Best wineries in Temecula

[Bill4728]

We'll be visiting Temecula in a couple of weeks. We visited there about 5 years ago and enjoyed the Calaway winery. BUT I heard there are other wineries in Temecula which have other things to do.

Which ones should we consider visiting?

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Lots to choose from

There are probably about 35 wineries from which to choose. Many have good wines. Some not-so-much so. The area generally produces better white wines than reds because of its warmer climate.

I enjoy Thornton and Wilson Creek (good Ca. champagne). Also Faulkner seems interesting.

I've heard from some people that if you find a wine that you enjoy that you may get a better price on it if you buy it from a grocery or drug store.

 

[mjm1]

Bill, one that stood out to me was Wiens. I only drink reds and I really liked theirs. Unfortunately, I don't recall the others we visited. Have a great time.

 

[eal]

We had a good time visiting the smaller wineries on de Portola Rd. Cougar Winery was especially enjoyable, with their all-Italian varietals.

 

[Bill4728]

We had a good time visiting the smaller wineries on de Portola Rd. Cougar Winery was especially enjoyable, with their all-Italian varietals.

As a Washington Husky, I'm not sure if I could in all honesty drink Cougar wine. :whoopie:

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

As a Washington Husky, I'm not sure if I could in all honesty drink Cougar wine. :whoopie:

Just think BYU instead of Wazzu!

 

[eal]

Ha Ha! My husband bought a great jacket at REI when we were visiting Seattle, however it was very... green. You shoulda seen the looks that he got at SeaTac - from Duck-haters apparently!

 

[Ron98GT]

We'll be visiting Temecula in a couple of weeks. We visited there about 5 years ago and enjoyed the Calaway winery. BUT I heard there are other wineries in Temecula which have other things to do.

Which ones should we consider visiting?

Temecula Wineries:

http://www.temeculawines.org/wineries-vineyards/

Wilson Creek & Ponte are our favorites. We used to belong to their wine clubs.

Check out the Golden Retrievers while at Wilson Creek and catch a meal in the restaurant.

http://www.wilsoncreekwinery.com/

Ponte has some really good wines at a reasonable price (< $20/bottle). The restaurant/food at Ponte is really good.

http://www.pontewinery.com/

We like to stop by the South Coast Winery when we're in Temecula for lunch and wine. They are on the pricey side.

http://www.southcoastwinery.com/winery

 

[Smokatoke]

Faulkner is very nice, was just there for a wedding.

Also Morongo Casino is very close by

 

[roadtriper]

We'll be visiting Temecula in a couple of weeks. We visited there about 5 years ago and enjoyed the Calaway winery. BUT I heard there are other wineries in Temecula which have other things to do.

Which ones should we consider visiting?

Bill, Let me put a plug in for Monte Del Oro Winery, beautiful facility, some very nice Reds! try the Simplexity if they have any avail. RT

 

[rhonda]

On my "someday" list is to try a winery tour by horseback. There are at least three in the Temecula area:
http://www.winecountrytrailsbyhorseback.com/index.html
http://www.saddleuptours.com/Saddle_Up_Wine_Tours.html
http://ridethevines.com/

 

[IreneLF]

Falkner is in a lovely setting, up on a hill, nice views, fine restaurant where four of us enjoyed lunch. Had a winery tour and a 4 wine tasting; found coupons on their website and saved some $.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Falkner is in a lovely setting, up on a hill, nice views, fine restaurant where four of us enjoyed lunch. Had a winery tour and a 4 wine tasting; found coupons on their website and saved some $.

1. If you go to the Faulkner website, you can sometimes find coupons for some good bargains on their wine tasting tours. You might have to sign up for their newsletter but I don't recall.

2. Wilson winery has an interesting almond champagne (or maybe more correctly "sparkling wine". It is actually quite pleasant. :whoopie:

3. If you find a wine that you really like, you are likely to be able to buy it in a local grocery store or drugstore at a lower price.

4. We went to the Maurice Carrie and Van Roekel winery a few years ago. Their white wines were okay but only 1 of 4 reds was drinkable. (This is from a person that thinks that "two buck chuck" (now three buck) is drinkable. :rofl: :hysterical:

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

3. If you find a wine that you really like, you are likely to be able to buy it in a local grocery store or drugstore at a lower price.

Yeah - that's one of the traits of the wine business. Wineries operate tasting rooms because they are hugely profitable sales outlets.

****

Time for a soapbox moment:

Let's consider a bottle of wine that sells for $20 in the tasting room. When the winery sells that wine through a normal distribution channel, they get around $5 to $8/bottle. As it moves through the distribution pipeline it gets marked up so that it eventually hits a retailers shelf at around $15/bottle. So there's a lot more money to be made selling wine in the tasting room

Then there are the wine clubs, where the members get that bottle that sells for $20 in the tasting room for $15. Still a deal for the winery, as now they get to move product for $15/bottle that they would otherwise be getting $5 to $8/bottle. And the wine club members pay shipping costs as well.

So this is where the internet flash sale sites enter the picture, sites such as wine.woot.com, wtso.com, and lastbottle.com. Using a flash site, that $20 bottle of wine will sell for about $12 to $15. From that, the winery will net about $10/bottle. So they make more money, and the buyers get the wine for less.

This is another situation where the internet is demolishing archaic business structures, with consumers winding up paying less and producers earning more money. Not surprisingly, the alcoholic beverage distributors - the ones who are being rendered obsolete - are fighting back in any way that they can. Which is by trying to use state liquor control boards to make it as difficult as possible for wineries and winery agents to sell directly to consumers.

*****

I'm also following this thread with interest because I do have occasion to get to San Diego more frequently now, since DD, SIL, and our precious DG live in North County so we wil be visiting more often. I've done the winery bit around Escondido enough to know that I little to no interest in that area. So next up for us is Julian and Temecula.

 

[Bill4728]

Thanks all

Now all I need to do is blindfold my DW so we can get over the Ortega hwy without her freaking out.

 

[Rent_Share]

Thanks all

Now all I need to do is blindfold my DW so we can get over the Ortega hwy without her freaking out.

Google maps gives ne this route, which also bypasses downtown LA


11. Keep left to stay on I-5 S

358 mi


12. Take the exit onto I-210 E toward Pasadena

44.3 mi


13. Take the CA-57 S/​Orange Freeway exit toward Santa Ana

0.8 mi


14. Merge onto CA-57 S

3.2 mi


15. Take the exit onto CA-71 S toward Corona

16.7 mi


16. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for California 91 E/​Riverside and merge onto CA-91 E

5.2 mi


17. Take the exit onto I-15 S toward San Diego


I have adjusted the route to keep you off a 2 lane State HWY SR 71, not mountainous, just narrow (Eau de Chino)