Highland Hills Winery

I would have loved to have given this place more stars. But they never called me back. I went to Ramona with the girls for my birthday and thought this could be a great stop, based on all of the good reviews and the pictures (how beautiful!). So I called to inquire about a group visit — leaving my name, phone number, event date, total in my group — and asked for them to give me a call to let me know if they could accommodate our party. No response for a week. Then I called again, the morning we were leaving, to see if I might get lucky and connect with someone… Again, no response, and I left another message. They didn’t call so I tried one more time from the road… straight to voicemail. In fact, it’s two days later and still not a peep! I know Ramona was hit hard by the recent rainstorm, and that their home might have been one of the ones that was affected — but if that’s the case there should be a statement on their voicemail. And there’s not. At the very least, give a girl a call back!!!

Purchased 2 living social deals to take our friends. Turns out, our friends were not able to go. Beautiful winery and wonderful people. Theresa was working today and took care of us. Very knowledgeable about the wines and very personal and easy to talk with. We will be back with our friends.
Some advice:
1. Living social deal if you can get one
2. Gate code is right there at the gate. (We felt a little weird, but got over it)
3. Tasting room is only open on Saturday and Sunday.
4. Might want to bring a snack. (we brought cheese, crackers, and salami). Due to health codes, they can’t serve food… yet.

Hello!!! I’m standing at the gate and can’t get in!
So I purchased a LivingSocial voucher for this winery. It asks to call ahead to make an appointment prior to visiting, which is quite unusual for a retail business, but that’s what they ask so that’s what I tried doing. I called Friday moments after purchasing the voucher (~11am). Nobody answered and their voicemail wasn’t setup, so I couldn’t leave a message. I was planning on going wine-​tasting in Ramona on Saturday regardless, so as I was driving up (~1pm) I tried calling them again, and once again, NO ANSWER & NO SETUP VOICEMAIL! I’m sure these owners are quality folks and probably make pretty good wine, but I don’t understand how people can run a business when there’s no way to reach them and there’s a big CLOSED gate standing between the customer and the winery. I even tried searching through the digital rolodex to page the winery, but the gated community is obviously a residential neighborhood, so all I found were people’s names– no winery listed! I’m very disappointed about my experience or lack of with Highland Winery. Luckily there are now over 25 wineries in Ramona serving quality wines!

I purchased a LivingSocial deal for $ 10 for a wine-​tasting experience for 2:
–2 souvenir glasses
–7 one-​ounce samples (received 6 samples)
–Tour of the facility (did not get a tour)
The winery is absolutely gorgeous! It is family owned & ran & they were friendly. My boyfriend & I sat on the patio that overlooked the winery. There were a lot of guests at the winery on Sunday & our servers informed us that they were hosting their Wine Club members. We were each served 6 samples & information on how each were made:
White Rhone Blend
Grenache Blanc — sweet & our favorite!
Merlot
Ramona
Cabernet Sauvignon
If you have a LivingSocial deal, you will have to call before hand to make a reservation. The winery is in a gated section in Ramona, buzz in to get through. Parking is available.

Love this place. Good wine and great people. A bit off the beaten path but well worth finding. Cheers’

I live in Ramona and have only visited about three wineries. I bought a living social deal this weekend and decided to head out in the early afternoon. We had to punch in a code to be able to get in from the gate. Seems a bit odd but this tasting room is on someone private home and I can understand wanting the privacy. Their tasting area has an indoor and outdoor section. It was a bit too windy for outdoors so my husband and I sat inside while the football game was on. We had 7 tastings included in the voucher and we were offered a port as a last tasting. While we were the only ones there at first another couple did arrive later. It is s bit off the beaten path. I appreciated most of the wines, some were just not for me. But the service and atmosphere were nice. I’m glad that boutique wineries are just around the corner here in Ramona and that I can go back for more of that Grenache.

Highland Hills Winery is a must visit if you like wine. First off you feel special and like it is somewhat exclusive when the buzz you past the gate. You pull up and park in front of a beautiful house and winery. They have a large outdoor patio area to sit but it was too hot so we sat inside. The woman helping us, I am pretty sure the owner and I feel so bad for forgetting her name, was super nice! She talked to us all about the wine and the winemaker and just general friendly talk. All the wine was absolutely amazing. She also gave us some cheese and crackers and chocolate to pair with the wine. The whole experience was great and I highly recommend Highland Hills. Friendly service and great wine, what more could you ask for? Well, in addition to the already very reasonable price for the tasting, they had a Unilocal coupon for 50% off. Score! I will be back here for sure.

A Hidden Jewel in Ramona. The winery reminds me of Tara, from Gone with the Wind. It is absolutely gorgeous! The tastings were informative and very friendly. I learned a lot about wine making and tasted some really good wines. The tour was great and I appreciated the little snacks that were served with the wine. I heard that the winery will be holding wine pairing classes. I can’t wait to go.

I purchased a Groupon which was $ 10 for 2 people. ($ 10 savings) which included tasting 7 wines and keeping the souvenir glass.
The ups… I want to write a wonderful review about this family owned and operated winery because it was a very nice afternoon. We were very impressed with the service, the tasting, and tour. The drive to Ramona is long but worth it. I liked keeping the glasses that was a nice touch. We ended up buying 3 or 4 bottles of wine and getting one bottle free. Small world — we met another couple who work in the same field as us.
The downs… The website isn’t viewer friendly on my Mac — I get a bunch of google analytic’s gibberish at the bottom of the page. BUT, its a small family owned winery not a big business so its not a big deal.
If you purchase a bottle of wine your tasting and wine glass is free. So technically, I wasted $ 10 buying my Groupon (and yes they did collect it) because our tasting would have been free. I asked a question about added sulfites and am not really sure I understood the answer. Something about spraying the vines but not often. My husband did have a headache later that evening. Of course, there are other reasons for headaches but he is sensitive to sulfites. Lastly, when my husband asked about the plants and weeds they said they used ‘Round up.’ We were disappointed to hear that but we were already out the door and on our way home.

My favorite part: I especially liked the girl that walked us through our tasting — very personable and friendly. It was like drinking wine with a friend.
I would definitely recommend the winery but call the tasting room and ask about the tasting fee — There might not be a reason to buy a Groupon if you plan on buying a bottle of wine.

Highland Hills winery is located on a beautiful property. The winemaker and grower are knowledgeable and friendly. Lovely red and white blends and good rose. Our tasting included cheese and crackers and chocolate truffles!

Beautiful vineyard with excellent reds. Amazing for a winery less than 10 years old. Really enjoyed the deeper reds, particularly Lucy (to be renamed), Lola, and Barbera.
Buy some now, with a little more age and recognition, these wines will be worth a lot!

I bought two Reader City deals for $ 10 each for wine tasting for two and two logo wine glasses. This place was so cute! A small winery with some great tasting wine! Zoe (one of the owners) took us to her tasting room and we sampled about six or seven wines. They were delicious! She kept great company too, we had a blast! It was like we had a private wine tasting for only $ 20 for four people! Very worth it. Delicious Wine. Great Company. Very knowledgable. We will 100% be back again!

Beautiful and peaceful location behind the gates… super nice and sweet owners. Perfect for new wine tasters. You’ll get a little lesson on wine making. Great deal at $ 10 for 8 tastings. Bf and I had living social deal for $ 10 for 2. We loved it! Left with a bottle of Noble Coyote which is a sweet white wine. delicious and refreshing. Can’t wait to come back.

I visited Highland Hills Winery on a hot Sunday to get refreshed after hiking Devil’s Punchbowl. I was impressed! We tasted eight wines and got to keep the glasses. Normally $ 10 a person (still a good deal for great wine!), but my Living Social deal was $ 10 for two people – even better.
We were impressed with everything about this place. The property was really pretty and overlooked the mountains and vineyards. It’s a family-​owned and run winery, which is GREAT for someone like me who loves to support local businesses! The staff was so welcoming and friendly, always smiling, and chatting with us about their history and how they made the wines. My tasting partner and I liked them so much we ended up buying two bottles – a Petit Sirah, which was super smooth and went down very easily; and the Royal Coyote – a slightly fruity muscat. I’m not even a huge fan of sweet wines, but this one was great. The White Rhone (a dry white) was also among my favorite wines of the afternoon. Honestly, I enjoyed all of their wines.
When we arrived, before I even knew what was happening, the owner (I think) took care to move some extra chairs to the bar so we could taste there. The tasting room had some homey touches – the soothing fountain in the corner made for a peaceful atmosphere, and the room was decent sized but not too big. I think they’ve been open for business for about a year, and they grow all of their grapes right on their property.
I’ll definitely be back the next time I find myself out hiking in Ramona!