![\"temecula\"](\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/temecula-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCalifornia is, as everyone knows, the apex of wine making in the United States.\u00a0 There are now, according to Wine Spectator, wineries in all 50 states and some are making wine that has promise.\u00a0 Napa and Sonoma counties have already realized that promise and are even still continuing to improve, with many vineyards producing products of world class caliber.\u00a0 The regions are easy to visit from San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Then there are other areas in the Golden State that are cracking into the big time, notably in Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, the so-called Central Coast, which stretches so far that it\u2019s hard to call it a single wine-growing region.\u00a0 It\u2019s at least a two-hour drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and a minimum of three hours from, well, anywhere to Paso Robles.\u00a0 In other words, if you want to visit these regions it will probably mean at least one night in a hotel, not a day trip.<\/p>\n
Then, if you\u2019re in Southern California, you also have a destination for wine tasting.\u00a0 San Diego is a wonderful city with perhaps the best climate in the United States.\u00a0 If you go, drive north on I-15 to the Temecula Valley, about an hour away, to experience the local Wine Country.<\/p>\n
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Photo courtesy of Temecula Wines.org<\/em><\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect the same level of quality that the great Napa and Sonoma vineyards produce, nor the glorious vistas you can see in the northern and central parts of the state.\u00a0 But it is very definitely Wine Country that you\u2019ll be in, with all the attendant opportunities that go with such a region.\u00a0 What\u2019s most amazing is that the local grape farmers have used the popularity of wine drinking in America to make the desert bloom.\u00a0 This is not the sort of Wine Country with the lush verdure of, say, Russian River nor with the grand chateaux of Bordeaux, Burgundy or, in its way, Napa Valley.\u00a0 Part of the allure of Temecula is that you have a chance to see it and taste it before it becomes famous, which is a good reason to go.<\/p>\n If you are among those that think that the quality of a wine comes exclusively from the skilled hands of the farmer and the wine maker, then Temecula has a chance at making it big.\u00a0 If, however, you are like us and think that terroir<\/em> \u2013 the soil and the climate \u2013 are the dominating factors in a wine\u2019s character then it may just be that Temecula is reaching its apogee.\u00a0 Of course, don\u2019t take our word for it; taste for yourself and make your own evaluation.<\/p>\n Two of the wineries we like best are conveniently closest to the Interstate.\u00a0 If the name Callaway is familiar to you, you must be a golfer.\u00a0 The club maker and the winery owner are the same folks.\u00a0 Depending on your perspective, they are either the best or the most pretentious winery in Temecula Valley.\u00a0 They are the only one there with a wine, the Owner\u2019s Private Reserve, that runs $175 per bottle.\u00a0 Is it worth it? Only your mouth can tell.<\/p>\n Just next door is Hart Family Winery.\u00a0 It is one of the oldest wineries in the valley, going back to 1970.\u00a0 The Hart family are farmers and winemakers, with no corporate empire behind them.\u00a0 A visit to their winery, even today, brings back thoughts of what Napa Valley was before Robert Mondavi and other pioneers brought that region to the forefront.\u00a0 And they are still among the few who will let you drink a glass of wine and take the logo-engraved glass with you.<\/p>\n A very nice feature of a visit to Temecula Valley is that many of the wineries have restaurants, running from Meritage at Callaway, which is similar to a sophisticated urban restaurant, to salads and flatbreads at Lorimar\u2019s Pairings bistro.\u00a0 Flower Hill is at Miramonte; there\u2019s Caf\u00e9 Champagne at Thornton (guess what the specialty wine might be); and Avensole has a \u201crestaurant and marketplace\u201d of the same name.<\/p>\n We enjoy visiting Temecula because we enjoy outings in Wine Country, wherever it may be.\u00a0 We have tasted some pleasant wines but nothing that has ever excited us.\u00a0 Your experience may be very different in that regard.\u00a0 So come for the experience, keep your mind (and your mouth) open and have wonderful day so near to San Diego.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" California is, as everyone knows, the apex of wine making in the United States.\u00a0 There are now, according to Wine Spectator, wineries in all 50 states and some are making wine that has promise.\u00a0 Napa and Sonoma counties have already realized that promise and are even still continuing to improve, with many vineyards producing products … Continue reading The Temecula Valley<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":324,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions\/324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}