Reverend WineauxAria here: Wineries and wines from Paso Robles have had great reviews in recent years. Daou, Calcareous, Austin Hope, and Opolo are some of my favorites.
Tin City is a great place to find Olive Oil, Pasta, Mushrooms, Cider and Craft Beers.
More to come…All this in my backyard. I am so fortunate!
Early last year [2025], I was in San Diego again and met up with Steve and his girlfriend Melissa. On Thursday, we went wine tasting at La Mesa Wine Works along with Steve’s sister, Cecile, and her neighbors, Rob & Jeff, along with Sandy and Sara. We played Trivia; they do that on Thursday nights. It’s a blast!
What a great time! Our team, The Usual Suspects, came close to winning, but Blue’s Clues won. Cecile said they usually won. Two of their members live near Melissa. One team answered every question wrong on purpose; they had hilarious–but wrong–answers.
Click on the photo of their building to go to their website…
Being that this blog is about wine, I should tell you more about their wines and vineyards. Here is what they say…
Long-time La Mesa residents Mike and Linda McWilliams bought San Pasqual Winery in 2009 when it was San Diego’s first urban winery, then located in Pacific Beach. After working with City Hall to update La Mesa’s zoning regulations to permit the production of wine and beer, they established a larger production facility on Center Street. This led the way for what we refer to as La Mesa’s Industrial Revolution, resulting in two breweries and now Wine Works, all located within easy walking distance in La Mesa’s industrial area. Mike and Linda are active in the San Diego County Vintners Association, with Linda currently serving as President.
My favorite was one of their white wines… 2025 Golden Hour (Blush Blend) – San Diego County, dry blend of 60% Albariño, 40% Rosè of Cabernet Franc & 3% Tempranillo.
My favorite reds were the 2014 Syrah and the 2012 Zinfandel, both labeled as San Diego County wines. Both were great examples of their grapes.
I was in San Diego recently and visited a few really amazing wineries. Mia Marie, Domanie Artifact, and Hungry Hawk. The region produces a lot of Italian varietals, due to the county’s desert-like environment.
Hungry Hawk: Their winemaker, Mike Embly, just won 2026 Winemaker of the Year, and the 2026 Winery of the year. Clink on Mike’s photo to go to the winery…
The competition included both domestic and imported wines and was judged by winemakers from throughout the United States. Results were based on blind-tasting. Hungry Hawk Vineyards is thrilled to receive these awards along with 3 Gold Medals, 3 Platinum Medals, and “Best of Varietal” awards. These wines are deemed to be of top quality on the world stage.
I loved their 2002 Estate Reserve Sangiovese. I can see why they received these honors. Great job Mike!
I had a huge argument with Steve about this post. I threatened to move my website to WIX if he deleted it or edited it in any way, or removing his photo or the story I’m going to tell about him. I met Steve at a wine tasting at Feast, my favorite place to eat when I am in Tucson. They sat me at a big table in their back dining room, where a kind lady, Erica Sparks, introduced me to everyone. I was sitting next to Steve. He commented about my wine knowledge, and enquired about my wine experience. I explained that I worked in the wine industry in Paso Robles. When I asked, he said he had a pretty diverse background: photography, publishing, advertising, writing copy, and currently had a company doing all those things, The Design People.
I was thrilled, I have peculiar sense of humor. I told Steve about my ideas and we set out to create Reverend Wineaux!
Steve here, I need to comment, Aria didn’t say I had to keep my mouth zipped. I do not like WIX. I worked on webpages for a local Lions Club. WIX makes web design easy, but despite the fact that I did all the work, I could not export the website design away from WIX. I convinced the Lions that I could host and design a more custom site and save them money in the long run. Don’t beleive anything Aria says about me…
Alex Miller really shares this honor with me. She arranged our wine tasting events, getting hosts to open their homes, pick wines, and make a main course to go with their wines. I handled emails for sign-ups and side dishes to go with the main course and wines, nagged people to sign up in time, and reported our blind tasting results for the National Tasting Project. You should check out the American Wine Society; they have chapters all across the US. It is the largest organization for wine lovers in the country. Click the AWS logo above to learn more. You can thank me later…
Steve and his friend Alex Miller were co-chairs of the Tucson Foothills chapter of AWS for several years. Starting before the COVID Pandemic through 2025. AWS has over 600 Chapters and annually asks members to vote for Chapter Chair of the Year. Steve said that he submitted Alex for the honor. When he was contacted by the Membership Director to set up a phone call, Steve thought they had questions about Alex. Instead, Carrie told Steve that the board had unanimously selected Steve for the honor.
A friend invited me to dinner recently, and this is the wine he served. He picked it up on a trip to Arizona. What a great wine! Lightning Ridge Cellars is located in a wine-growing region south and east of Tucson, Arizona. Elgin, to be exact. Go to Arizona, visit the Sonoita/Elgin area, and drink. I’ll talk about wines from this area once I pay them a secret visit. I’ll have to leave one of my business cards behind clandestinely.
Love you all, Aria!
Grapes are a gift from the Grape Gods! How blessed are we that the Grape Gods and Goddesses have chosen us to receive this gift!