Road Music: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell
I was curious about exploring the Temecula wine country. Only recently has Temecula become a popular wine tourism region. Temecula has mixed reviews. From friends I had heard both "it's not that bad" and "it is that bad." Since friends of ours were planning on going, we decided to join.
Temecula is way the hell out there. It's a fun drive out there, but its also distressing to see how much of the Southland is developed. I feel great compassion for anyone who commutes into LA from places like Lake Elsinore and Chino.
Once off the freeway, the main road - Rancho California - to the wineries seems to be a part of a typical planned suburban community. Gated neighborhoods and strip malls eventually give way to open farmland and wineries. To me, it seemed as though the wineries were also part of the planned community. They were all spaced apart the same basic distance, and faced the main road in a similar manner. The two wineries that we visited were on this main stretch.
Ponte Family Estate ($20 tasting, wines $23.95-$46)
'09 Viognier, '10 Vermentino, NV Moscato, '08 Dolcetto, '08 Nebbiolo, '08 Tempranillo, '09 Super Tuscan, '10 "Beverino"(dessert wine), NV Late Harvest, '07 Zinfandel Port.
Ponte is winery machine, squeezing in as many tasting bars as possible while still leaving plenty of space to sell random trinkets to patrons. Nothing about the location felt authentic. They offered a number of different wines, but none were very good, and all were overpriced - if one was so inclined to buy. You are given six tastings from a list of fifteen wines. Almost half of the wines on their tasting list were dessert wines, which is a red flag to me. And the place was packed to the gills. Every inch of every bar was patronized. Ponte's motto is "If you like it, it's good wine"™ (yeah, they trademarked that). To their credit people were buying wine by the case - so apparently some folks thought that it was indeed good wine.
Experience: D / Wine: D+
Wiens Family Cellars ($15 tasting, wines $22-$42)
'09 Solace (white blend), '09 Pinot Noir, '09 "Crowded" (Pinot/Zin/Merlot), '07 Meritage (Pinot/Cab/Verdot), '09 Sangiovese, NV Amour De L'Orange Champagne.
We were curious to check out Weins because we noticed a sign that said "Big Reds" out front. We are fans of Italian reds, so we figured that Weins was worth a shot. None of the wines knocked my socks off, though I thought that the Crowded was pretty good. There were lots of people at Weins, but it was not as crowded as Ponte. The guy that attended to our tasting was very nice and helpful. Just like at Ponte, you get to choose six tasting from a list of fifteen.
Experience: C / Wine: C-
I heard a very interesting podcast about Temecula wineries on GrapeRadio. The wineries interviewed discussed a deep interest in creating higher quality wines and raising the wine IQ of the people that visit. The challenge is that there is a greater interest for Almond Champagne rather than well-made wine. So perhaps market demand forces wineries in Temecula to create products and experiences such as they are. In any case, I am not chomping at the bit to go back to Temecula anytime soon.
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