A Weekend in Temecula Wine Country

If you prefer a wine tour with a driver and tastings/tours included, there are many to choose from in the area (Grapeline Wine Tours is one I enjoyed on a past trip). If you’d prefer to do it yourself, know that Uber and Lyft are prevalent here if you don’t have a DD – otherwise, there is free parking at every winery!

Start your day with a laidback breakfast/brunch at Toast. In addition to crunchy granola and build-your-own omelets, be sure to try their French toast (I’m partial to their tiramisu flavor)!

For your first day of wine tasting, you’ll venture to the De Portola Wine Trail (along De Portola Road). These are typically smaller, lesser-known wineries that will surprise you! I would suggest going north to south, and I’ve ordered them as such, but you’re welcome to do any order that makes sense for you.

• Masía de la Vinya: A boutique Spanish-style winery known for their chardonnay, malbec, syrah and cabernet sauvignon varietals.

• Cougar: A family-owned boutique winery with beautiful views specializing in rare Italian varietals – grab a small bite at the deli as well!

• Danza del Sol: A rustic Mediterranean-style winery set among 40 acres of vineyards – known for bold red wines, sweet dessert wines and light/refreshing white wines.

• Leoness Cellars: Born out of their over-50-year farming roots, this winery offers viognier, white merlot, muscat and cinsault port wines, plus small lots of other specially selected varietals.

End your day with dinner at Corkfire Kitchen. This rustic-chic restaurant at the Temecula Creek Inn offers farm-to-table meals that varies from season to season!

Start your day in Old Town Temecula at a local breakfast favorite: Penfold’s Cafe & Bakery. Their long menu offers anything you could possibly want, including soups, salads and burgers.

Today, you’ll venture along Rancho California Road – the main stretch with larger, more well-known wineries. I would suggest going east to west, furthest to closest (ordered as such). Do note that since these are some of the more well-known wineries, they tend to be crowded.

• Ponte Winery: Set amongst their 300 acres of vines, Ponte is known for 21 varietals that they make in small batches, from classic wines to blends, sweet wines to sparkling wines.

• Lorimar Vineyards & Winery: Named for its founders Lawrie and Mark, this award-winning Tuscan-style winery is known for its live music and red wines in particular.

• Miramonte Winery: This winery features stunning views, live music and delicious food, with a special focus on grape varietals from the Rhone wine region, Spain and Portugal.

• Baily Winery & Vineyard: A former 100,000-acre cattle ranch, the Baily family has spent the last 40 years growing its winery with a focus on Bordeaux varietals like cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

End your day at the rustic-chic 1909 Temecula gastropub back in Old Town Temecula – named after the year its building was initially built. While the building’s former days as a trading post, auto body shop and church are long gone, it now serves up craft cocktails and specialty burgers, like the eponymous 1909 Burger.