Spend Your Valentines with Orfila
By Amber Ward

Debbie McKinstry and Jeff Cox. Photo by Amber Ward

In celebration of Valentine's month, Orfila will be offering wine tasting with King Leo's chocolate. This special treat will take place at the Julian Orfila Wine Tasting Room in Wynola, during February.

Orfila Vineyards & Winery is located on a hillside estate in the San Pasqual Valley. It is only 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, where the cool breezes and the morning fog help to create an ideal wine growing condition. The 70-acre estate features 40 acres of premium grapes. Since its opening in 1994, the winery has been the recipient of more than 1,000 medals in both national and international wine competitions.

Wine has become a multi-billion dollar industry in California, and can be traced to the mission fathers of Mission San Diego de Alcala. They began to make wine in San Diego County as early as the 1700s, just 20 miles south of Orfila Vineyards.

Grapes have been grown, and wine produced at the Orfila site since 1973. The first winery on the property was the original San Pasqual Winery, which was later purchased by the Thomas Jaeger Winery.

Orfila Vineyards & Winery was established in 1994 when Proprietor Ambassador Alejandro Orfila purchased the Thomas Jaeger Winery. Winemaker and general manager Leon Santoro, who had 19 years of experience with Napa Valley wineries like Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Louis Martini and Quail Ridge, stayed on with Orfila. Today, Santoro and his team continue to produce award-winning wines under the Orfila label.

Santoro joined the Thomas Jaeger Winery in 1991, and found the vineyard to be full of the then-popular, Chardonnay grapes. They were not exactly ideal for the terrain, so Santoro began grafting Syrah and Sangiovese onto the Chardonnay vines. These Mediterranean grapes were chosen because they are known to grow in both France and Italy, under similar conditions to those found in San Pasqual Valley.

Currently, Orfila features 40 acres of Syrah, Sagiovese, Voignier, Marsanne, Roussane and Merlot grapes. The winery also contracts for Johannisberg Riesling and Gewuerztraminer grapes from Ventana Vineyards in Monterey County, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes grown in Edna Valley, San Luis Obispo County, and Chardonnay grapes grown at Bein Nacido Vineyards in Santa Barbara County.

Orfila Winery is one of San Diego's largest wineries, and has been known to produce some 20,000 cases of premium wine in just one year's time. At the winery, you can sample Orfila wine and enjoy the picturesque view of the vineyard and the surrounding mountains that create the San Pasqual Valley.

The first taste is free, and for $6 you will receive five more and a souvenir wine glass. Free group tours are available at 2 p.m. daily and the Tasting Room and Gift Shoppe are open from

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Orfila Vineyards and Winery is located at 13455 San Pasqual Road, just outside of Escondido near the San Diego Wild Animal Park. For more information, call 760-738-6500, ext. 22.

The Julian Tasting Room is located at 4470 Highway 78 in Wynola and is open every day except Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you would like to contact Orfila in Julian, call 760-765-0102. For more information about Orfila Winery, visit www.orfila.com.