Wine In The Clouds: Weekend Getaway At Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate

 

It took a winery set almost 3000 feet in the sky to make our weekend trip a reality. For over a decade, our writers’ group has talked about a girl’s getaway. But we’re moms, and some of us work outside the home as well. We appreciated the idea of a weekend retreat in theory, but the practical application of one kept eluding us. That is, until we learned about the existence of a villa set atop Sulphur Mountain in Ojai, California. The villa is the newest addition to the hot new winery in town, Ojai Mountain Estate, an organic and biodynamic high altitude vineyard taking all the honors and not apologizing for it. 

Despite the first harvest occurring as recently as 2020, the Ventura County winery has already found itself gracing the pages of top wine publications and appearing on lists of who’s who in wines around the world. 

We finally found the time to make our weekend getaway a reality at Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate and got to sample the best that Ojai Mountain Estate has to offer. Here’s what we enjoyed and how you can have this extraordinary experience too.

 

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Our Arrival: Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate Overview

We trickled into the estate on Friday as our work and parenting obligations wrapped up. Or at least took a hiatus. After a windy trip up a lush mountain road, we found the gate into the private road that leads to Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate. Charlene and I arrived first. Right away, we wanted to pinch ourselves. 

The cream-colored two-story house sits on a ridge, overlooking a valley, hence the name.  Colored pebbles and a manicured lawn spread to rock formations and ancestral trees. We spotted flashes of dirt on walking trails tucked around the hillsides, part of the 40 acres that includes the vineyard, barely visible over the ridge. 

 

 

After taking in the spacious interior, Charlene and I walked out to the trellis-topped backyard with the endless view. Adobe tiles paved an area covered with hanging vines. A wooden dining set and thoughtfully placed sitting chairs sat beneath. Already, my mind brimmed with ideas of where I’d later write. Greek columns and arches divided the corners of low walls, a lawn on one side, and a hammock and hot tub on the other.  

The entire Ojai Valley stretched before us, with the Pacific Ocean 10 miles away. The valley bowl, bordered by the Topatopa Mountains on the north and east and the Sulphur Mountains on the south, was dotted with billowy hills bright green from recent rains. 

 

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The Rooms

The house has four bedrooms with six beds. A pullout couch brings the total number of people the house can sleep to 10. Perfect for us six.

Two of the rooms have king-sized beds, and one has a gorgeous ensuite bathroom with a jacuzzi tub that looks into that valley tapestry. That’s the only bedroom on the ground floor, and we decided Julie and Charlene should have it since they volunteered to share a bed. The other king-sized bed was upstairs, and I claimed that as arranger of the trip, and Kim took the queen-sized bed, also upstairs, while Shauna and Laurel shared the room with twin-sized beds.

Enjoy the entire house reveal below, which includes the living room and study, as well as the chef’s kitchen and those insane views!

 

Night 1: Potluck Dinner

Most of us arrived in time to appreciate the sun setting into the far-off ocean, turning the sky into a pastel colored coloring book. We took turns immortalizing the moment, passing our phones around while we relaxed on the low wall overlooking the dripping valley.

 

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Wine glasses in hand to celebrate our victorious escape, we proceeded into the kitchen, where we found ample room to prepare our contributions for the potluck evening while rocking out to music blaring our favorites.

Although we’ve known each other for years, this was really the first time we’d be spending extended time together. What we most have in common is our love of reading and writing. Every month, we meet to discuss our writing projects (or lack thereof), our ambitions for the coming month, the books we are loving, and the ways we can help each other succeed. This loving formula has launched books, magazine articles, editing careers, and iron-clad friendships. Yet, this was the first night we’d be spending together in over a decade of that friendship. I’m not sure if any of the other girls wondered how it would go.

I made maple-mustard salmon with garlic spinach. Charlene contributed a pasta with roasted tomatoes, garlic, and feta (worth every carb!). Laurel concocted an insane artichoke, olive, and feta salad, and Shauna made Moroccan chicken, for which she later graciously shared the recipe.

 

 

We spread around the giant rectangular dinner table, the darkened bay window reflecting our happiness, and the fire warming the space in yellows and crackling stars. Conversation flowed as easily as the wine, and we broke out a set of Uno to play while we giggled about all the things that seemed much more serious back home.

 

 

We wound down the night sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace as our minds relaxed into the night and our connected evening. Finally, our beds summoned.

 

 

Day 2: Writing, Yoga, Exploring, and Wine Tasting

Early in the morning, our last participant, Julie, arrived after being delayed by uncontrollable (dog) family obligations. We swarmed around her and covered her with hugs. She arrived ready to participate in her second-ever yoga class, which Shauna, a teacher of science and yoga, generously volunteered to lead for us.

We spread out under the vine-covered trellis, the valley mountains stretching below for miles, the early morning sun casting weak rays. Shauna gave us instructions on how to open our bodies through manageable poses, and our minds to the possibilities ahead. Feeling lubricated, physically and mentally, we converged around the kitchen to prepare light breakfasts. Outside, we found our private areas and nibbled as we wrote.

The writing crossed off our list, we prepared to drive half an hour down the mountain into downtown Ojai. 

 

 

Downtown Ojai

We piled into Laurel’s car. Kim had recently visited with another friend and suggested a cafe called Three Birds for lunch. It turned out the menu served breakfast, and since we had already eaten breakfast, I opted to take a stroll to one of the many surrounding restaurants to see if I could find myself a keto-friendly lunch. I didn’t have to walk far, as right next door, a woman and man stood over an industrial-sized grill at a pop-up barbecue spot. Arms laden with BBQ ribs, I rejoined the girls, and we enjoyed the warm December weather and our little meals.

Two short blocks away, we stepped onto the main street of downtown Ojai, along Ojai Avenue. The whole town is only 4.3 sq. miles, and most of the shops are within two very walkable blocks within a Spanish-Revival Arcade that runs along the avenue. We split up as various stores called to one or another of us. Many of the shops are vintage-chic, with some items new and others gently used. I bought a cute pair of hoop earrings because I’m always losing one. 

We really could have meandered the rest of the afternoon, but we had to get back for our 3 pm wine tasting appointment.

 

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Wine Tasting At Ojai Mountain Estate

“I didn’t intend to become a winemaker,” said Ojai Mountain Estate owner, Olga Chernov. “I bought the property to use as a weekend getaway and planted the vineyard as a hobby. We thought we could teach our sons about agriculture.” Chernov had intended to sell the grapes she grew at the Ojai Farmers’ Market, but Repris and Sojourn Cellars winemaker Erich Bradley convinced her to let him try making wine instead.

 

 

Earlier, when we pulled into the gated driveway of the Ojai Mountain Estate for our scheduled wine tasting appointment, Olga welcomed us in her off-road vehicle and asked who wanted to ride with her. 

The Ojai Mountain Estate vineyard is about a 15-minute walk from our villa, and guests who rent the house are invited for a complimentary wine tasting. Others must make a reservation, as she hosts the tastings in her front yard. 

A couple of us got in and sped down the dirt road with Olga to the vineyard. The others followed in Laurel’s car. Each 90-minute to two-hour tasting includes a tour of the vineyard and a talk about the winery’s regenerative and biodynamic growing practices. They use chickens, goats, and ladybugs instead of pesticides. They rotate the soil. They do all the things to keep the bad stuff out and let the good stuff shine.

 

 

Bradley told her the extreme temperature fluctuations (40-50 degrees) between night and day would produce the most excellent grapes. Days can be hot in Ojai, but evening coolness, mountain elevation, and ocean breezes combine to produce the magic.

 

 

We rode back to Olga’s private estate, where a long table sat laden with meats and cheeses and many empty glasses of wine overlooking that splendid valley. The sun hung low in the sky as we sat down, washing us in golden light.

 

 

She took us through the years of harvest, pouring glasses of the same variety, captured at different points in time and under varying climate conditions. She called them vertical tastings, and we appreciated her recollection of the local climate that helped to create the different tastes.

 

 

Many of us walked away with bottles in tow, excited to extend the memory of our weekend into our regular lives.

 

Girls’ Night In and Writers’ Meeting

After all our appetizers, we weren’t really hungry, but Shauna had made an incredible salad the night before, so we decided to play healthy. 

With the full group now together, and a wonderful buzz from our afternoon wine tasting, we decided to start our monthly writers’ meeting in the sitting room. With the fireplace blazing and our minds aglow, we wrote, shared, and inspired each other.

 

 

Regardless of our personal productivity in the writing realm, every month we each bring something to the creative table. Being a writer may seem glamorous to some, but to the writer, it can often be lonely and painful. We force ourselves to dredge up sometimes painful experiences or command ourselves to sit and stare down a blank page or blinking cursor. Together, for over 10 years, we’ve made it a little less lonely and a little less painful. Ideas and resources swirl through our meetings, and we go home more determined, sometimes with a plan to get to wherever we’re aspiring. 

 

 

Our Last Morning: Hot Tub Shinanigens and A Last Hurrah

One thing we all love and hadn’t gotten a chance to do was use the outdoor hot tub. Some of us decided to amend that omission after our breakfast preparations and a short hike. The hot tub seats between two and four, depending on the size of the people and the style they want to sit in. Legs out: two. Criss-crossed: four.

 

 

Some of us took advantage of the clean mountain air with a little snooze on the hammock.

 

 

 

Lunch, we decided, should be in downtown Ojai, so we packed into the same cars that brought us up the mountain and bid our weekend castle goodbye. We promised it wouldn’t take another decade for us to enjoy a weekend together. And we promised the villa, our sacred sanctuary, and our new friend, that we’d be back with our other families.

 

When You Go

 

 

Getting To Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate From Los Angeles

Depending on when and where you start (traffic), Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate is only 60-90 minutes from Los Angeles. Once your party books their stay, they will provide a detailed set of instructions, as GPS doesn’t always work in the area.

To book Ojai Mountain Ridge Estate, use this site or book directly.

 

If you’re flying into the area, an excellent discount site for rental cars and flights is Booking! We literally save hundreds using it.

 

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