I live in Colorado and know almost nothing about SOCAL wineries. A friend’s daughter is getting married at Longshadow Ranch Winery near Temecula at the end of October. It looks like a nice wedding site, but never heard of the wines. Any thoughts? Also, I realize that this is likely to be harvest time, but any suggestions about other wineries to try to visit while I’m in the area? I’d be willing to head north, maybe as far as Paso. Will probably be there Oct 26-30.
Head to Santa Barbara/Lompoc/Los Olivos area. Half as far as Paso. Nice wine, nice people.
I did not enjoy my Temecula visit particularly. Wines werent particularly good, were expensive, and vibe wasnt pleasant. Agree that SB wine country is lovely
It’s hot out there. I can’t imagine harvest will still be going on at the end of October. Just go and enjoy the wedding, don’t think of it as a wine region, just enjoy the scenery. If you’re going to spend extra time and want to do some wine touring, you have good advice here to head north to Santa Barbara county.
I agree, head to another region. I went to 7 of the “best” wineries in Temecula a few years ago, and everything sucked. If you don’t have time to go to another region, you’ll probably have a better time not going to wineries and doing something else, like sitting in your hotel room watching movies. seriously, it’s that bad.
SB-Lompoc-Olivos area it is! Thanks for the advice. I am a big fan of Brewer-Clifton and will see if I can get a tasting or tour there. Any other standouts in that region?
Its been a very long time since I last visited. I remember that Hart was a decent stop.
If Santa Barbara is too far check out this place - http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/about/directions.asp
Awesome beer gardens worth an afternoon.
I’ve never been to the Temecula wine region, and I’ve probably only tasted 3-4 wines from there over the years, none of which I thought were very good. But David Vergari has been the winemaker at Thornton in Temecula for a few years - David’s a very good winemaker, and I’m guessing his wines are likely to be among the best from the area. But to taste many more good wines, I agree with those above who suggested heading to Santa Barbara County. Not a day-trip from the Temecula area - you’d have to drive there and stay somewhere closer to the Santa Barbara wineries.
I’d visit Hart, Thornton (with new winemaker David Vergari there has been a major jump in quality) and South Coast (repeat winner of the Golden Bear trophy for the best wine of the California State Fair.) I’d offer to drive up and take you around (I know all of these folk) but I will be out of town.
From Temecula you are looking at between a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive as long as the traffic isn’t too bad so it definitely calls for an overnight stay. There are plenty of places to stay in the area. Wineries to see include Foxen, Tensley, Stolpman, Melville, Loring and Brewer-Clifton to name a few.
If you’re really stuck in Temecula, or just want to give it a try… I’d suggest Palumbo, Doffo, Wiens, Thornton, Hart, and a bit farther South (in Escondido) Orfila. I doubt that any of them will compare with the average in the Central Coast region, but they’re OK. FWIW… I was recently told that Matucci, in Oceanside, is decent too, but haven’t been (and it’s not all that close to the others). BTW, it’s not all that hot in that area by October… at least not usually.
The shop I work in is an hour + from Temecula so I’m always asked if I’d recommend a visit. My first question is to ask what the person will be comparing it to. I’m pretty sure you’d be hard-pressed to find more than 5% of the posters here who’d say it’s worth the drive, but ask the same question of a bunch of people at an Angel’s game and you’d get a different answer. Well… they’d probably send you to Stone Brewing, but that’s another thing altogether.
This!!
i see a pattern developing.
Last time I tasted out there (when I still lived in San Diego) was early 2011. I don’t want to name names but I went to 8 places over the course of two days. The wines were mostly mediocre and really overpriced, but the staff tended to be very nice and fun. My least favorite stop was perhaps the region’s most famous or biggest winery and I felt like it was a carnival/frat party amalgamation. We left quickly.
Many thanks to all who posted. At this point, I’d say that my Temecula tour will probably be limited to the beer garden. Think I’ll drive up to the SB area on Monday and spend a day or two. I have spoken to Kristen at Brewer Clifton and will probably try to hit one or two others. like Loring and Melville so I’ll contact them. I have been reminded by my tour director (wife) that this is an “enjoy the coast” first trip.
+1 to this statement.
I got stuck staying at a winery/hotel (really nice new hotel at the time) a couple years ago. The people there (workers and visitors) all had a weird vibe, very pretentious is a good descriptor if I had to pick one. While I had a great time at the hotel, I wasn’t impressed with other than said hotel.