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Viognier, increasing strong in Temecula, is one of the offerings at Palumbo. South Coast Master Winemaker Jon McPherson shows great enthusiasm for Charmat-style sparkling wines. though his 6,000 cases per year (from 40 acres) also include relative oddities like Zinfandel Port and White Merlot, and bottlings of Lagrein and Old Vine Zinfandel from others. Relative newbie owner/winemaker Doug Wiens (who drafted his brothers into the business) moves some 14,000 cases/year, focused on Big Reds and sturdy Chards, out of the picture-perfect Wiens Family Cellars. Marshall Stuart is dedicated to French varieties at Stuart Cellars. enough consumers who are tired of the same old thing," he tells THE TASTING PANEL. Everything to Improve Quality With its picture-perfect tasting room and gentleman farmer owners, Leonesse Cellars might appear as the antithesis of Palumbo. In fact, their young winemaker, Tim Kramer, might be even more brazen—pick- ing Pinot Noir in early August, for example—while his wines are undeni- ably worthy, even with one of the Valley's largest case volumes. Co-owner Mike Rennie, a veteran grape grower in the valley (who even sells fruit to respected names up north) is throwing a fair amount of weight behind white varietals Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne, among others. "Now that I'm growing for my own," says Rennie, "I do everything I can to improve quality." Sturdy Chardonnays are a backbone of Wiens Family Cellars. Considering their excess of accolades (California State Winery of the Year!) and an output dwarfing all neighbors (65,000 cases, most from their own 260 acres), one might expect South Coast Winery to be self-satisfied. But even their Master Winemaker Jon McPherson admits, "Temecula has yet to develop a style." The straight-shooting West Texas native shows his greatest enthusiasm for his extensive array of Charmat-style sparkling wines, but also points out how they're going past the elevations of their Wild Horse Peak vineyards (2000+ feet above sea level) to plant Touriga Nacional near Mount Palomar. None of which should imply that classic Californian wines are an endangered species in Temecula. Marshall Stuart and his homespun Stuart Cellars both represent a more innocent era of Temecula winemaking, still dedicated to French varieties, Radiating Confidence By pure serendipity, the last winery I visit is one of the oldest and yet the most future-focused. Though estab- lished in 1969, since Louis Darwish bought Mount Palomar Winery from the original family five years ago, he put it on a fast track of massive expan- sion. Darwish, whose background is in real estate and airline catering, details plans for a family-friendly lavish resort that will dwarf that of South Coast (which is also expanding), as well as hundreds more acres planted, while his 20-something daughter Carol focuses on improving the reputation of winemaker Craig Boyd's output. Which, in addition to popular Rieslings, Sparklings and the winery's traditional Solera Cream Sherry, happens to now include a series of "Castelletto" Italian varietals. "If we build this hotel, every weekend we will be full," says Louis with confidence. "And we can sell 40,000 cases"—he snaps—"like this." Owner Louis Darwish has big plans for Mount Palomar Winery and for Temecula in general. For E. C. Gladstone's extensive tasting notes on Temecula wines, visit www.tastingpanelmag.com. september 201 1 / the tasting panel / 85