We took a taxi to Old Town from the resort which turned
into an adventure in itself. The driver was
old and in all honesty should not even be on the road driving, he almost
sideswiped several vehicles and there were times in this very short ride that we
thought he had fallen asleep, plus it cost us $20. So for our return trip we chose to ride the
RTA bus and it only cost us $3 and it was much more pleasant ride. Normally they have a trolley for the ride but
apparently they were having some issues with it so we got the bus instead. No worries, we were happy just for a
comfortable, uneventful ride.
When we first arrived we went directly to the Visitors
Center to get as much information and coupons as we could before our exploring
began.
We had a great day checking out all the different and wonderful
shops along the roads of Old Town Temecula.
Our first tasting was not wine but instead was olive oil at Temecula Olive Oil Company and most of them were delightful but the Roasted Garlic was superb. The garlic flavor was perfect when we tasted
it and then when she added the Balsamico Bianco Oo La Pomegranate to it the
flavors were so delightful we knew we had a winner.
After a few more shops, we stopped for lunch at Mad Madeline’s Grill.
They served hamburgers galore with something for everyone but I had the Pastrami Sandwich with French Fries. The pastrami was tender, moist and so tasty, the fries were the real thing, freshly cut, never frozen then deep fried.
They served hamburgers galore with something for everyone but I had the Pastrami Sandwich with French Fries. The pastrami was tender, moist and so tasty, the fries were the real thing, freshly cut, never frozen then deep fried.
Jerry had the Texas Burger which had the burger, cheese,
pastrami and all the fixings. It was
huge but no challenge for him; he even finished half of my sandwich and some of
my fries.
Our next stop was the Temecula Valley Museum where they
were having a 3rd grade outing so it was loud, but we were able to
soak in all the information they had available about the area. We always love learning about the history of
an area and this was a great way to read all about it. They suggest a $2 donation and even though you
do not have to pay anything we gave a $5 donation.
Now that our lunch had settled, we then made a stop at
the Old Town Root Beer Company for a Root Beer Float and a Sarsaparilla. What a fun place to stop and have a taste of
the past with so many different types of Root Beer, you are sure to find one of
your favorites or find a new favorite.
Then it was time to do some wine tastings. Our first stop was at Temecula Valley Cheese
Company where they advertised wine and cheese tastings but we were not impressed. It may have just been bad timing on our part
but when we entered we did not feel the love, the place was a mess, empty
samplings and just not inviting so we moved on.
What a difference our next stop was at Fazeli Cellars, we
were welcomed with a warm and glowing approach and then it just felt comfortable. They are a newer establishment but had the
feel and warmth of a place that has been around for a long time. John was our server with a great personality
he was fun and very knowledgeable about the wines, but also listened to
us. We are not hearty wine drinkers, we
love the sweet wines and unfortunately most vineyards thrive on the heartier
red wines and Fazeli Cellars was no different.
Because of our tastes he assisted us by changing the regular tastes they
offered by swapping out a few for the lighter ones they carry.
We tasted their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc which was a
nice fresh juicy crisp taste that changed our opinion of this type of wine that
we will taste again along our travels.
The 2012 Ruby Rose had a fruity crispy
lingering finish of cranberries, raspberries and strawberries that was not
overly sweet.
Then our taste buds were zapped with their 2009 Mehregan,
a medium bodied blend of Grenache and Shiraz with its strong earthiness that
was too hearty for our taste.
We then ended with our first taste which was our favorite
and that was 2009 Norooz, it is a white wine mix of Viognier and Muscat
Canelli blend with a hint of sweetness that went down the smoothest for us of
all the others we tasted.
By the suggestion of John we headed to Lorimar Winery
where they have a few more white sweeter wines that we had to taste, especially
with the 2 for 1 coupon he gave us. Here
we tasted a few different types that we found delightful. Matt was our server and was a delightful
young man with a wonderful sense of humor.
We tasted the 2011 White Merlot, we never even
knew they made a White Merlot and we were a bit skeptical because of the
Merlot, but we were pleasantly surprised.
It had a bit of sweetness with a clean crisp ending, something we would
taste again in our travels.
Our next taste was 2011 Viognier that was crisp and clean
with a very heavy floral note and was not one of our favorites.
We then tasted our first 2012 Muscat Canelli, a
much sweeter tropical fruit flavor that at first was sensational but could be a
bit too sweet if planned to drink more than a glass.
The Grenache Sparkling attacked and
conquered our tasting. Sweet but way too
bubbly but would be great as a celebration wine.
2011 Riesling was a semi-sweet light
wine with a very floral fragrant and taste.
Not one of our favorites but quite good for a Riesling.
Last but not least was our favorite of them all, this 2012
Field Blend blends five different varietals, Chardonnay, Viognier,
Grenache Blanc, Riesling and Muscat for a mellow, sweet, clean and crisp flavor
that would be a great Jacuzzi Juice.
We had such a great time here and got a lot of
information for our next visit when we plan to do a Private Wine Tour of some
of our favorite vineyards. We learned
why so many of the varietals of wine change with each bottle and why some
become pricey while others do not. Some
of those different reasons are the year of the wine, early or late harvesting
and we also learned how important it is to allow some wines breath prior to drinking.
We are slowly becoming wine connoisseurs and loving every
moment of it. Drinking for taste and
enjoyment and not drinking to get drunk is a new concept for us and we are
having the time of our lives with this new and wonderful adventure.
We also found our new motto...
We also found our new motto...
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