Laguna’s best wine guy

If you’re going to day drink, perhaps the best place to do it is Laguna Canyon Winery.

Winemaker J.J. Huber has created a special wine cave where you can enjoy his award-winning homemade blends that are surprisingly addictive. Of course most people would point to his fine grapes, master technique and years of training, but we just enjoy pushing the automated wine tasting buttons like some drunk Pavlovian wine rat.

Seriously, it is addicting.

The deets

And like all addictions, the process is fairly simple. You get a smart card, insert it into these James Bondian-looking dispensers and push buttons all day.

There are about 20 different wines any given week, with bottle prices ranging from mid $20 to $175. And yes, you can taste the expensive ones for an extra premium.

We enjoyed almost all of the wines but were especially drawn to the Sonoma Flatlander’s Blend and a Los Carneros Sangiovese. Both are in the mid $40 range.

Huber has brilliantly curated grapes from Napa, Sonoma Valley and Santa Barbara vineyards, where they are shipped to Laguna for processing. Huber was trained in Italian winemaking methods so he’s partial to keeping that heritage. All of his high-end, leading-edge equipment is Italian, which of course means it’s like the Ferrari of wines. This includes a grape crusher, wine press, bottling equipment, tasting machines and steel tanks.

In case you’re not keeping up, all of this means that Laguna has its own wine. Made right here and indulged right here with abandoned.

Why care

Huber still shakes his head when he tries to explain to people the definition of an urban winery. He sometimes compares it to a brewery.

“We bring the vineyards to the people,” Huber said. “When was the last time you went to a brewery and saw the wheat fields in the backyard?”

Huber knows that a lot of people drive by and never stop. Maybe they’re in too big a hurry. Maybe they’re not day drinkers like us.

“We’re nestled between an art gallery and a gravel pit,” he said. “I get it.”

But do yourself a favor and walk in one day. See the barrel load of awards lining the walls. Smell the scent of tannins in the morning. Flex your fingers and … ah, push it. P-push it real good.