There are weekends when I have a million things to do, errands to run, places to go, house to clean, etc. There are weekends when there are tons of fun social things to do, but by Sunday evening I feel like I need another weekend to recover from my weekend. There are, of course, the weekends where there are no plans, no people to see, nothing exciting going on, and when I go back to work on Monday morning, I’ve got nothing of particular interest to report.
But then there are those rare occasions when the stars align and I have the perfect weekend. Our trip to Temecula was just that weekend. We started out with beautiful weather, which I guess isn’t a stretch here in San Diego, but coming from Baltimore, 75 degrees and clear is not easy to come by, especially in August! I was with wonderful company; Evan, and two friends from work, Mark and Kim, who love wine and love life!
We started our tasting at Maurice Car´rie where, the wine is good, don’t get me wrong, but the wheel of brie embedded in a buttery garlicky toasty bread boule is RI-DIC-U-LOUS!!! A must try, and don’t even say you don’t like brie, because if you say it… well we’re just not friends anymore! We then made our way over to the sister winery, La Cereza. Evan’s favorite was the Viognier. It’s award winning, and when you taste it, you’ll know why. We sat in big comfy chairs at La Cereza and drank wine, listened to live music, and really had a chance to relax and enjoy ourselves.
Wiens Family Cellars was next, and all I can say is W-O-W! Holy cow! and Like, Oh my God! The sparkling Amour De L’Orange is a must try! It’s true I’m a sucker for the bubbly, and most champagnes/ sparkling wines have this effect on me, but I just felt giddy when I was drinking it! So giddy in fact, that, well, since I am a member of Wiens anyway… anyway, I took advantage of the case for 30% off deal! I mean, who wouldn’t? Really? Okay, I’m getting side tracked I know but, I can’t help it, it’s just so good!
Next stop, and the final wine tasting for the day was Masia de Yabar. This is one of Mark’s favorites. He loves Malbecs and this lovely, picturesque winery just so happens to have a delicious Malbec. We headed to check in at Temecula Creek Inn, where we had an awesome dinner and a great night’s stay. I even got to hear coyotes yipping in the distance. I’m an East Coast city girl so hearing coyotes for the first time was a pretty major event for me!
Day two started off with mimosas, and then off for more wine tasting. I loved Leonesse Cellars! The port served with a dark chocolate truffle was heavenly! We all loved it there… so we became wine club members! Our last stop as a group was Keyways. Kim’s membership there allowed us to have a really unique wine tasting experience. We sat in the members room and enjoyed, well, I’m going to be honest, pretty much every wine on the list. It was great fun.
Mark and Kim headed back to San Diego, and Evan and I decided to grab a bite to eat before getting on the road full of wine! We went back to Leonesse Cellars, and had delicious “small bytes”. We watched the sun start to dip behind the mountains, bringing our perfect weekend to a close. For those of you who enjoy wine, and just want to escape for a day or two, go to Temecula. You won’t be disappointed! And who knows, maybe we’ll run into you there!
“If food is the body of good living, wine is its soul” ~Clifton Fadiman
Great wineries to check out and if you’re looking for a beautiful place to have your wedding or reception I’ll run down the list of our favorites from this visit! (Don’t worry we’re heading back soon to do some more … ummm … scouting with a ton more great locations to check out!)
La Cereza: Great location with open air reception area and great indoor/outdoor seating area for mingling
Leonesse Cellars: Outstanding location, beautiful scenery and great food to boot! You can’t go wrong holding both your wedding and reception at this place!
Wilson Creek: This place was made for weddings! Beautiful grounds, incredible architecture! Inside and out it’s an outstanding location
Wiens Family Cellars: This is an awesome place for a smaller reception. There’s definitely room for a large event here, but the barrel room is beautiful a great location for a smaller more intimate gathering of friends and family members!
by Kristy Dillon
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