Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Temecula: SoCal's Wine Country

Going to Temecula for a Saturday of wine tasting has to be one of my favorite things to do. We usually plan our trip with our wine club membership pick-ups in mind.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that my husband and I have memberships to three Temecula wineries. Although three sounds like an exorbitant amount, the benefits of always having good wine around and many wine pick-up dates to look forward to outweigh the cost and the looks I get from people when I tell them.

We first signed up for Ponte, one of the most popular wineries in Temecula. At the beginning we were a little turned off by the crowds but after sampling their wines (my favorites being the Isabel and Juliet) and eating at their restaurant, the Smokehouse Grill, we learned why Ponte is so favored. The key is to put your name in at the restaurant before you begin your wine tastings and then by the time you are done, your table is ready – if not, roam around their alluring grounds or amble through their specialty store called the Marketplace.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Ponte’s basic membership requires you to purchase two pre-selected bottles of wine 8 times a year which rounds out to approximately one pick-up every other month. Members get 20% off of these bottles as well as any other bottles you purchase as a member. Other than the two-bottle commitment, there’s no cost to being a member; savings include free unlimited wine tastings and a 10% discount on the Smokehouse restaurant, which has quickly become our favorite restaurant in Temecula.

Ponte’s membership program is typical of the dozens of winery memberships in Temecula. The hardest part is deciding which one or ones you’d like to commit to. For us, the other two, Mount Palomar and Wilson Creek, were ones we signed up for on various trips to Temecula usually justified by celebrating something. (Mount Palomar we signed up for while celebrating my husband’s birthday, and Wilson Creek we joined during our wedding anniversary weekend.)

Currently I would say Wilson Creek is my favorite due to their port that they serve in an edible chocolate cup, but my husband’s all-time favorite is Mount Palomar for their signature Cloudbreak red wine. Cloudbreak is so sought out that they hardly ever have discounts on it. Even for their wine club members. Once or twice a year they'll have a deal where you buy two and get another two for a few pennies. Four bottles at this price still ends up costing about $100.

I've also tasted at Callaway, Falkner and Maurice Carrie and there are plenty more wineries in Temecula that I have not yet sampled, each with their own specialty. This leaves me with more to explore and look forward to.

Now when I go, I pick up 6 bottles of wine and enjoy all the tastings of the familiar wines I want for free – or I can choose to venture to one of the many other wineries I have yet to discover and save my palate for new tastings that will cost about 10 dollars for 5 or 6 samples.

If you go only for the day, it’s a good idea to eat a meal last, as it gives your body some time to absorb and digest the wine. It's also been beneficial for us to grab a coffee at Starbucks right off Rancho California Road in the Jefferson Plaza Strip Mall before hitting the 15.

Whatever wineries you decide to stop at, you'll find that spending a day in Temecula is one to be remembered.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment
Next Article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights

Going to Temecula for a Saturday of wine tasting has to be one of my favorite things to do. We usually plan our trip with our wine club membership pick-ups in mind.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that my husband and I have memberships to three Temecula wineries. Although three sounds like an exorbitant amount, the benefits of always having good wine around and many wine pick-up dates to look forward to outweigh the cost and the looks I get from people when I tell them.

We first signed up for Ponte, one of the most popular wineries in Temecula. At the beginning we were a little turned off by the crowds but after sampling their wines (my favorites being the Isabel and Juliet) and eating at their restaurant, the Smokehouse Grill, we learned why Ponte is so favored. The key is to put your name in at the restaurant before you begin your wine tastings and then by the time you are done, your table is ready – if not, roam around their alluring grounds or amble through their specialty store called the Marketplace.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Ponte’s basic membership requires you to purchase two pre-selected bottles of wine 8 times a year which rounds out to approximately one pick-up every other month. Members get 20% off of these bottles as well as any other bottles you purchase as a member. Other than the two-bottle commitment, there’s no cost to being a member; savings include free unlimited wine tastings and a 10% discount on the Smokehouse restaurant, which has quickly become our favorite restaurant in Temecula.

Ponte’s membership program is typical of the dozens of winery memberships in Temecula. The hardest part is deciding which one or ones you’d like to commit to. For us, the other two, Mount Palomar and Wilson Creek, were ones we signed up for on various trips to Temecula usually justified by celebrating something. (Mount Palomar we signed up for while celebrating my husband’s birthday, and Wilson Creek we joined during our wedding anniversary weekend.)

Currently I would say Wilson Creek is my favorite due to their port that they serve in an edible chocolate cup, but my husband’s all-time favorite is Mount Palomar for their signature Cloudbreak red wine. Cloudbreak is so sought out that they hardly ever have discounts on it. Even for their wine club members. Once or twice a year they'll have a deal where you buy two and get another two for a few pennies. Four bottles at this price still ends up costing about $100.

I've also tasted at Callaway, Falkner and Maurice Carrie and there are plenty more wineries in Temecula that I have not yet sampled, each with their own specialty. This leaves me with more to explore and look forward to.

Now when I go, I pick up 6 bottles of wine and enjoy all the tastings of the familiar wines I want for free – or I can choose to venture to one of the many other wineries I have yet to discover and save my palate for new tastings that will cost about 10 dollars for 5 or 6 samples.

If you go only for the day, it’s a good idea to eat a meal last, as it gives your body some time to absorb and digest the wine. It's also been beneficial for us to grab a coffee at Starbucks right off Rancho California Road in the Jefferson Plaza Strip Mall before hitting the 15.

Whatever wineries you decide to stop at, you'll find that spending a day in Temecula is one to be remembered.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.