Celebrating 5 years of business
Old Julian Winery, whose namesake derives from their location, Old Julian Highway, had a roundabout inception. Lee Montgomery and his late partner Lynn bought the property in 2011. It was a working ranch with goats and horses, no vines. Lee and Lynn visited Temecula regularly for wine tasting. One day after a trip, the two stood on their patio, overlooking the property, and the dream was formed! “They decided to plant vineyards and make wine. They didn’t think of having a winery, just making their wines,” said Lee’s sister Shelli Montgomery.
With the help of friends and family, the first vineyards were planted in 2012. Subsequent vineyards were planted in 2014 and 2019. “We now boast 8 acres of vines- 7500 plants and 14 varietals,” Shelli said.
With no prior winemaking skills, the vision was for Lynn to make wine and eventually run a tasting room. Lee would be the farmer and manage the vineyards and property.
“John York, former owner of Hellanback Winery, and a Ramona wine legend, took us under his wing training both Lee and Lynn in the art of winemaking and distilling. He ultimately closed his winery and became our winemaker for four years before moving to Florida,” Shelli said.
However, tragedy struck when Lynn passed away in late 2019 after a long and hard fight with Cancer. Shelli stepped in to help her brother. “I now run the tasting room, do the marketing-social media, event planning, as well as much more behind the scenes work. I had never done marketing before and took that over full time in June 2024. I taught myself for the most part, and am always learning. Social media is a huge part of how the public perceives you and brings in new customers. Teri Kerns, of Ramona Ranch Winery is always my ‘go to gal’. She always helps with a smile, and is so gracious with her time and knowledge,” Shelli said.
“Lee and I work very well together. We respect one another as well as listen to each other’s thoughts and ideas. The goal for us both, is to continue offering a quality product and memorable experience for our guests, as well as of course, to continue growth and presence amongst the wine community,” Shelli said.
Brandy came about during COVID. Lee was going a bit stir crazy, and has a bit of a mad scientist mind. He started thinking about how he could utilize the grapes, old wine or perhaps wine that was not quality enough for the bottle, and turn it into something so there was no waste. He researched the idea of Brandy, and then started the long process of the application process with ABC. Once all the paperwork was done, he started the creative journey of all our flavors and the infusion process and time of coming up with all 9 of their very popular and successful Brandy! Old Julian Winery is the only Ramona winery with the license to make Brandy, and it has been an incredibly successful addition to the tasting room.
We strive for an excellent experience when people visit our tasting room. We are very proud of our product as well as the continued annual growth in the winery.
