Hart Family Winery

Over the weekend my car club had a planned tour through Temecula and southern Riverside county to the mountain community of Idyllwild.

The first stop on the tour was Hart Family Winery; Joe Hart is a long time Alfisti. Joe is a pioneer winemaker in the Temecula, planting his first vines in the early 1970's. The winery is the first winery that you encounter when entering the Temecula Wine Country. We have stopped at Hart many times in the past and always enjoyed the intimate atmosphere of the winery and tasting room.

This year Joe was kind enough to give the club a private tour and tasting of his latest and greatest bottlings. Most impressive was his Grenache Rose. I have not been a fan of Grenache in the past as it was a bit too floral for my nose, but the Rose was just delightful. Served slightly chilled, it did have some floral notes, but not over powering and the hint of acidity kept the palate clean. Nice fruit but not sweet tasting at all.

The Sauvignon Blanc was also a great warm weather wine with crisp clean characteristics, but the bouquet retained the tropical fruit notes of Sauvignon Blanc.

The last stand out was called Three and is an homage to the Rhone blends of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. Blended nicely with no one grape overpowering the others.