J Jenkins Winery

Just recently went to the Volcan Winery (formerly J. Jenkins Winery) and it was amazing! We belong to 6 local Ramona wineries and Volcan tops all of them! Needless to say we joined their winery and look forward to many visits up to Julian where they are located. Jim Hart is the new owner and wine maker and we loved his wines at the Hart winery in Temecula and recently at Milagro Farms. The Hart family has a long history of making great wines. Mel is their key employee and has a wonderful personality and knowledge of wines. The winery is a true Boutique Winery in every sense of the word. We highly recommend a visit! Cheers to Volcan Winery!!!

Mel is super friendly and knowledgeable about the wines. She can help you with any information concerning Julian and the surrounding area. Come on out and say hi to Mel, she is a true gem. The winery is now called Volcan Mountain Winery. The new owners are two of the Hart brothers from Hart Winery in Temecula, Jim Hart and Mike Hart. The winery now serves the award winning wines: Arneis, Zinfandel, and Syrah. The Syrah is grown on a 48 year old vine! The owners told me they will soon be making a sparkling apple wine as well as adding more varietals to the tasting menu. It is a cute boutique winery with a gorgeous relaxing view. I’m looking forward to seeing all the updates the Hart brothers are bringing to Volcan Mountain Winery. Great wines, great people, great scenery!

Stopped by this winery during a weekend trip to Julian and I enjoyed it very much! The staff member who helped us was very personable and amiable. She was easy going and fun to talk to. Their tasting is very inexpensive – $ 7 for 5 different wines and you get to keep the glass!
Be advised that this isn’t a cheese and olives type of tasting… not that I had a problem with that at all. I actually liked that we were able to stop by, do the tasting, and take off within a very reasonable amount of time.

Julian is another alternative (on a smaller scale) to Temecula and Ramona for adventurous wine lovers.
J Jenkins is a lovely little winery with beautiful scenic views. The lady that works there is super friendly and chatty. You must try their apple wine, its very pleasant and not too sweet. The wine tasting is very inexpensive, 7 dollars for 5 generous pours and you get to keep a souvenir glass.
Next time you are in Julian, stop by for a glass not just for pie :)

Mel was absolutely amazing! We stopped by after hiking the Volcan trail and were so happy we did! She basically planned the rest of our day here in Julian by recommending great options for the day! Every one of them was perfect! (She even made dinner reservations for us) Loved the apple wine varieties. Definitely a must when in Julian.

Had a great time chatting with Mel. She had me try Julian apple wine. Very relaxed and casual. Great atmosphere. The place is beautiful.

Mel sealed the deal for me (as clearly she has for a lot of other reviewers).
I planned a day trip to Julian for myself, my husband and another couple. I called J Jenkins to make sure a Saturday afternoon walk-​in tasting is sufficient, and ended up chatting with Mel for 15 minutes on the itinerary of the day. She highly recommended stopping at Dudley’s Bakery on the way to pick up sandwiches to picnic at the winery. We did just that.
The wine was good, atmosphere was peaceful, and Dudley’s sandwiches were spot on. (I got the California Roast Beef on Mel’s recommendation. Delicious!)

Mel is amazing! If you want to have wonderful conversation with great wine while you relax outside this is the place! We will be back with friends and family again. Thanks Mel for a wonderful birthday treat!

My husband and I stopped here during our anniversary weekend in the beginning of August and, lucky us, the weather was unbelievable: torrential rains, flash floods, lightening, pea-​soup fog, the whole nine-​yards. We had visited Meghini before and wanted to try something different and we’re so lucky we picked this one! The property isn’t as picturesque as Meghini but since it was raining we were stuck inside anyway. We were the only tasters on a Sunday afternoon and spent a long time drinking, laughing and having fun with Mel and one of the locals who was also tasting. They were so warm and friendly it felt like we were having wine with some old friends (an atmosphere we honestly miss after moving to California from Europe a few years ago)!
The pours were more than generous (and numerous, I lost count), the stories about the wines and blends were brilliant, and the fun we had here was the highlight of our weekend. We bought their cabernet sauvignon to drink on our next anniversary (our tradition) and we were even given the remainder of a bottle we had just opened for a tasting to take back to our hotel!
In short, Meghini is prettier, but if you really want to enjoy your experience and have some great company, go to Jenkins!

What a great experience! Mel was absolutely amazing, personable, very informative and professional. The tasting room is welcoming to locals and tourists alike. Mel gave amazing recommendations for visiting Julian and San Diego. I will definitely be visiting again, not only for the great wine, but also for the wonderful staff!

My favorite winery ever! Drove up from San Diego just for their apple wine. Their merlot is absolutely amazing also. Melanie was such a sweetheart and made our wine tasting experience so great will definitely be back real soon!

Love this winery. The wines are wonderful & the customer service is great! You can bring your lunch and have a glass of wine or bottle & sit outside & enjoy the beautiful Julian scenery. Sometimes they have this wonderful wood barreled aged balsamic vinegar & flavored oils you can sample & buy as well. delicious!!!

Great small winery just minutes from downtown julian. Great Viogniet and the apple wine is a must try. Ask Mel to try the Panny dropper!!!

J Jenkins Winery is near & dear to my heart. My fiancé & I stopped in here after celebrating our engagement earlier that day. What better way to celebrate than lots and lots of wine!
The tasting room is VERY small. However, Mel, the lady that runs the whole operation brightens up the entire place. She is an absolute delight to have as your guide. She is completely knowledgeable & a sweetheart on top of it. The owners are lucky to have her as their front woman. She represents the place well.
The room fills up very quickly with guests so its best to have her pour your tasting and then enjoy it on their patios. They have adorable benches for two, and a huge picnic area where you can bring your own lunch to enjoy during your tasting or after youre nice & toasty.
I think the tasting is less than $ 20 a person, its hard to remember now becasue of all the wine, but you get to keep the glass! I believe you get to try 5 – 6 different wines. We purchased a bottle to open on a special occassion as we wanted a memory from this awesome day.
If youre visiting the winery at the right time of season, you can also spend time in the apple orchards, picking bags and bags of beautiful fruit. Many families are there with their children, letting them run around the orchard, picking apples. So if youre the kind of parents I plan to be, which is get wasted while my kids run around like motherless mongrals, then this is for you! :)
Since we had such a blast the first time we came in, months later we brought our best friends with us & had a true wine tasting experience. Aka, we got smashed. and IT. WAS. AWESOME. mainly because we went in the off season and we were pretty much the only guests in there, and thefew that came in and out were up for an equally good time.
Mel again assisted us and this time became our guide for fine dinings retaurants in the area and all the good spots in town to check out that are not on the typical «julian main road’
The only thing I wish, which is no fault to Jenkins winery, is that there were MORE wineries in the area to you could hop around to. I believe there is one down the road but it looks super sketchy.
This place will always be imporant to me and Im looking forward to my future husband and I frequenting this winery when we want to get away years and years down the line.

Ohhh I’m just here to sing more praises for Mel. She was wonderful. Not only does she know her stuff about wine, she was extremely helpful at recommending great places to eat in Julian. A MUST stop if you’re in the area.

Enjoyed the wine tasting experience with Mel. She’s super cool and friendly. She doesn’t rush you, answers all your questions to the best of her knowledge. There is outside seating so if you want to take your time and enjoy the wine outdoors, you can.
The wine itself is average. They do have an apple wine made with 100% apples, it’s higher alcohol content than cider, but not as sweet. Quite crisp and good for spicy Asian food. They also have a sweet apple wine (port) but that was too sweet for me. Mel mixed in some of the initial apple wine and made it all better.

best experience! Mel was FANTASTIC! cannot wait to go back. Brought our own lunch and ate it in the Vineyard along with a glass of delicious wine. =)

Plan to come here early in your Julian trip, and call ahead to see if Mel is pouring in the tasting room. She is super friendly, cool and very knowledgeable about the area and the San Diego wine region as a whole.
Wines are good too. Try the apple wine. It’s not at all sweet, as you might expect.

We loved our tasting at Jenkins! At $ 6 for 6 – 7 generous pours, plus you keep the glass, the price was a steal. And many of the wines were wonderful. The 2004 Syrah in particular is amazing.
The best part of the whole experience was the friendly atmosphere. Mel, who was here on both days we visited, was absolutely wonderful. She was knowledgable, fun, and even called local restaurants for us to make reservations!

I don’t know that 3 stars is the correct rating, but I figured I would stick to the middle of the road here.
Last month my friends and I were in Temecula and we met the owner of J. Jenkins. She told us to come down to Julian sometime and check out her winery. So we did.
Guess what? They are open by appointment only! So we drove all the way down to Julian to not be able to taste their wines. If you want to check this place out, make an appointment first!