Wine Tasting In Southern California

My friend and colleague Deanna (who you may remember from July’s Zurich & Paris adventures) recently invited me to join her and a “few” friends for a Sunday wine tasting excursion in Temecula, southern California’s wine country. I, of course, accepted, as who can turn down a day of fun planned entirely by someone else? Temecula is about 90-minutes from South Orange County through miles of scenic, winding mountain highway which eventually spits you out onto an oh-my-gawd view over Lake Elsinore and the Temecula Valley. During the tight twists and turns, I especially enjoyed the opportunity to test the maximum RPMs and turning ratio of my automobile!

Upon arrival at the designated meeting location in Temecula, I was greeted by no fewer than twenty-five of Deanna’s most intimate friends, mostly female. Each girl was a tanned, fashion masterpiece unto herself. I was humbled, having only the northern European version of “˜tan’ and my last-season dress on hand. Deanna had wisely designated a hotel as the meeting place, where everyone (except me) had reserved a room for the evening. I could see that today would be a very serious and focused exercise in wine tasting.

The group’s transport was a luxe, air-conditioned minibus sporting a sign that aptly read “Arrive In Style”. We were hosted by super-spunky wine expert Colette. She also would soon prove herself quite capable at babysitting (or, perhaps, “˜adult-sitting’?). As we set off, I noticed that a few people were already sampling some wine on the bus, presumably to hone their expertise before arriving at the wineries.

The first winery, Stuart Cellars, had a gorgeous, oak-paneled public tasting room. They had set up a special tasting area for us in an adjacent long, dark, mysterious room lined with dusty oak barrels. Serious wine-aging must have been going on there. The wines served were delicious; I was particularly smitten by a frisky Chardonnay that for once didn’t taste like a giant oak tree (California chards can be notoriously over-oaked, in my totally unexpert opinion). The tasting definitely began to loosen everyone up, especially those enterprising tasters who gathered up everyone’s unused drink coupons and cashed them in for a few extra swigs on the way out.

Our second destination, Wilson Creek Winery, had beautiful buildings and grounds with vineyards planted right up to the edge of the lawn for our closer inspection. The staff had set up an outdoor luncheon for us and a few other groups, which would have been a delightful experience had it not been about 95F (35C) in the shade. We huddled and sweated under the sun umbrellas and listened to owner Gerry Wilson explain the various wines being served. By far the most popular creation was an almond-flavored champagne, for which the marketing slogan was “zero to naked in one-point-two bottles!” This claims demands further testing, I would say.

After lunch we wandered inside the winery in search of some air-conditioned relief. I observed that some of our group members had appreciated the wine enough to purchase a few bottles for their collection. I then observed that they enjoyed it so much, they opened every bottle right there on the spot. It was there that the party really got fired up (and discussions soon grew more slurred). In the back room of the winery, I discovered the greatest invention of the 21st century: port and champagne blissfully married in a tiny chocolate cup. After one (or ten) of these, I could happily die and go to heaven!

Winery #3 was Cilurzo Vineyards. I have been there before and not been particularly impressed with their wines (so good thing I was drinking just water in anticipation of the later drive home). The centerpiece of the tasting room is a gigantic, oblong bar that could easily accommodate about 100 people and is also very conducive to people watching. It was here that I had a particularly interesting chat with a high-school principal whose story reminded me how otherwise-responsible people can do outrageous things when in love. Well, actually, I guess I wrote the book on that a few years back. Nothing more to say.

Colette soon returned to round up her tipsy wards for the next destination. At this point things were getting a little rough around the edges. People started admitting their smoking-when-drunk habit and cigarettes got passed around. I was informed by two very proper group members that they were actually “friends with benefits”. The topic of topless sunbathing came up. One of our male group members did an excellent pole dance for us on the bus. And finally, someone flashed her thong. Yeahhhhhhhh”¦”¦.! There’s really nothing quite like observing a nice, respectable group of professionals disintegrate into a raucous group of partyers.

The final ride over hill & dale to Miramonte Winery (our #4 stop) included plenty of loud music and open wine bottles. There were loud cheers on a few occasions, presumably to support the success of the latest vintage? Either that or I missed some more thong flashing.

Miramonte’s tasting bar was attended by a very large, black dog, who in spite of his obvious drooling problem, was extremely popular with the ladies. I sat back and watched the fun while having some nice sober chats with a young couple from Oregon and a tube-topped gal who may soon end up becoming my neighbor back in Aliso Viejo.

A few memorable quotes from the day were collected by fabulous wine-taster Tracy:

Jamie – “I really like the White Merlot. This is my 17th glass!”
Mark – “I don’t do Rosé”
Katie- “I do José not Rosé- but you can call me Katie”

So….. back at the hotel, I said my goodbyes with heartfelt wishes for some more fabulous bashes like that one”¦ then everyone else dashed off for a quick snooze before the all-important 5:30pm wine time at the pool. I headed back home with a smile on my face & a few shocking photos in my camera!

Here are some G-rated photos from the excursion:

On the way to Temecula, the view over Lake Elsinore:

Colette loads up the bus:

At Stuart Cellars:

A tempting wine display:

My table of wine-tasting experts at Wilson Creek Winery:

Deanna & I in front of big, important winemaking stuff:

Taking a peek at Wilson Creek’s vines:

Trying to organize a group photo:

Things get really happy on the bus:

One member of the party wows us with his pole dancing skills:
PHOTO DELETED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT!