Exquisite wines, foods, sunny days, mild evenings and spectacular scarlet color sunsets over rolling hillsides are all on the menu for a getaway in Temecula. Uncork this fall as folks celebrate the wine grape harvest season.
Temecula Wine Crush
September and October bring wine events to the Temecula Valley. If you enjoy mingling with folks who love great tasting wine, 'Temecula Valley Crush' (http://www.temeculawines.org/events/index.php?events_id=75) weekend (September 30th) is rather cool! More than 30 local vintners and beer meisters come out to pour some of their finest offerings. You actually get to mingle with award-winning artisan chefs, winemakers, and sommeliers (wine specialist) and chat about wine and meal pairings with suggestions of how you go about it to enjoy the most delectable dining experience.
To help maximize your experience at 'wine crush' locals suggest getting a Temecula Wine Tasting Passport (wine sampling card). Also, take advantage of the shuttles to get to and from the many wineries-stay safe while having fun! Michael is one of the drivers who knows how to show folks a real taste of Temecula on his bus while sharing quirky tidbits about the community's history. (https://gogrape.com/temecula/)
Walk About in Old Town
Walking about the town with Annette Brown, with Visit Temecula, you notice Temecula displays itself as tourist friendly and peaceful. (https://www.visittemeculavalley.com)
'Sean' who works as a server at “1909” Restaurant along Main Street says, however, Old Town Temecula kicks into what he calls a “next level of fun” Friday through Sunday afternoons. A lot of people watching and conversations happen.
Temecula is less than a two hours drive from Los Angeles and has developed quite a reputation as being southern California's wine country. The number of wineries in the Temecula Valley has doubled in a decade.
Visiting the Europa Village Winery and Inn, for example, Tasting Room Manager, Tom Blakenbeker wants guests to experience calming hilltop views of wine country and samplings of vintages selected by a Michillin star sommelier. He says after a visit life and your view of fine wine wonderfully will never be the same. (http://innateuropavillage.com) Sitting down with Victor and Carol, stopping in from Fresno, say that fabulous foods, live music in vineyards while sipping a glass of exquisite wine makes for them, an ideal romantic weekend getaway.
Temecula's reputation for making world-class award-winning wine and even specialty olive oils , while showcasing wonderfully cozy bed and breakfast inns and modestly priced hotels seems to be on a strong path of tourism stardom.
In Old Town, you'll find quite a bit of information about Temecula's origins. The renovated Hotel Temecula (http://thehoteltemecula.com) established in 1883, is a showcase of the area's origins as a rancher's town and train stop in the desert. Guests stay in modern day luxury rooms with remnants of furniture that reflect the charm of Temecula's founding.
Play
First nations people, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno, own and operate Pachanga Casino & Resort and Spa (http://www.pechanga.com). It will soon to be the largest casino, resort spa and golf course on the west coast. Walking through the property you notice that it rivals, on a grand scale, just about anything in Las Vegas. The rooms are large, quiet and luxuriously appointed.
Eat
The restaurants here are off the scale of true excellence;The Great Oak Steakhouse, that features 100 percent prime Black Angus beef with a rather extraordinary wine list (http://www.pechanga.com/eat/the-great-oak-steakhouse). Also, serving wildly delicious dishes is the Paisano's Italian. The halibut fish tastes as though it's only minutes from the ocean. The lamb dishes, prepared by an award winning chef Andre Pinto, are delicately seasoned with herbs, butter and resting in a wonderful tomato risotto sauce are beyond the boundaries of my taste buds-Wow (http://www.pechanga.com/eat/paisanos)! Journey's End (http://www.pechanga.com/eat/journeys-end) and the Pachanga Cafe (http://www.pechanga.com/eat/pechanga-cafe) restaurants serve scrumptious dishes that also have you wanting more.
About 3-million folks visit Temecula every year. It seems they've discovered a wonderful desert oasis that's One Tank away from LA.
