In a span of 3 days I visited 15 wineries...
Bel Vino
Danza del Sol
Europa Village
Falkner
Gershon Bachus
Keyways
Leonesse Cellars
Longshadow Ranch
Masia de Yabar
Monte De Oro
Mount Palomar
Ponte
Europa Village
Falkner
Gershon Bachus
Keyways
Leonesse Cellars
Longshadow Ranch
Masia de Yabar
Monte De Oro
Mount Palomar
Ponte
South Coast
Thornton
Wiens
Wilson Creek
Thornton
Wiens
Wilson Creek
Bel Vino: Stacy was so nice! The tasting room is nice and cute, you also get the house on property to get ready/stay overnight (former owners used to live here but current owners decided to renovate it and make it available for bride/groom). However, the Barrel Room is a little lacking...
Danza del Sol: Mindy was a little hard to reach, but once we got in touch she was very warm and professional. The new event pavilion is Tuscan style, and the garden is very intimate. The garden where the ceremony would take place doesn't have the vineyard view I was looking for but you can see the vineyard on the other side of the pavilion from the shaded porch. Overall I like this location. Supposedly there has only been one wedding here for the owner's son :)
Europa Village: I really liked the small courtyard feel, with music flowing in the air, and the view at the ceremony site of upward slanting slope full of grapevines and the inn in the distance. They are building an open space for lounge chairs, and will be draped with canvas where the reception will take place. There isn't a Barrel Room but rather a cellar/cave on the first floor, which serves as their tasting room to receive the larger crowd on the weekend. Overall this is a intimate location.
Falkner: Perhaps it's the off season and they replaced the patio with fake grass, but Falkner also seems a little dated to me... The Pinnacle Restaurant seems nice as a reception venue though, nice and bright, but again a little dated.
Gershon Bachus: I didn't talk to anyone here but just drove by to take a peek. It is indeed very pretty, like a mansion, but the view at the ceremony site is of the rugged mountain rather than the grapevine vineyard view I envision for my wedding.
Keyways: Keyways is very chic, and the water feature in the courtyard is very pretty. But the tasting room is under construction so even though it would mostly be blocked by the giant umbrellas they will supply for the wedding, it didn't give me a good mental image. Also, the reception site in the barrel room won't have a dance floor ($350 additional cost), and it looks a little bleek to begin with.
Leonesse Cellars: The site is beautiful, but the reception site (which I didn't check out) was a little far away. Guests would have to take a shuttle or walk amongst the vines to get to it. I suppose it's a good experience, but I can't imagine waiting for the shuttle or walking in heels through dirt.
Longshadow Ranch: Horses! And you can smell them. The Ranch itself is really cool though. The guy there says the wedding party just gets ready on the loft level (2nd level) of the ranch. It is not enclosed so... wouldn't the girls be exposed??? I still don't quite get the concept. Decor is very western/cowboy themed.
Masia de Yabar: This is more like a house/mansion. Decor is nice, but not to my liking, a little too glamorous and golden. I like modern/sleek/simplistic.
Monte De Oro: Very grand for a larger party, we eliminate Monte De Oro right away. The tasting room seems really fun though, with movable bar on wheels (complete with faucets). No smoking on this property, which would be a problem for our uncles.
Mount Palomar: I thought this site is ridiculous looking. The flowers were very pretty, and I liked the smell of their firewoods, but the wedding ceremony and reception sites have a very odd look to it, like they are trying too hard. View from the ceremony gazebo is nice, reminds me of a flatter Tuscany.
Ponte: so cute! The garden is so darling, very pretty. Since we are looking for Saturdays and Ponte is really booked, we had to hold our ceremony at the new Inn and reception at the Barrel Room which is small for 80 people. The dance floor would be pretty small at 11'x17' and right by the door. Since the restaurant runs till 8pm, our guests would share the bathroom with the restaurant guests. Not a very intimate affair. Good thing is Ponte offers pre-ceremony champagne and one night stay at the Inn ($399 value!), and one year wine club membership. Their wines are lackluster but the champagne and Super Tuscan were nice.
South Coast: quite commercial but award-winning wines. We considered their small courtyard but it lacked the vineyard view I was looking for. There is a side area with barrels set up which we liked.
Thornton: old and I smelled horse manure. Very 80s with fake pond. Rancho California is just steps away so you hear cars zooming by.
Wiens: The Vineyard View courtyard is perfect for our wedding size, and there is a side area with outdoor sofa set and shade. The Barrel Room is very pretty, so you can have the ceremony, then move to the Barrel Room for cocktails, and back to the pavilion for reception. The tasting room has a darker decor similar to Danza Del Sol but more airy. Wiens wins high praises for their wines, mainly reds. The Champagne was a little weird for me since I didn't really like the orange taste, but that's their selling point. They currently offer a promotion where the open bar is free if the guest count is over 100. The bridal/groom dressing rooms are nice. We hope their cuisine is just as nice! They include displays for cocktail hours (hummus, fruits, cheese/crackers, crudite) but there is extra charge for passed hors d'oeuvres.
Wilson Creek: very large. The Barrel Room is nice but small. There can be two weddings going on although they would stagger the start times.
