Temecula is part of the South Coast AVA of California, only an hour and a half South from L.A., it makes for an easy wine country weekend! One of my other favorite parts about Temecula wine country is that a lot of the wineries are walking distance from each other, so it makes it easy to do a day of wine tasting without worrying about driving or a lot of Ubers!
Since the climate can be a bit hard for wine-growing, Temecula is famous for blends! You can find a lot of French, Spanish and Italian varietals. So just a tip, don't be scared of tasting blends or varietals you've never heard of when you go!
I wanted to share some of my favorite winery day trips with you all in case you ever get a chance to visit!
Highly Recommend for a Half Day: Start at Peltzer Winery (During Fall they have a pumpkin patch complete with a petting zoo!) then walk down the road to Akash Winery for a beautiful Sunset.
Peltzer Winery
Starting off the day at Peltzer on a hot (California October) day, my friends and I began with a bottle of their Rosé. Delicious and refreshing, paired with a grilled cheese and some fries from their food truck!
They have a beautiful large property, great for lots of photo ops! The best part is we could grab a plastic glass of wine to go and walk down to their pumpkin patch and petting zoo! I picked their Super Tuscan, which is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon! Yummy!
Akash Winery
After we took photos and pet the goats to our hearts desires, we wandered just 5 minutes down the road to Akash Winery and WOW! I have to say, this is my favorite winery I have been to in Temecula thus far. Incredible wines, gorgeous scenery and wonderful service. Open late, come at Sunset for the best views.
I went home with a bottle of their Petite Sirah, absolutely DELICIOUS! I highly recommend!
My friends went home with a bottle of their Sparkling as well, which just proves they know how to make quality no matter what the varietal!
Bottaia Winery
This was my favorite winery on my last trip to Temecula. Wonderful Italian inspired wines, we shared a bottle of Dolcetto, which is a variety famous in Piedmont. This one was elegantly rustic, with licorice and fig aromas.
Bottaia is somewhere you could easily spend the day. Not only do they have an indoor tasting room and a spacious patio, but they have a POOL where you can reserve your very own chaise lounge. Sign me up!
Somerset Winery
Somerset is a really fun laid back winery, they had live music when I went and fun lawn games.
Hart Winery
Hart Winery is adorable! Very quaint, serene vibe and their wines are yummy as well.
My friend Hattie commented before she tasted their Merlot,
"I don't like Merlot"
then had a sip...
"Excuse me, I'll take a bottle of this please!"
Always the best when a varietal you think you don't like is made in such a way that it changes your mind! Pictured below is their Petite Sirah... can you tell what varietal I like in Temecula?? lol
Callaway Winery
If you liked that idea of walking to wineries, then another good trail is from Hart Winery to Callaway as they are right next door!
Callaway has gorgeous views and is a huge property with a restaurant as well. So this can be a great place to stop for lunch!
Hope you enjoyed following along on my trips to Temecula and tell me what you think next time you're there! I love discovering new wineries so let me know of any I missed!
P.S. I stayed at Spring Hill Suites Marriot and it was absolutely wonderful and affordable, highly recommend!
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