fear and damage of the heat spike experienced in early July.” Glowing reviews from Antonio Galloni of Vinous, and William Keller of the Wine Advocate, continue to offer distinctive touches to this wellrespected winery. According to Keller, “The Ojai Vineyard has a wide range of terrific, site-specific wines at prices that are exceedingly fair … the pinots and syrahs are the highlights.” Galloni says, “Readers will find a large number of terrific choices in this lineup of new releases. The entry-level whites are especially fine, as are the 2016 chardonnays. I find the 2016 pinots a bit more variable than the chardonnays, while the 2015 syrahs are consistently brilliant.” The tasting room is open daily from 12-6 p.m.
Thomas Fire, but more than half of their vines survived. “While our harvest will be less this year, we will be able to produce a vintage,” says Chernof. The Alisal winery’s tasting room is located in the Azu Restaurant on Ojai Avenue. All of its wines are available there by the bottle or glass, as well as in tasting flights. Stop in and try the syrah, grenache, malbec, Happy Valley red, Pink Moment rosé, viognier or grenache blanc. The tasting room is open Friday to Sunday, 12-5 p.m. ojaialisal.com BOCCALI VINEYARDS & WINERY Just before you head up the grade into Upper Ojai you will find Boccali Vineyards and Winery’s tasting location at Boccali’s Restaurant. This family-owned and operated vineyards and winery offers a wide selection of award-winning 100% estate wines, including their Valley Oak Viognier, Shangri-La Grenache Blanc, Rustic Red (a zinfandel, cabernet and syrah blend),
ojaivineyard.com OJAI ALISAL Bruce Chernof and Dan Garcia oversee a beautiful spot in Upper Ojai where they grow their own grapes to make their fine wines. Their 2015 grenache won a gold medal at the Lyon International Competition, which is one of the largest blind tasting competitions in France. They’ve also won numerous medals from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Chernoff says that Alisal’s 2016 reds are the best they’ve ever made, with the addition of Mourvedre for the first time as part of their blends. Their property was completely swept by last year’s
2014 Topa Topa Syrah (winner of a double-gold medal at the San Francisco Wine Competition) and an Old Winery Zinfandel. All their wines are grown, produced and bottled on their property in the upper Ojai Valley; a distinction which allowed them to recently receive their Certified Producer’s Certificate from the State Department of Agriculture. Tastings are on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. in their casual outdoor setting. boccalivineyards.com VOLUME 36 NUMBER 4 | WINTER 2018
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