The Wine Tailor
by
Terry Sullivan
Summary: The Wine Tailor offers a unique tasting experience and an opportunity to make your own wine. Situated on the grounds of an historic winery, The Wine Tailor provides the guidance, materials and supplies to make 29 bottles of wine with juice from wine regions from around the world.
History
In 1839, Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado of Mexico granted to Tiburcio Tapia about 12,000 acres of land known as Cucamonga Rancho. Tiburcio planted a small vineyard, established the Cucamonga Rancho Winery built from adobe and raised cattle. In 1859 cattle ranching was scaled back as John Rains planted 125,000 grapevines. The Thomas family purchased the property in 1920 and the winery became known as Thomas Winery. It is considered the oldest California winery and second oldest winery in the country. For nearly two centuries, floods, Prohibition, recessions and struggles amongst owners have challenged proprietors of the winery. The Wine Tailor occupied the winery in 2004 and began producing custom wines.
Tasting Room
The Wine Tailor makes more than 55 different wines. Four to six wines are available for tasting and those wines change frequently. There are three areas of the tasting room. A retail area is on the left of the entrance; a comfortable lounge area is to the right and further on the right is the tasting bar. From the tasting bar, wine enthusiasts can see into two winemaking rooms. Directly behind the tasting bar, a room houses stainless steel tanks and bottling equipment. An adjacent room has carboys and small Hungarian oak barrels aging wine.
Wine Not International
The Wine Tailor owned by Ken and Angela Lineberger is a franchise of Wine Not International. We met Ken at The Wine Tailor. He is very enthusiastic about the franchise opportunities throughout the country. Ken has a six hundred member wine club at The Wine Tailor.
Wine Not International has ten franchise locations in the United States including four in California and a location in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Texas. Individuals interested in making wine can select the type of wine they want, add yeast to begin the fermentation process and help bottle their wine. Perhaps the most important task is determining what wine one wants to make. Some customers will bring in a bottle of wine and see how close it can be matched. Grape juices are sourced from California, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, France, Germany and Italy.
Wines
On the day of our visit, we tasted four wines. The German Riesling was a light yellow color. It had a floral with peach nuances on the aroma and a peach and tropical fruit taste. The dry fruity aftertaste yielded to minerality. Old Rancho was a Zinfandel. It was a dark purple color with plum and dark fruit on the aroma. The taste offered layers of fruit especially plum. There were bold tannins on the fruity finish. Island Breeze was a pale yellow color. The aroma offered a fruit salad mix of melons and strawberries. The taste was of tropical fruits and the finish had pineapple nuances.
Events
The Wine Tailor has several events throughout the month. Some events include complimentary tastings offered on Tuesdays. The last Friday of the month is fruit wine Friday, where visitors can taste any fruit wine. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the tasting room transforms into a wine bar. Music groups perform on Saturdays.
The Wine Tailor can help those interested to fashion their own wines. Visit the tasting room often to taste different wines. Enjoy the wine bar scene on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Wine Tailor
8916 Foothill Blvd
Rancho Cucamonga, California 91730
GPS: N34º 06.419’ W117º 36.625’
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