Wine Tour

My sister-in-law is getting married next month and this past Monday we celebrated her impending nuptials with a few of her old friends and a bit of wine.  Five of us and baby M met at Leoness Cellars in Temecula for a winery tour.  We started out the earliest we could at 10 am, so we could beat the heat.  It was sunny and warm but not too hot yet.  Baby M got to check out the winery and vineyard from the comfort of her carrier.  I love her little eye peaking out.

We started off with a few tastings in the tasting room to see what we liked.  There were a variety of preferences among the five of us ranging from really sweet to really dry.  Some preferred reds; others wanted whites.  Once we found one we liked, we headed out with a glass of it to check out the view from the wedding lawn.  It does have a beautiful view of the vineyards below and would be a lovely place to get married.
 

 

I forget the acreage, but there was a lot of it  and it was dedicated to different varietals.  We were able to sample some as we walked through the vineyard down to a golf cart.  Outside the patio near where the golf cart was parked, they grow regular table grapes that you find in a store.  It was interesting to compare them to the ones we had just eaten.  The wine grapes are much smaller because they do not receive enough water to make them plump like store bought grapes.  This concentrates their sugars for the wine. 

Because of the warm winter and early harvest this year, we were able to see some of the wine production in action.  But it was a welcome relief from the warm sun to step into the air conditioned barrel room.  They keep a portion of their barrels in this room just for events.  The rest they store at a warehouse elsewhere. 

We headed back to the tasting room to round out our tastings.  Leoness was nice in that it was baby friendly.  I was able to nurse M on a very comfortable couch in the tasting room (most tasting rooms don't have places to sit) and their bathroom has a changing table (the rest of the day I changed M in the car).  I would consider joining the wine club here.

Following our tour, we headed over to Wilson Creek Winery for lunch.  The lunch was pricey but delicious.  We had a cheese plate appetizer, some sangria that I wasn't impressed with, a delicious penne dish with shaved ham and we shared a couple desserts.  Baby M napped for most of the lunch in her stroller so it was a nice relaxing meal.

After lunch we tasted a few of the wines.  Thanks to my sister, who is a wine club member there, we had a couple free tastings.  And I believe everyone was a fan of the orange mimosa champagne. 

We moved on to Foot Path Winery, which is very different from the other two we had seen.  Foot Path is the smallest winery and definitely no frills.  It is a ramshackled property compared to the landscaped wineries.  The tasting room is a shed with all sorts of odds and ends stored that reminded me of my dad's garage or my grandpa's shop.  There is no air conditioning; just a powerful fan that you can sit by which really does keep you cool. 

They are also a certified organic farm, although not all of their wines are organic.  We got to say hello to the horses on our way in and I think they were looking for a handout from us.  Foot Path only makes red wines.  I unfortunately can't say anything about them since I was designated driver and had reached my limit, but their grapefruits taste so good and are great price!  I only bought two and I regret that I did not buy a bunch more. 

For our last stop, we went to Danze del Sol Winery.  It does have a bit of an old world Spanish feel, especially with the patio.  It was cool enough in the shade by that point that Baby M and I could take breaks from the tasting room and sit down out there.  We had been tasting for 7-8 hours by that point and my back was so tired from carrying my little chunk around.  The sales sommelier enjoyed showing off his pours and smiles for a group of attractive ladies and he made it fun for everyone. 

The girls were so sweet and bought me a bottle to thank me for planning the day and driving them all around.  I will split it with my mother one of these evenings, since without her babysitting the twins, this day wouldn't have happened.  It was such a nice break from the usual routine and M was such a sweet, well-behaved baby the whole long day.  I look forward to next time I go wine tasting.