'SWEET WATER!'
Written: Aug 10 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderful inexpensive wines, great service and atmosphere!
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: If you're over 21, this makes for a great, inexpensive day trip in the Los Angeles Area.
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| kay24's Full Review: Agua Dulce Vineyards |
Aqua Dulce - Spanish for Sweet Water.
This is a submission to Candice and Dionne's Tandem Write-Off! Everything that Kay24 wrote is in plain font. Everything written by Candice923 is in italics. You can go to this link to find out about Candice and Dionne's Tandem Write-Off and how you can enter!
This wonderful vineyard was created by two men and their families (Ray Watt and Don MacAdam). It covers 90 acres of land and it is 50 min drive from downtown Los Angeles. My daughter-In -Law Candice923 took us to this vineyard while we were visiting with her. She had always wanted to go and saved this one trip to share with us....
While the vineyard is located 50 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, it is only 20 miles south of where my husband and I live in Palmdale. I had passed it a couple of times while driving down Sierra Highway, and always wanted to go inside. I never had an opportunity to, however. When my in-laws, Kay24 and her partner Jim, came to visit from New Zealand, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to go!
Before we went into the winery for (you guessed it!) wine tasting, we wandered around the outside of the building and met some of the workers who were good enough to talk to us and explain the crushing of grapes and the processes they go through in order to make their delicious wine. They were crushing at the time and the air was rich and thick with the smell of crushed grapes. WONDERFUL!
The workers were really friendly, which was awesome. They came right up to us and explained the process, as Mum pointed out. They even allowed us to take photos! It was terrific, not to mention very educational. We were fortunate, as they only go through the wine making process for one week every season. We went at the end of September, around September 26. Go during that week, and you may be fortunate enough to watch the process, too! We were also the only "tourists" walking around, so we basically had the run of the place. Not too shabby!
The rows of the vines were all labelled with the names of individuals or families that had signed up as members of Aqua Dulce.
There is a wine club for the winery at Agua Dulce. I guess they didn't expect it to be so successful, because they named the rows of grapes throughout the vineyard after the first 100 or so members of their wine club. Well, so many people joined that they ran out of room! So, they now have a mural in the winery with the names of the wine club members. I joined at the end of this visit, so you will be able to find "Jared and Candice Bettridge" listed somewhere in the mural!
Candice923 and I had our photo taken in an horse drawn cart that was around the back of the building. At no time did we feel that we were out of bounds wandering around so freely. Aqua Dulce has a homey, welcoming air about it.
And the nicest part? Wandering around was FREE OF CHARGE! There were a couple of picnic tables back there, too. The cart must have been from the 1800s, and was really neat. Mum and I almost fell out of it at one point! It made a really cool picture, which I have framed. There are tons of photo opportunities, too, and they let you take photos of whatever you'd like. You can pose in the cart, in front of the barn, in the vineyard, in front of the building, with the machinery (as long as someone is with you)... Where ever you'd like. Everyone is so accommodating at Agua Dulce. It's no wonder that they have been in business for so long.
Inside we were welcomed warmly and settled down to the sweet task of wine tasting. I thought all the wines we tasted exceptional, but by far the most luscious was the Muscat Dessert Wine...NECTAR OF THE GODS! While tasting this wine we were plied with chocolate............LOVELY combination for this wine...and because we loved it so much we had more than the usual 'SLURP' you get at tastings. We bought FOUR BOTTLES! (just to have on special occasions...)
The cost of the wine tasting is usually $4.25 a person. With that, you are able to sample 4 different types of wine of your choosing, and you get to keep your wine glass with the Agua Dulce logo on it. However, if you are a wine club member, you get the tasting for free. You can choose as many wines as you'd like, as well as keep the free glass. On top of that, everything you purchase is 10% off. As Mum wrote, we had chocolate with the desert wine, which was FABULOUS. With the regular wine, we were offered these delicious wine biscuits, flavored with lemon and vanilla. Very tasty. So tasty, in fact, that I splurged the whole $5 and bought myself a box!
Prices of wine range from $14.99 for the Dessert wine, all the way up to $29.95 for the Californian Champagne! In between are the Chardonnays, merlots, Cabernets, sauvignon, Sangiovese, Zinfandel and Syrahs..... surely something for everyone!
The prices are quite reasonable, and well worth it. And, as I pointed out, you get 10% off if you're a wine club member! All you have to do to be a wine club member is purchase 6 bottles of wine per half year. Well, we bought 9 or so bottles of wine during that visit only, so I joined the club. It is free to join, but you are obligated to buy the wine every six months. If you don't, you lose your membership.
Also sold on the premises are a range of merchandise - from wine packs of various sizes and prices to preserves, glassware and pottery. Great ideas to compliment your purchased wine or to just 'window shop' and enjoy!
If you live in the Los Angeles area or just come to visit, Agua Dulce Vineyards is a great way to spend a few hours. It's a quick and easy drive right up the 14 Freeway, located on Sierra Highway and is right near the famous Vasquez Canyon Rocks Park. You can definitely spend at least a half a day with all of the different things to do at and around the vineyard.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
kay24
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Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
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