Temecula winery recommendations

Drive north - keep driving.

That bad, eh?

Dean

I have heard the same thing from a couple sources. Not worth any extra effort to seek out Temecula wine country.

-Ken

Contrary to what a few others have said Temecula wines are coming up lately. 10 years ago I would have agreed. Today there are some excellent wines from the region....and alot of crap too but thats true of any region.

My favorites:

Hart: Always a great place for reds. Sign on the door reads 'No Sweet Wines'. Their Syrah and Barbera are both very good buys.

Stewart: Excellent reds. Their Tatria blend is always good. The winery prices are rather absurd. However, Longs Drugs in town sells their wines for about 1/2 the winery price.

Doffo: Not found on most area maps. This is a very small production winery open on weekends or by appt. only. They produce rather high end reds most notably Cab. and Syrah. This winery is by far my favorite in the area.

Wynn: Recently moved to Temecula from the Lodi region. All of their grapes still come from their Lodi Farms. Rather pricey but good.

Some of the wineries that are not worth bothering with:

Callaway: The original Callaway sold the winery. The name remains but the old Callaway Coastal wines are no longer made here. I find their wines low end but often high priced....poor value. Very good cafe for lunch.

Baily: Poor service every time I've visted.

Van Rokel: Ok if you like cheap whites but not my style.

On the south section of wineries are several new ones. None had any decent wines to me. Leonese did have a very nice picnic grounds that overlook the valley.

Most of the other wineries in the area produce low end wines that are just plain blah.

I used to say that. It has really taken off in recent years with over

So, 'fess up. What are the best wineries in Temec.? Anyone with any photo stories from there to share?

Myself, I'll be down there in November.

-Ken

HART - STEWART - DOFFO - WYNN.

(thanks 'miles')

-kjp

Depends on what kinds of wines you enjoy. For my, I like full bodied reds. Cabs, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Barbera, Zin, Pinots, etc. In Temecula area Hart, Stewart and Doffo all produce very nice reds. South Coast and Ponte do as well but they are large upscale wineries with prices and crowds to match.

Doffo produces some of the best reds I've had in a long time. They are difficult to find because he is too small to be listed on most region maps. He stated that while he is a member of the growers associaton they do not consider him a winery. His winery is a seperate building along side his house. Very small...the kind of winery I prefer.

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