{"id":192855,"date":"2026-02-25T09:59:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/192855\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:59:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:59:17","slug":"sky-valley-cellars-aims-to-elevate-san-diego-wines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/192855\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky Valley Cellars Aims to Elevate San Diego Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houman Dahi never imagined becoming a vintner. Originally from Iran, he fled his homeland for Turkey as a teenager to escape the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. There, he completed high school and medical school before immigrating to the US to complete more medical training, first in New York City and then New Orleans.<\/p>\n

After experiencing Hurricane Katrina\u2019s devastation and staying for a few years to help rebuild the city, he and his family moved to California in 2008. During this time, his father purchased 17 acres in Ramona<\/a> at 1,600 feet elevation and started growing grapes as a retirement project a few years later. It was both a good way to get some father-son time in and helped Dahi unwind from the high-stress hospital environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy of Sky Valley Cellars<\/p>\n

Dahi says the plan was to just grow a few varieties of grapes like Sangiovese, Syrah, and Petite Syrah to sell to wineries in the area. But when the pandemic hit, wineries stopped buying grapes. So Dahl hired a winemaker that year and by 2023, Sky Valley Cellars<\/a> opened a tasting room on the property.<\/p>\n

Since then, they\u2019ve won a number of awards<\/a> from local and international competitions, but Dahi says San Diego wineries still don\u2019t get the recognition of other California wine regions<\/a>. To him, it\u2019s not a quality issue, it\u2019s awareness. So he decided to bring their wine to a more accessible location. Sky Valley Cellars will open a new tasting room in Pinnacle Tower in Marina District later this year, likely in the fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy of Sky Valley Cellars<\/p>\n

The 1,400-square-foot space includes an outdoor patio<\/a>, and will have a full kitchen serving small plates and pinsas (Roman-style pizzas), which use a mixture of wheat, soy, and rice flour for a lighter, lower-gluten dough. Everything will be curated to pair with wine (their own for now, with hopes to bring in others). It\u2019ll also host educational workshops, and partner with local chefs for special events and food pairings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dahi may not have been born into a wine family, but he is committed to making sure the next generations know what treasures San Diego winemakers are capable of. \u201cThis is one way for us to be able to introduce our local quality wine to our community, and hopefully that would further increase the interest, and develop our region as a premium wine growing region,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Sky Valley Cellars will open at 530 Front Street in Pinnacle Tower, Marina District in fall 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"\"Courtesy of Joyee Noodle House<\/p>\n

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events<\/p>\n

Beth\u2019s Bites<\/p>\n

Hotel food is shedding its lackluster reputation faster than an Eastern garter snake (shoutout to all you herpetologists out there), and Hotel Solea<\/a> in Carlsbad seems to have gotten the memo. On March 4, modern Italian restaurant Verise will open its doors inside the new hotel, with a menu designed by resort chef Jason Luke and chef Riccardo Bilotta, who\u2019s worked in illustrious kitchens like the two-Michelin-star Il Pellicano in Tuscany and three-Michelin-star El Celler de Can Roca in Spain. It\u2019ll have wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and a whole bunch of other goodies that I guess we\u2019ll have to taste to believe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And if Verise runs out of anything, it sounds like they\u2019ll soon be able to pop over to the new location of Always Hungry Grocery & Goods<\/a> to grab it. It\u2019s set to open any day now at 325 Carlsbad Village Drive, and I know it\u2019s taken the gang a little longer than they\u2019d have liked, so best of luck to them in the last stretch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UTC is hardly suffering from a lack of dumplings, but it looks like Joyee Noodle House<\/a>\u2019s newest location is now open at 8935 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 100. This spot offers something the other five local locations don\u2019t\u2014a Taiwan-style breakfast menu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More good news for Ramona! Local coffee roasting company Manzanita Coffee Roasters<\/a> will open its third caf\u00e9<\/a> later this spring, coming after its Rancho Bernardo and Escondido locations. We love a local coffee success story.<\/p>\n

Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego\u2019s Food and Drink Scene<\/p>\n

Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city\u2019s food scene? Send your pitches to\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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