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This good-size winery produces 5,000 cases per year and features a rooftop garden that's a green oasis, as well as helping to keep the building cool. Finca la Carrodilla began in 2011 and gets its name from La Virgen de la Carrodilla, an Argentinian saint who watches over vineyards. The winery practices sustainable agricultural practices and grows its grapes organically. It is one of the few wineries in the valley that can label wines as "organic". Varietals include Syrah and Chenin Blanc, and the winery produces several blends.
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Founded in 2008, Las Nubes has grown to a mid-size winery producing over 10,000 cases of wine per year. The modern facility uses sustainable methods to grow a wide range of varietals and also purchases "old vine" grapes from other local vineyards. The wines often have whimsical names of clouds, like Cumulus and Cirrus. They grow a large number of varietals, both white and red, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Grenache, Cabernet, Syrah, Carignan, and Tempranillo. The upper level includes an expansive outdoor deck with comfortable seating and awnings providing some shade from the bright afternoon sun as steady Pacific breezes keep it comfortably bearable. The lower levels include the production facilities as well as the aging caves, where thousands of oak barrels lie stacked in neat rows in the cool, damp air.
El Cielo is a large winery, producing over 30,000 cases per year. Their hacienda style facility includes the winery, caves, tasting room, a luxurious boutique hotel, two lakes, and two restaurants: one is an upscale steakhouse, the other a fusion of Baja and Yucatan cuisines. El Cielo produces several levels of wine, the first is made for casual drinking and is typically a younger wine. The Constellations level is more evolved and can stay in the bottle from four to ten years. The Estrellas label represents the premium wines, designed to be cellared and matured from ten to twenty years.
Friendly, unpretentious vineyard owned by the Bibayoff family, Russian Molokans who have operated the rancho since 1931. They produce a range of white and red wines, including an excellent zinfandel and also produce old vine grapes for other wineries.
F. Rubio is a young winery, established in 2014, but one that is rapidly building a reputation for fine wines and fine dining in their bistro. Their Herencia white is made from Palomino grapes and is a full-bodied wine with a touch of Chenin Blanc. Their Malbec is aged in French oak for 12 months and has a somewhat dry palate.
The folks at Vena Cava are taking sustainability to a new level with their eclectic new winery built largely of reclaimed, errr, junk. Like the ceiling of their tasting room built of abandoned boats from the port of Ensenada. It's definitely a conversation starter. Let's talk wines. They have some straightforward varietals, like a 100% Granache, but quite a few blends, like an 80% Sauvignon Blanc with 20% Chenin Blanc, or a 50-50 blend of Grenache and Syrah.
The modern winery features a large tasting room with floor to ceiling glass windows, a subterranean cave where tastings can be arranged by reservation, and fields of neatly tended vines stretching as far as the eye can see. Wines include a 100% Chardonnay aged in Hungarian oak for 4 months, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in French and American oak barrels, and a 100% Malbec aged 12 months in French and American oak barrels.