Kosher Road Trip to the Herzog Winery

When friends and family come into town for a visit, the first place they want to go is Oxnard…

Okay… so maybe Oxnard isn’t even in the top ten on the list of vacation destinations in Southern California, but it soon could be.

Until very recently, the only thing I knew about Oxnard was that the strawberries I bought at the farmer’s market were grown there and that it was a place we drove through on the way to Santa Barbara. But now, less than an hour up Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1), tucked into an industrial park, is the new Herzog Winery and restaurant in Oxnard, California.

Oxnard is an ocean side town with beach houses, lots of farm land, Point Magu Navel Base, and the NAS Point Mugu Air Show, which recently has included the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. Oxnard can be reached not only via the scenic Pacific Coast Highway, but also by taking the 101 North. I recommend PCH for two reasons: 1. because it’s a pleasant drive along the ocean and 2. because it affords access to some nice hiking spots if you’d like to enjoy an outdoor activity before lunch. Coming from the valley, there is the option of taking Las Virgenes from the 101 over to PCH in Malibu and continuing north.

Just down the hill going north past Pepperdine University is Corral Canyon, a bite size park (known as Solstice Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains park system). Just turn right on Corral Canyon Road and take a left into the park. There is free parking and maps of the trails posted in a roofed structure by the parking lot. The main trail is about two miles round trip and is really a leisurely nature walk on a smooth path. It runs along a small creek, through the woods and to the foundations of a curious estate that once stood against a hill and by a rocky waterfall. For the more athletically inclined, another trail goes winding up a steep hill from the waterfall and continues to the top for an amazing view of the surrounding Malibu “mountains.” This trail is more demanding and adds another half a mile to the hike, but it’s well worth the effort. Otherwise, enjoy the waterfall and return the way you came; there are always new things to see.

Besides getting out for some exercise and fresh air, the Corral Canyon hike is a wonderful option for children who may get a little antsy having to sit through lunch in a nice restaurant after a road trip. A two mile (or even one mile) walk can get a lot of that energy out, and along the way there is so much to see: wild flowers and frogs and trees arching over the creek.

Continuing up PCH, the waves roll and crash in shades of blue to the left of the highway, and to the right there are signs for more parks to stop at and explore. And then, in the sun’s quiet sparkle, Malibu slips into Oxnard and then into the driveway of the Herzog Winery. ***

A winery, it should be noted, is not a vineyard and so there are not rows of grape vines to explore, but rather a facility in which the wine is processed, stored in casks, and bottled. Herzog Wine Cellars does not have any of its own vineyards, in fact, but selects grapes from existing vineyards grown by other wine producers. The labels on the bottles– “Russian River,” “Napa Valley,” “Monterey County” tell where the grapes are grown. The self guided tour of the Herzog Winery includes a very brief video explaining the history of the Herzog family’s company, and what it means for wine to be kosher.

Everything about this new place is done elegantly and with a clean contemporary polish, most notably, the restaurant, called Tierra Sur. With hardwood floors, warm earth tones and an open kitchen, this is a kosher restaurant like no other I’ve been to. It’s the kind of restaurant I’d only seen in the pages of Gourmet Magazine. Our waitress said they are well attended during the week. I was glad to hear this because I found the place quite appealing, from the ambiance, to the wait staff, to the chef and his staff working efficiently in the kitchen.

When I go to a restaurant, I tend to order something that would be difficult or time consuming for me to prepare, so after perusing the lunch menu, I selected “homemade organic corn tortillas filled with birria, chili braised lamb with salsa cruda.” Thinking that our six year old would like something simpler, we ordered her the lemon and garlic marinated chicken. She not only enjoyed her food, but declared that she loved my entrée and my husband’s as well, having tasted them all. Everything was very good, especially the tortillas with braised lamb. We asked for wine recommendations from the restaurant manager, Michael Caeton, who even brought out two dessert wines for us to try with the molten chocolate cake and caramel ice cream (a big hit.)

With regard to the wines, just as the words “hiking” and “trail” shouldn’t make you think you need special equipment and training to take what is essentially a nature walk at Corral Canyon, “wine tasting” and “late harvest chenin blanc” shouldn’t make you think that you need to know something about wine in order to go to the Herzog Winery. First of all, wine is an ancient and precious part of our heritage, to be elevated in Shabbos Kiddush, Yom Tov, and all of our simchas, and ultimately, Herzog Winery is making kosher wine for Jews to use in celebration throughout the world. Second, all the wine at the Herzog Winery is Herzog wine, so wine tasting in this case is about trying different kinds of reds or different kinds of whites, and it’s really just a matter of personal taste.

The wine tasting bar is located in a big airy room with an array of wine serving and storing items for purchase, as well as colorful rows of the many Herzog wines, including some eino mevushal and hard to find ones at discount prices. The wine tastings are $5 to $7 (free for restaurant customers) and there are a few tasting lists to choose from.

We bought a few bottles of wine for gifts and headed back down PCH, getting home well in time for mincha at shul. We all look forward to more opportunities to go to Oxnard to eat at Tierra Sur, whether it be as a stop along the way to Santa Barbara, or on an excursion to see the Point Mugu Air Show, or perhaps soon for an evening out to try the dinner menu which is scheduled to debut in November. We could eat at one of the outdoor tables, beneath the twinkling stars in the Oxnard night sky, while the chef tends the wild Pacific king salmon at the outdoor grill.

Oxnard is now on my list.

Notes: besides the regular car supplies of bottled water, hats and sunscreen, a change of shoes would be a good idea so you can take off your dusty sneakers after the hike if you stop at Corral Canyon. Also, if you’d like to take a walk on the beach in Oxnard after lunch, bring towels to clean up sandy feet.

Herzog Wine Cellars, 3201 Camino Del Sol Oxnard, CA 93030
Tel: 805-983-1560
Tasting Room Hours: 11am – 6pm Sun – Friday

Restaurant open 11:30am – 3pm M-F Sunday 12pm – 5pm (call for dinner hours)
www.herzogwinecellars.com

Corral Canyon, 25623 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
For directions see: www.lamountains.com or www.nps.gov/samo/maps/solstice.htm