By Mike Marino At absolute sea level, the sand, sun and surf of San Diego is a "somebody spoke and I went into a dream" landscape of magnificent stretches of ocean beach, marvelous marinas with lots of yachts, regal rows of Royal Palms lining the boulevards, and a plethora of Pacific Ocean adventure and activities. It's also home to one of the finest, world class zoo's on this side of the solar system, or any solar system for that matter. It's a vibrant Warhol canvas of activity that is full of life, colorful and diverse. It's fuel injected high octane Southern California tourism at it's high cultured best.
But, wait now, hear me out, if you're looking to escape from the canvas cacaphony of a Warhol painting and want a setting that is more Monet sedate, with a dash of the vintners art, then you have to leave sea level, and venture 40 miles northeast of San Diego, to a mountain altitude of 4,500 hundred feet above sea-level to San Diego County's Wine Country. Not only is it an exciting vortex of varietals, but the epicurean epicenter of Southern California where wine and cuisine, are paired together in perfect harmony in a setting of mountains and desert. It's the point in the universe of So Cal where Zinfandel meets Zen.
When wine and California come up in the same conversation, it's usually Napa Valley and Sonoma that rise to the surface during that discussion. San Diego in Southern California, on the other hand conjurs up visions of beach blanket bingo with it's overload of orgasm producing visuals of full bikini's and golden gods and goddesses surfing the Pacific, ruling over the realm of waves in their private kingdom of surf and sand. Scooby-Do and Moondoggie are happy just to take to the dunes and beaches of San Diego in a custom dune buggy. Surprise! There is more to Southern California than meets the eye, and the palette. The art of the winemaker has been alive and well in San Diego County since the days of the mission friars centuries ago.
Today, a delightul mountain region located less than an hour away from San Diego, is home to a former mining town called Julian. The town and the surrounding region, have since become the gravitational center of a grapevine universe holding approximately 50 wineries in it's orbit. Many are small, boutique type wineries, and for those who prefer their fermenting done by feminists, there are a couple of women only owned wineries in what has mainly been the enclave dominated by the male of the species.
Julian, famous in the past for mining gold, today reaps the gold of the harvest from the fruit of the vine with the vintners Midas touch. The region has romantic bed and breakfasts with enough ambiance to bring even the mighty Cassanova to his knees and beg for mercy. Shopping as usual in a wine country is as plentiful and diverse as the offerings of cuisine and art galleries but, in Julian you can also enjoy a farmers market, carriage rides, horseback riding, beading and boating, sky sailing, the annual grape stomp and yep...gold panning pardner!
Julian has become not merely a destination for the wine tasting crowd. Hell no, it's a freak out outdoor paradise. Hikers will find plenty of outdoor trails that somehow lead to an inward path of spiritual solitude, enhanced by breathtaking mountain vista's, to the awe inspiring starkness and beauty of nearby Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
What is wine country without the obligatory wine tour? Nothing! So there are many to choose from, including the "oh no not again" traditional limo tour, the sort of "think inside the box" kind of tour that I avoid at all costs. There is one tour that rocks and rolls, and is a fully automatic lock and load Semper Fi experience. Don't let anyone tell you that a cabernet doesn't go with camo, and if your Merlot needs a snap to attention military edge, then climb aboard a M35A2 troop carrier and head out on a wine tour recon mission that Colonel Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now" would have been proud of. Your "mission" will take you out to ranch country, where real cowboys, and probably a nifty cowgirl or two are working the herds under polarized blue skies that have a hint of beautiful surrealism to them. Vino and vista's seem to be a perfect compliment to one another, but on this tour dammit, your a Marine now, ready to storm the vineyard beaches for a take no prisoners wine tasting experience like none other. With a lush mountain backdrop, the Anza-Borego Desert State Park is a huge desert quilt of stark delights. I've spent a lot of time camping in desert regions in California and New Mexico, and believe me, they are the most interesting and the most enjoyable for getting in touch with yourself, and putting you in direct harmony with nature. California Overland offers jeep and military vehicle desert tours. There are over 500 miles of roads to travel in the Anza. Some are pretty rugged and are best left to outoodr professionals to do the driving, while you kick back and enjoy the rock and roll ride through a living canvas of Mother Natures finest desert scenery. Got a thing for two wheels and the adrenalin rush of pedal power? No problemo. Bike away until you are completed satiated with the flow of energy that keeps the internal pistons pumping.
So, what wine goes with wolves? The naturalist that dwells within us doesn't need wine to appreciate this magnificent creature. I have an affinity for wolves, and two hiking sticks with custom carved wolves heads on them to prove it. So, while you are in wine country, and you feel the need to take a "walk on the wolf wild side" make tracks for the California Wolf Center, located just a few miles from Julian. It's an education center that is home to the endangered Mexican gray wolf among others. These wolves are being reintroduced into the southwest and when I lived in New Mexico I had the pleasure of working with a group of wolf conservationist on just such a program in the interior of the Land of Enchantment.
For a grassy bowl of RV retro nostalgia plan on parking it at Pinecrest Park where you can have a membership site or rent a site for night! The park is a living testiment to the "road" and American mobility. It began in a Sixties galaxy far, far away for workers of defense giant General Dynamics. Some of the trailers the workers lived in were brand spanking off the show room new, while others opted to do the vintage trailer time warp by purchasing icons from another time. Eventually time moved forward, the workers went on, and some of the old vintage trailers remained behind, in space and time, and in place in the park. Soon, vegetation began to claim the area as it's own, as nature will do, but by the 1970's it was purchased privately who maintained the historic ambiance through maintenance and marketing to others looking for a unique experience in trailering.
Then in 2005, Frank Spevacek and Kathleen Rosenow, greenies from way back bought the place, lock, stock and trailer hitch. In the process of turning it into one of wine country's most unique campgrouds, they are adding solar tech, water systems, and other amenities utilizing primarily recycled materials and sustainable technologies. A living breathing green labratory with kitsch and class all rolled into one.
Nest time you want to get stomping in wine country, think Julian in Southern California. It's a grape lovers mountain stomping ground! For more information visit their website at http://www.julianca.com/index.htm and enjoy the wine country where Zen Meets Zin!