Beyond fantastic Wine Experience! By the way, it's kosher!
That is a lot of delicious wine!
Beyond Fantastic ?!?
WHAT?! This is that I am talking about—
WHERE?! This is where it is located—
Oxnard, California (click on the link above for the address)
WHEN?! Like when can I go—
As soon as you can, but not Fridays or Saturdays. Not some holidays either. Just so you know. Check online for available times and dates.
WHY?!?!
Because the wine is delicious! The winery is beautiful and the restaurant is incredible!
By the way, it’s Kosher?
Well, yeah it is, but that is irrelevant. Or maybe it is just icing on the cake, so that everyone who wants to can have this experience.
Let’s talk!
I’ve written a number of posts (listed below) about kosher wine. Those posts are for those who want to know something about kosher wine. Some may want to know more about kosher wine.
While we were in California, visiting Herzog Cellars was the way to go.
Eye-opening experience!!
Before we even visited we were amazed (ok, stunned) how many people we met in the Ventura County area who belonged to multiple Herzog wine clubs.
Not only didn’t they keep kosher, they were not even Jewish. Ok, the last part I don’t know specifically because I didn’t ask. However, they definitely were not Sabbath observers who kept kosher.
A number of people we met wanted to make sure that we were going to have dinner at the winery!
Before this, I knew of no one who sought out kosher wine and food who did not keep kosher!
They did this because the wine is that good!
The food is that good!
No kidding!
Let’s take a trip through the winery:
Come on in!
The delicious wine and food are inside!
There you go!
It was at this point that I noticed there was no mention of Kosher. That’s deliberate.
Herzog wants the winery to be welcoming to all. It’s wine for everyone.
There are displays that shows some of the history!
Herzog Wine Cellars has a really long history. Not all of it from its current location.
A little more history.
Should you want it.
As fascinating as it is, many people just come for the wine and food!
Shout out to my brother-in-law who helped arrange this visit. He does keep kosher, and has really good taste in wine.
Full disclosure: We did not pay for either the tasting, or for the dinner. I did not know this beforehand.
Would I have gone anyway? Absolutely. I do write about kosher wine and I was beyond intrigued that so many people recommended this.
Would I be writing this post anyway? Absolutely.
I only write about wines and places I like. Always! If I didn’t like it, you would never know I had gone. I would not waste my time or yours.
Moving on…
There is wine everywhere!
Wide selection.
Yep, I mean everywhere.
Not sure how to stress this enough. It is insanely impressive.
This area is surrounded by a bar where you can enjoy an incredibly wide selection of wines.
Yep, here is the bar. It is one of many areas where you can taste.
I honestly was not expecting something this modern and, as I said, impressive. There was a reason so many people recommended going to visit!
We had a wonderful wine tasting. Remember when I mentioned that we met people who belonged to multiple clubs? Well, one of these fantastic wine fans joined us for the tasting when he heard we were going!!
How great are these wine fans?!?!?!?
This made it even more fun.
But first, a tour of the winery:
More history. Cheers!
Tanks of various sizes.
They make a lot of different wines. Some are more of a boutique style. Smaller tanks are called for.
Wow! That’s a big one.
Some of the big lots end up in that one.
Their barrel room is beyond impressive.
It is not the only one there. Their operation is incredible!
I have a video of their bottling room! This was fun! You will just have to go and see that for yourself.
By the way, the tours are being revamped now. Check the Herzog website to find out when it will reopen. I will also update this post when it does.
NOW, WE TASTE!
Here is my copy of the wine tastings available the day we went.
We had the VIP tasting. Remember the brother-in-law part above.
Whichever list you taste from, note that these wines come from some very well known and respected areas in California. Alexander Valley, Stag’s Leap, Rutherford, Russian River and Chalk Hill are quite pricey areas.
What is insane, is that these wines at Herzog were often less expensive than their non kosher versions. Actually, these areas are often out of my comfort zone price wise in their non kosher version.
I had to do the mind blown again!
It really is incredible!
Did I absolutely love every wine that I tasted? That never happens. But they were all extremely impressive. Not a dud among them.
If you want information about tasting options and cost, call:
805-983-1560 during regular business hours. That is the receptionist who will direct your call.
Or email the tasting room manager: Nelson Lopez. nlopez@herzogwinecellars.com.
I am a know- before-you- go person. If that isn’t you, just go for it and reserve online.
NOW, LET’S EAT!
They have both a bar menu and a dinner menu. We nibbled on fries and bread with the wine tasting. Then we had dinner.
Food was insanely delicious.
Note that each dish is matched with a specific wine! So impressive!
Before you even start, your are served an amuse bouche. Think pre-appetizer.
I am not normally a “take picture of your food” sort of person. This was too incredible not to share.
That is a mushroom paté that we were sure was foie gras. I could weep it was that delicious.
I know I usually just comment on wine, but clearly I am a food person as well. The people who recommended this restaurant knew what they were talking about!
So many people I met mentioned they belonged to Herzog wine clubs. I sort of felt I would be missing out if I didn’t join one. Maybe for research, maybe because I couldn’t resist.
I wrote a whole blog last year on:The top 10 questions to ask yourself before joining any wine club. It’s a good read with a lot of good advice.
One of the things mentioned in the post is to make sure you can take advantage of all the extras a winery wine club offers.
Herzog offers a lot!
Living across the country will really limit that for me.
I did join anyway. Hmmm. I will report back how it goes.
Meanwhile, if you are interested in joining a Herzog wine club, or even just have questions about it, you can contact Greg Bentler.
He can be reached at gbentler@herzogwinecellars. Huge thank you to him. He was very helpful in answering my questions about the clubs and Herzog in general.
WANT YOUR OWN FANTASTIC WINE EXPERIENCE?
Check out Herzog Cellars for yourself! They successfully achieve their goal of making delicious wines that just happen to be kosher. As I said, it was eye-opening.
Enjoy!
See what more you may want to learn.
Incredibly helpful related posts (just click on the title):
The top 10 questions to ask yourself before joining any wine club.
2025 Best Guide to buying kosher wine for Passover when you just don’t know enough! or press here
Best guide to buying kosher wine when you really know nothing about it or press here
This is how you celebrate with kosher wine when you know nothing about it! or press here
2024 Best Updated Guide to buying kosher wine when you really know nothing about it or press here
2024 Spotlight on Fantastic Kosher wines for Chanukah and Chrismukkah! or press here
