Category: Members

Our award winning wine is made with love & gratitude for all who helped make it happen. Some bottles are dedicated to various charitable efforts and a portion of proceeds are donated to the cause. We call them "Pay it Forward Bottles"

Sourcing the best grapes we can find is the first and most important step in our winemaking process. We focus our efforts on the fruit from Northern and Central California, and thus far that has worked well for us. As soon as the grapes are harvested, they are loaded on temperature controlled trucks and are immediately transported to San Diego. We do all wine production (destemming, crushing, fermenting, aging, and bottling) in our urban facility by the beach!  Our full functioning urban winery, tasting rooms, and wine garden are open for  7 days a week for you to visit!

BK Cellars is an urban winery located in Escondido, California. First, why open a winery?  Second, why an urban winery?  And, third, why in Escondido?

First, it must be economical to make wine as opposed to buying it, right?  We're still exploring the answer to that.  You might have guessed "BK" is an acronym for a financial term possibly illustrating the end result of an investment when there's a lack of profit.  In the meantime, we'll affectionately call the winery a "liquidation program."

Second, who has time for vineyard management? We rely on our trusted neighbors and business partners to supply us with quality grapes from all over California for crush season.  Plus, we didn't know of another way to get started in the business.  We thought the idea of an urban winery was cool having been inspired by other San Diego Urban Wineries like Carruth Cellars in Solana Beach.

Third, Joe's parents, Lee and Yvonne Ames, happen to own an industrial building in a very convenient location in Escondido near some well known breweries and wineries such as Stone Brewing Company and Orfila Vineyards & Winery.  Escondido is a hot spot for the brewery and winery scene!  We think people are willing to come to a fun, trendy urban winery rather than a traditional winery to try award winning wines.  In fact, BK Cellars was the first newly licensed winery within the City limits of Escondido in nearly 80 years.

Come experience BK Cellars and see for yourself the kinds of delicious wines we make from California grapes and served in our air conditioned crystal chandelier tasting lounge!

Cheers!

The name 2Plank Vineyards pays homage to the early snow skiers that pioneered the sport called “2Plankers”. 2Plankers would strap toboggans to their feet and bomb down icy hills. Being avid snow skiers our whole lives, we combined our love for the sport and passion for wine into an artisan winery and vineyard, aptly named 2Plank Vineyards.

The estate vineyard was planted in Fallbrook after much debate and research over the vineyard's location. The decision to plant here was based on the unique growing climate and soil profile in Fallbrook. The dark, red volcanic soils are similar to the famous terra rossa of the Coonawarra region in Australia. Planted at an average elevation of 1100 feet, the vineyard is situated near the Santa Margarita River gap, which provides the daily maritime breezes necessary for slow fruit maturation. This allows the grapes to develop the optimum fruit, acid, and tannin structure necessary to make the highest quality wines. We feel that you can taste the terroir of our Red Mountain vineyard in every bottle.

The Red Mountain can definitely be defined as extreme farming. The topography includes a 15-20% grade and large quantities of volcanic rock, make it impossible to farm with machines, so every square foot of our vineyard is hand-farmed. This harsh topography also tames the vines, stressing them, pressuring them to send down roots deep into the rocky, fractured substrata. The end result is lower yields of fruit per acre, but the grapes that are harvested are concentrated with flavor. We also favor sustainable farming practices such as hand cultivating and avoiding use of pesticides.

All 2Plank wine ferments in small lots to extract optimum flavor and color, then ages in oak for 12-18 months. We try to intervene as little as possible in the wine aging process. We'd rather let the quality fruit shine through. This old-world approach coupled with our new world fruit, produces wines that are ready to drink right out of the gate, but can easily be laid down for years, to enjoy later on. Our wines are both food friendly and great for sipping.

We’re an urban winery in San Diego producing natural and craft wine,
mostly sparkling, from local vineyards.

We’re small, independent, innovative, and care about everything we make.

We’re small, independent, innovative, and care about everything we make.

We make a lot of wines using only natural, native yeast, and as little processing as possible to preserve the wine’s natural character, without any chemical “corrections”. Farming methods range from low input to certified organic.

In addition to our natural wines, we make a lot of experimental creations – like vermouths, sangrias, sours, and “cocktails” – along with hybrid collaborations with local beer, cider, sake, and mead producers.

We love making sparkling wines that are delicious and unlike traditional Champagne or Prosecco.

We source from vineyards in San Diego County – the oldest and newest wine region in California. We love making wine from the area in which we live.

CHARLIE: Charlie has traveled the world. Bargained in exotic bazaars. Been inked by an octopus. Stared down machine gun yielding militias. Eaten boa constrictor. She's the most interesting woman in the world. Funny part is, that's all true.

ECHO: Echo is a physics grad school drop out. He used to study charmonium. He used to be smart. Now he makes wine. Again, that's all true. Just not nearly as interesting.