Temecula Hills Winery & Vineyard - Temecula

Formerly known as Windy Ridge (before a SF wine distributer decided to market a wine under this name and trademarked it, oops!) this winery is a long haul from the normal line of vineyards. The drive feels REALLY long when you are driving out there, but it's really not that bad. It's about 10 miles from the rest of the wineries, and worth the trip. The property is small, but this charming little winery is run by a nice couple who were kind enough to open for us on an off day after we had driven all the way out there...

The winery is essentially their house and a tasting room. But on to the wines. They had a very nice selection of wines and the tasting was reasonable. They had some unusual grapes and even carried a few wines that they made from grapes grown in cucamonga. We tasted all of them, and bought the syrah.

The big news here was their port. I have not liked any of the ports in temecula to date. Generally they seem to be half hearted efforts that are more marketing than winemaking, but this was an exception. The port had an excellent balanced flavor, and we took a bottle home with us. If you are a port fan, do not miss this one.

All told this winery was worth the drive and it didn't seem nearly as long driving back. A worthwhile stop on your temecula tour.

Joel

http://www.temeculahills.com

Churon Winery - Temecula

Churon was the first winery we visited in Temecula. The property is beautiful, and includes an inn and other amenities along with the tasting room. We were excited right up to the point we tasted the first wine. We looked at each other with a "we paid $8 for this?" look, and hoped the next wine would be better. It wasn't.

Many wineries will offer drinks and snacks to the kids to keep them busy. At wilson creek, for example, they have apple cranberry cider that they pour for the kids. Other wineries will give them water or bottled water, and offer them crackers or other snacks. This is a nice touch that helps the parents to feel at ease and helps the kids have a good time. Good time = more wine purchases. Not here. They offered water. We said "sure" and they pointed us to the coolers against the wall where we could buy water. They offered to let us purchase snacks for the kids as well. How generous!

Their wines were marginal and we felt like we were being nickeled and dimed to death. We won't go back.

Skip this one.

Joel

http://www.innatchuronwinery.com/

Bella Vista Cilurzo - Temecula

Despite being weary when we visited this winery, we quite enjoyed ourselves. They bill themselves as Temecula’s first winery, and I have no reason to say they are not. The atmosphere in here is completely different. Think sports bar with a giant bar. When we walked in the place was hopping, and people were everywhere. When you pay for a tasting they give you poker chips as tokens, and the continuous clink of these chips gives the entire place an active casino feel to it.

Unfortunately they only give you five tasting tokens, and they have many more wines than that. I was able to schmooze my way into a sixth (ok, seven) tastes. Props to them for not being psychotic about the chips. We buy more wine when people are friendly...

The Bella Vista Bordeaux blend was quite good. It had a nice balance of flavors and aromas. I tried their 99 Cab which was excellent, but too expensive. The 2001 Cab was also very good, and in some ways outshines its more expensive sibling. The Zinfandel was not too impressive, so I moved on to the Petite Sirah. I really like Petite Sirah, but it takes a special vintner to make it truly great, and I don’t think this is one of those wines. They were serving another Meritage that they wanted $40 per bottle for. It was good, but not worth anywhere near that price.

The last thing I tried was the Late Harvest Petite Sirah. A very unusual wine, it really delivered the goods. This was the wine we took home with us, because it had a delicate sweetness to it that was really enchanting. This is the one wine I wanted to go back to Temecula and sample more of when the day was done. I’m glad I bought some, and I’m pretty sure we’ll go back for more.

Joel

http://www.cilurzowine.com

Stuart Cellars - Temecula

Stuart Cellars is, for us, what made Temecula worth our return visits. The first time we drove down here we stopped at Churon first, and I thought “this is going to be a very long day...” Our next stop was Stuart, and we were so blown away we joined their wine club on the spot.

To be honest, the first time we went here they were a little stand-offish to us. Perhaps it was because we always have our two kids in tow, or the fact that we used a coupon from their website (hey, if you don’t want people to use coupons, don’t give them out!). Not sure what it was, but they weren’t overly friendly. After we joined the wine club, their attitude changed completely and they became positively wonderful to deal with.

Every time we show up at Stuart we are greeted kindly, they remember us when we walk in the door and generally have our wine club shipments ready for us. Going there is now a joy, and based on the interaction with other customers it seems that our first impression was a bit of an anomaly.

On to the wines: Stuart really shines with their reds. Their Zinfandel is one of the best, their Cabernet a worth addition to the tradition of California cabs, and their Meritage (dubbed Tatria) is simply fantastic. In addition, Stuart is one of the few wineries that can make a truly great Malbec, a grape that I am particularly fond of. I haven’t been blown away by their ports, but I think that is because I am such a fan of the ports being produced by Fenestra.

This is, by far, the best winery in Temecula in our opinion. We always enjoy stopping there and tasting their wines. Don’t miss these guys.

Joel

http://www.stuartcellars.com

Alex's Red Barn - Temcula

Next to Longshadow Ranch is a winery that has been around for a long time in Temecula: Alex’s Red Barn. We have always wanted to try this place, and yesterday marked the time we finally got there.

What a disappointment. First off was the property itself. The label gives the impression of a nice old barn in a field of vines. The reality, shown above, is far more stark. Alex’s Red Steel Building would be a better name...

But the look of the facility has nothing to do with how the wines taste right? Well, apparently the attention to detail that is missing in their property carries over to their wines. They only had one red available to taste, a very average Cabernet at a very non-average price. The Sauvignon Blanc was pitiful (this is the only white I truly like), and left me feeling that I had just tasted a bad Chardonnay.

Ok, the service makes up for it all right? Wrong. Condescending, Arrogant, and Snooty with a capital S. Beyond the “now swish the wine around to bring out the flavors” instructions, there was just an attitude about this place. When she asked what I thought of the Sauvignon Blanc (apparently they are quite proud of this wine) and I gave her my opinion, I was greeted with a snappy “that’s because you didn’t swish it around like I told you!”

Their Cream Sherry wasn’t bad, but I don’t drink Sherry. Paying $7 to drink one marginal cab, one bad sauvignon blanc, and a glass of Sherry has to rank as the single worst value for my money yet in tasting in Temecula.

Pass on this one.

Joel

http://www.redbarnwine.com

Doffo Wines - Temecula

Now this is a real treat. Doffo is only open if you call first. And even then, they often will tell you they are too busy to have you taste right now if they are working on the wines. We have called every time we’ve been down in Temecula, but this was the first time we were able to taste.

When we arrived there was nobody in the tasting room, so we just hung out for a bit. It was worth the wait. The wines are clearly carefully crafted, with lots of subtle tastes and aging potential. The cab was very nice, with a lot of potential, and we took some home to cellar for a few years.

The tasting room is in what is essentially a second garage for the house. The house is surrounded by 4.5 acres of grapes that are used to produce all of their wines. Doffo dubs themselves Temecula’s first “petite” winery, and they certainly live up to that promise. Highly recommended if they are open. Pick up a flyer from Stuart Cellars to get the phone number and directions.

Joel

http://www.doffowines.com

Longshadow Ranch - Temecula

We had never heard of Longshadow Ranch prior to visiting this new winery. Down the street from Alex’s Red Barn, we decided to give it a try. Our host was a wonderful man named Claus, and he was a delight to talk with. He was as much entertainer as winemaker, and kept everyone in the tasting room laughing and having a good time.

The property is very nice as well, and they have thought out how to handle crowds from shuttles and busses by creating a facility separate from their tasting room to entertain large groups.

The wines are a little sweet for our tastes. We tried their reds, as usual, and found that they were very fruit forward wines on the sweeter side. Their Syrah was so different from anything I’ve ever tasted in a Syrah that I almost wonder if he didn’t pour the wrong wine...

These guys have all the right ingredients, but their wines are not worthy of the prices yet. We enjoyed our time there, but will wait a few years before checking in again.

Joel

http://www.longshadowranchwinery.com/

Wiens Family Cellars - Temecula

Wiens was a delightful little winery. They have big expansions planned, in which they hope to become more of a destination than just a winery. This is typical of most of the wineries in Temecula.

The gal who poured our wine was very nice, and it was her first week. She didn’t know a lot about their wines, but the other staff around were very helpful to her and we enjoyed the experience. Their wines were all quite light, too light for our tastes. Their Zinfandel, from Lodi, was the gem of the lot. We bought a bottle of that and a bottle of the Primitivo simply because of it is an unusual grape.

This is a nice place to visit, but not one of the “don’t miss” wineries of Temecula.

Joel

http://www.wienscellars.com/

Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyard - Temecula

Wilson Creek is a wonderful facility that gets a lot of traffic. There were a LOT of cars in the parking lot, and it’s easy to see why. They are known for their almond champagne, something that we aren’t exactly into, but is very accessible to people who aren’t generally into wines. They also have a great facility, a friendly attitude, and a lot of events. They refer to their wine club as “extended family” and it shows.

We didn’t expect much of their wines, but were very pleasantly surprised. They had a very interesting and unique wine, they call it Pinot-Mour, which is a Pinot Noir and Mouvedre blend. On the whole their wines were good enough that we took the plunge and joined the “extended family” with a red-only membership. We did this partially because of how wonderful the facility is, we expect that we will stop here for a picnic lunch almost every time, so we might as well belong to the wine club making tastings free...

Joel

http://www.wilsoncreekwinery.com/

Palumbo Family Vineyards - Temecula

We’ve been to Palumbo before and had a great time with Nick talking about the wine business and enjoying his personality and his wines. Unfortunately he was not there yesterday, making a very different experience. The gal behind the counter was nice, but doesn’t have that friendly spirit or wine know-how that makes a tasting such a great experience.

Still the Palumbo Family Vineyards are one of the gems of Temecula. Patty and I had mixed opinions on the wines. She likes them, I wasn’t as impressed. Patty put us on the waiting list for the wine club, so we’ll see how things turn out...

Joel

http://www.palumbofamilyvineyards.com/

Why a wine blog?

We like red wine, and are fortunate to live in one of the best wine regions in the world. As fun as wine is to drink, it's even more enjoyable when you've met the people who make it and have the experience of visiting the winery. As such, our family enjoys visiting wineries around California and tasting their wines. This blog is about the whole experience of wine tasting. If you want numerical ratings, go subscribe to wine spectator. What you will get here is a review of the entire experience. We will talk about the wines, about the property, about the people, and anything else that strikes our fancy. What you do with this information is up to you. We suggest that you visit the ones that sound interesting, and enjoy their wines.

Joel & Family