Rancho Capistrano Winery — Restaurant in San Clemente

My wife & I, plus good friends of ours visited Rancho Capistrano Winery to grab a quick glass of wine, before our 2pm reservation at the Tea House on Los Rios.

We waited about 10 minutes, standing at the wine bar, before a bartender appeared from somewhere to take our order. Numerous servers raced by us in those ten minutes, but nobody spoke to us, or acknowledged our existence. I began to think I was invisible.

When the bartender did appear, at least he was pleasant, & asked to take our orders. My wife & I shared a glass of the Remington Tempranillo. Our friends split a glass of Michele Merlot. Each of us enjoyed sipping our wine. 2 four ounce pours of wine totaled $30, a bit pricy for my taste. On their web-site, I noticed that a bottle of the Remington Tempranillo sells for $54. On the chalk board in the bar, it was priced at $49.Yikes! Still expensive. I looked over their menu, and it appears they have a fairly sizable amount of food options, featuring some nice gourmet food choices as well, but with equally gourmet prices.

Rancho Capistrano Winery is near Mission San Juan Capistrano, in a quaint setting featuring narrow streets, lined with small boutique stores & a very old wooden home on display. It's a touristy area, where lots of folks are milling about. Perhaps that's why the prices are a bit steep IMO, for food & wine at this establishment. They have a nice outdoor patio that was full, when we arrived, at 1:30pm yesterday, 7/20/21. If you're not worried about how much your meal & drink cost, then this winery would be right...

My wife and I did the wine tasting and had brunch afterward. First time going and won't be the last! First off, great atmosphere with fantastic wine and food. Rochelle gave us the presentation for the wine tasting and was very friendly and very knowledgeable.

Something we noticed and appreciated was Rochelle switched out the glasses from the white and red wines, "other" wine tasting rooms we tried never did this. Also, we didn't have a reservation for brunch, but she got us in last minute. Fantastic service. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. To the manager(s), I'm not sure what you're paying her, but it's not enough! Also, get her some business cards of her own. Someone like her definitely needs them.

I would highly recommend anyone in the area or out of town to try this place out, and if you do the wine tasting, make sure to ask...

We were out for an evening walk and felt like a glass of wine and something light to munch on and chill. We came to Ranco Capistrano Winery. I’m really glad we stopped here. Super laid back. Relaxing out on the patio area with nice party lighting and some flame heaters. I ordered a glass of their “Remington.” A mild sweet red with a nice fruity finish. I had to, we named our dog the same name. We ordered a spinach artichoke dip that came with fresh made tortilla chips. Nice baked finish on the dip to create a nice crust on top. The service was friendly and attentive. The entire experience was very relaxed and pleasing. Thank you Ranchers Capistrano Winery for a memorable evening. Sorry I didn’t take pics of the food. We were just enjoying the experience. But the included pic is a view from the outdoor seating. Maybe we’ll get back there and...