We drove past the place at first, then realized it was the neighbor of another small winery we'd visited. It's a tiny spot, what was originally the house for the plot is in the middle of being converted into a large tasting room. In the meantime, we were hosted in the barn by a very knowledgeable employee named Gabriel, and met the owner, Steve Chapin.
The wines were excellent, and all bottle aged before release. The estate vines are just coming to fruition, so expect more Italian varietals soon. We went beyond our usual wine budget and grabbed a bottle each of the '07 Syrah and '07 Cab at $30-ish each. They had an older Cab that was fantastic, but expensive.
We arrived for lunch a touch early, thought about doing a tasting first, but balked at the crowd. Headed in to the restaurant, which wasn't crowded, and got seated immediately. The decor was very nice, and the view of the valley from the hillside perch was awesome through floor-to-ceiling windows.
They must be getting a deal on ducks, because for the month of December they're doing weekend chef's duck specials. Mrs. Pegleg had a blackened duck breast with gorgonzola mashed potatoes--she loved it, and I stole some bites and ate most of the blackened fat. Mmmm....duck fat. I had a very nice swordfish fillet with an artichocke risotto; swordfish is the other other white meat.
Since we visited Chapin, we've been to every winery currently open in the Temecula valley. More wine reviews to come.
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