Mount Palomar Winery is a leader in the making of fine Mediterranean style wines and a popular visitor destination for wine lovers. The winery grows most of the grapes for its wines on the 173 acre estate which includes 92 acres of vineyards, concert and picnic grounds, plus the winery and visitor's center.
The first vineyards were established in 1969 by founder John Poole. Today, the winery is run by John's son Peter Poole, making it the first winery in the Temecula region to operate under second generation leadership. Peter believes that is significant since he has been able to apply the lessons learned from his experience during the early days in the region.
The most significant change has been the winery's move to the production of Italian wine varieties, bottled under its Castelletto label. The world's best wineries are founded on the premise of growing the right grape varieties for their particular location, climate and soils. Poole felt that Temecula's Mediterranean climate and granitic soils were being ignored in the choice of grape varieties being grown. With the introduction of the Italian variety Sangiovese into the vineyards in 1989, Mount Palomar established itself as the founder of this direction in the region, and as an early leader in this trend in California. By 1997, Mount Palomar had established a quality position with these wines, winning two Best of Show awards in major wine competitions, plus numerous Best of Class and Gold Medal distinctions.
The Mount Palomar brand is used for the winery's traditional popular varieties and blends. The Mediterranean wines are the focus of the Castelletto brand for Sangiovese, Cortese, Trovato and Moscato Fior d'Arancio.
Etienne Cowper, Mount Palomar's highly respected enologist, is a former protégé of Jed Steele and the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff. His approach is to create specialized small lots of wine using a variety of techniques. His wines are well balanced and harmonious.
