6 people, there is a large table for parties of 8+ people. The decor was "Ranch" as the walls were covered in saddles, chaps, & other real family horse tending equipment from their collection. They even have a saddle from the family patriarch's run of the Tevis ride, a  100 mile, 24 hour, horseback race. As I was completing my checkout, I saw out of the corner of my eye some very cool wine related craft earrings & necklaces. After some internal debate I selected one of these wonderful crafts for an upcoming holiday gift. One more person I can cross off the Xmas gift list, score! 

I sure was glad that I spotted the 'Wine Tasting' sign coming back from the holiday festival & now I have a fun location to recommend to people who would like to do some wine tasting in Poway, CA. I would like to thank Mr. Paul Clarke for taking the time today to chat about Campo Creek Vineyards, it's winemaking history & the family involvement in the process. He made the whole wine tasting a wonderful & seamless experience.