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| Bernardo Winery in San Diego's Rancho Bernardo Neighborhood |
DAY TRIP ESCAPE--It was such a gorgeous
day that we turned a business trip to San Marcos into a serene and delicious
day trip to Café Merlot, a indoor/outdoor restaurant on the grounds of the busy
and wine active Bernardo Winery.
If
you haven’t been there you’re in for a pleasant surprise. The sprawling grounds of the 1889 winery are
in the middle of not-so-cheap red-tiled housing tracts in San Diego’s Rancho
Bernardo neighborhood. If you’re not
quick to read the small sign you’ll miss the Paseo Del Verno Norte turn off
from southbound Pomerado Road (The Pomerado Road nearest Lake Hodges—not the
one in Scripps Ranch). Just when you
think you’re on the road to visit Aunt Maude and weird uncle Vito—there it
is—hidden behind olive trees.
Remember
the winery was there first because that’s hard to believe that as you drive
along Paseo Del Verno Norte.
On
arrival, I immediately thought of Knotts Berry Farm as a kid—before thrill
rides and modernization. Being compared
to old Knotts is a good thing.
Bernardo
Winery at 13330 Paseo Del Verano Norte is also a quaint commercial village now
make no mistake, but the unpretentious feeling about the grounds makes it worth
the half-hour drive from San Diego.
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| Cafe Merlot |
Arriving
mid-week at Café Merlot, we were seated on the outdoor patio. Staff isn’t pushy on selling you wine. They’re focused on making your dining
experience a nice one. Menu is skewed to soups, salads and sandwiches with on
premise desserts. We tried a bit of
everything and ate way too much. Also
our Groupon had expired but they accepted it—no problem.
Price
was fair for two with one mimosa (sunny day remember) even without the Groupon.
Wine
tasting patio was down the block, where a flight of 5 wines is priced at
$10. Nearby is Sweet Pea, the coffee
house that serves plenty of Ryan Bros. grinds and desserts. The Cafe and coffee
shop offer breakfast, lunch and snack items for you to enjoy on the
grounds. My wine drinking partner liked
the idea of being able to sip and shop.
At
different times of the year, it may not look like your traditional winery,
especially if you’re Napa or Sonoma County aficionados, but make no mistake
Bernardo Winery is a full working winery, family owned for three generations producing
wine in San Diego, with San Diego grapes. Tank number six in the winery barn holds
enough aging wine to fill 15,000 bottles.
The
winery (www.bernardowinery.com)
has transitioned over the years from the early production and growing style
established in San Diego by the missionaries to family heritage roots by
producing Italian varietals as well as Spanish and French varietals, dry
climate style wines well suited for the San Diego Terrior. The tasting room is
open daily (except Mondays) to sample wines.
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| Weddings and special events are popular |
After
we ate too much (portions were huge, including a dessert bread pudding that was
enough for four) we decided to walked through the centuries-old buildings and
wine making equipment, new and old, beautiful gardens, unique studios,
galleries and shopping in our village of shops.
Just
when we thought we were calorie safe, we bumped into a full, functioning candy
store.
After
leaving the sweet shop, we entered Icarus Studio and viewed the remarkable plein
air landscapes of San Diego resident Robert Caldwell. There were easily five landscapes we admired. Instead we settled on attending one of his
classes at the winery soon.
MORE ABOUT BERNARDO
WINERY:
The Winery, Village Shops,
Cafe Merlot and the entire property is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Easter
Sunday, Christmas Day & New Years Day.
Tasting Room
Spring/Summer Hours:
Open Monday - Friday 9am to
5pm
Saturday & Sunday 9am
to 6pm
$10 for 5 tastes.
Shops & Studios
Tuesday - Sunday 10am to
5pm
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| The wine barn |
Individual shop times may
vary...
Cafe Merlot
Tuesday - Thursday 10am to
3pm
Friday - Sunday Breakfast
8:30am -1pm
Friday - Sunday Lunch
11am-3pm
Sweet Pea Coffee Shop
Open Tuesday - Sunday 8am
to 4pm
Friday's Farmers Market
Friday's 9am to 12noon
The Rizzo family grows more
400 olive trees of various
varieties for olive oil production including ascolano, mission, manzanilla de
sevilla and sevillano.
5o hass avocado trees line
the north side of the property.
2500 grape vines including
red and white concord, zinfandel, syrah, merlot, cabernet franc, muscat,
mission, tokay & alicante are spread around in the various lots and around
the buildings.
The Winery only uses well
water and runoff to irrigate our landscape and crops.
They implement only organic
farming techniques reminiscent of decades ago when the lack of modern
technology limited your options as a farmer. No chemical pesticides, chemical
herbicides or chemical fertilizers are used on the property.
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