Wine Please

The secret it out on the vineyards that make up the Temecula Valley.  Years ago, it was a sleepy little collection of a few wineries.  Not anymore.  There are more now than ever before and they are so much bigger now.  It’s hard to picture Ponte when it was just a little barn sized building with their dog lounging on the floor watching you taste.

We only visited the wineries once before we moved to Arizona.  Funny how it takes moving away for you to seek out what was so close before.   We’ve been several times since and each time has been a fun-filled event.

One funny time was with our friends that still live in California.   My dad stayed at our house with our boys and we drove to meet them at the Embassy Suites right off the freeway.  Mark secured a limo for us, this was way before Uber and away we went.   Mark asked the driver how many wineries he typically takes people to in a day.  His answer was five, and Mark promptly answered that today we were going to hit six.  Wait?  What?  We did in fact visit six wineries that day.  Ponte was my favorite.  We ate lunch at Oak Mountain, or at least that’s what it’s called now.  We finished the day tasting on a patio of one winery whose name I can’t remember.   For me, six wineries are way too many.  Three, maybe four is better.

We celebrated Mark’s mother’s 75^th birthday with a huge group.  We corralled several camping spots together at Pachenga RV Resort next to a nice gazebo.   Again, Mark arranged for two bus drivers to take our group.  This day we visited two wineries, Long Shadow and Wilson Creek.  We started at Long Shadow and had the tasting room all to ourselves.  Being a group of 50+ will probably do that.  It’s a nice winery in a beautiful setting that would be a perfect spot for a wedding.  A few birthday toasts later we piled back into the buses for Wilson Creek.

Wilson Creek might be one of the biggest wineries in all of Temecula.  Or at least it sure seems like it.  Our stop there included a winery tour.  If you ever get the chance for a tour, I hope you do it.  Gail’s birthday is in January, so the vines were bare, very bare.  I find the gnarly vines to be beautiful with every twist in them a glimpse of the beauty to come in the spring.  They keep barn owls on their property to keep the rodents out.  We could see a few of their owl homes perched atop poles as we looked out across the vines.

Since there were no grapes on the vines to see, our tour guide took us to their outside vat storage and we talked about the grapes before we moved inside.  Those barrels outside would be there for the entire aging process of that wine.  It was interesting that some aged with the benefit of direct weather.  I wonder how much the wind, rain and sun affected the aging process and taste of the wine.

 

 

Inside we went by large vat after large vat of different red wines of different years.  He pulled the spigot and we all got a tiny taste of a 2013 Zinfandel.   It wasn’t ready for bottling so I expected it to be awful, but it was surprisingly good.

 

 

 

 

 

Our tour ended in the barrel room where I again imagined a wedding.  This room would be just beautiful for a wedding reception.  Pictures were first on tap since we were all in the same room and it was big enough for all of us.  After what seemed like 150 pictures, we moved into their private tasting room where we tried many delicious reds.

The wine portion of the party was finished but the party did not end there.  We had a great evening ahead with those near and dear to her.  It was a wonderful day.

Wine tasting birthday parties are easy and super fun.  My sweet friend Terri turned 50 and her husband had it all planned.  Again, we stayed at Pachenga.  For us it is THE place to stay when we wine taste.  He set us up to all be camped close together, so we only had to walk maybe 20 feet to catch the bus he arranged.

Two wineries were on the docket, Callaway and Miramonte.  Both are fun little places with great wine.  We took over the tasting room at Callaway, but Ron had called ahead and they were ready for us.  They have a fabulous patio that makes a perfect backdrop for photos.

Our second stop is one of Terri’s favorite wineries, Miramonte.  Ron had arranged a late lunch and we were seated on their patio.  We picked different small plates from their set menu and laughed about our fun day for what seemed like hours.  Mark and his brother Matt provided the musical entertainment on our bus and I think everyone had a video segment to share.

Our most recent visit was just for fun.  We were both craving some beach time, but alas our favorite beach front campground wasn’t available.  Hey, let’s do wine tasting on the weekend then we’ll hit the beach for a few days during the week when we know we can get in.  Great minds think alike as that was exactly what I was thinking.

Ron and Terri joined us on Saturday.  Terri has a great little map of the wineries that we used to plan our day.   We decided on two, Avensole and Renzoni.

Avensole has recently expanded and now is like a winery compound.  Our Uber driver dropped us right in front and we walked by the patio into the tasting room.  Our taster was a fun guy who laughed and joked right along with us.  Mark and Ron were in their own world while Terri and I told him what we liked, which he happily poured it for us.  The atmosphere is light and fun, an easy place to spend sipping the afternoon away.

 

Our next stop was the Robert Renzoni Winery.  Lunch was on the menu here before we tasted.  Their patio is an amazing spot with a great view of the surrounding area.  Live music is on tap every weekend.  We listened to a good young singer while we waited for our pizza and paninis.

After lunch we ventured inside for our tastings.  Our taster gave us the biggest wine glass I’ve ever seen.  She said it can hold an entire bottle of wine.  Immediately the joke came out of my mouth, “But officer, I’ve only had one glass.”  She didn’t laugh as hard as we did, I think she’s heard it several thousand times.

Their wine room is smaller than Avensole but just as fun.  We didn’t have to share our taster with anyone; she was always ready with the next pour.  Their gift shop was a good place to get some Christmas shopping done although I held myself back.  I haven’t made my shopping list yet and wasn’t about to go rogue buying a bunch of stuff without a person in mind.  Otherwise it all might have been just for me!  Oh wait, maybe I should have.

Sunday, we met Mark’s brother Matt for a little brother time.  He is a member at Chapin and Doffo which are conveniently on the same little side road.  We ended up having a group of 13.  Being a member has its perks.  We had our own taster and he took very good care of us.  Chapin and Doffo are both smaller operations, much like I remembered from our first visit.  It’s almost a family feel, like they’ve welcomed you onto their patio as a guest.  They also have a little gift shop and I did buy something.  I found this fabulous heart necklace that went perfectly with my outfit, how could I not buy it.  The price was perfect as well, and I would have bought more if they had them.  Each piece was unique, and I think all of us girls bought something.  My sister-in-law bought three Christmas presents.

We walked across the parking lot into Doffo and their long, shaded patio.  Matt and his girlfriend Kim had an impressive array of snacks laid out for us.   We talked and laughed and told stories while tasting.  Temecula is more of a red wine region but Doffo had a nice, crisp Chardonnay that Kim and I enjoyed.  One of the cool things about Doffo is their motorcycle museum.  Mark and I took a stroll through before we left.  Each bike is labeled with the make and year.  There were 50-year-old Ducatis as well as twenty Vespa scooters from Italy.  Mark found one that was close to his mom’s minibike and his old dirt bike.  There were three bikes from Kurt Caselli, a famous motor cross rider that was killed recently during a race in Mexico.  He was the favorite of our son Kevin.

We made one more stop at another winery Matt wanted us to see, Cougar.   Live music greeted us as we walked in.  I lingered at the tasting bar and listened to him while much of our group found a big table in the barrel room.   Their white was a good sipping wine, one to drink while lounging at the pool.  No pool here so I walked around the barrel room.

If we still lived in California I imagine we’d be a member at one or two wineries in Temecula.  Even though it’s much bigger than our first time, it still has a quaint little feel to it.  Yes, there are some big ones that are completely corporate but there are also enough little ones with charm that make it a fun experience.

And for that, we’ll always come back.  Wine on Temecula, wine on.