Temecula Valley Wineries & Outdoor Bistros

Grapes on the Vine at the Winery. Almost Harvest time

The Temecula Valley has over 40 wineries located just 15 minute from our condo. You can get more info about this area at the Wine Growers Association website.  This region is starting to rival the upstate Napa Valley for its wines and as a tourist destination.  Since our visit here last October, 3 new winery destinations have been built.

Map of the wineries.  Click here for website

We visited three of them last October, but really haven't been back since until last night.  Elly went out to lunch with her girl friends a few weeks ago to Thornton Winery but I didn't go with them.  Each weekend evening, there is always live music (jazz, blues, etc) being played at some winery in the valley.  Unless there is a headliner band, admission is free.  Of course, you have to pay for the wine, wine tastings, wines and food if you choose to order.  Last night we went "winery hopping".  This is the Temecula Valley version of "bar hopping".

We had originally planned just to go to Miramonte Winery to see Bill Watson and his Blues Band.

Miramonte Vineyard Veranda website photo.  This is where the band played

The winery had an indoor tasting room and the large outdoor veranda.  Since it was over 103 degrees yesterday, they had the "water mist" spraying which cooled off the early evening under the shaded veranda.  Just as we sat down at our table, the people at the next table were leaving and gave us their "tasting tickets" which still has 3 tastings left. So our first three wine samplings were free!

At 7:00 the band starting playing, they were great, Elly liked the wine and the mist kept us cool!

Billy Watson and his band.  Water Mist is spraying keeping us cool.

 You can watch this short video I took of the band.You can see the water mist clearly here.

At 8:30, the band went on a 1/2 break, so we decided to try another winery.  First we stopped at the Europa Village Winery because they had a "Live Music" sign out.  They had "Sean & Donna" playing.  The place was nice, they had music in their outdoor veranda, but we weren't totally enthralled with the band, so we left to find Lorimar Winery because they were supposed to have another good band playing.

Well, the Lorimar wine country location is brand new and it isn't on my Google Maps on my Xoom's GPS, so we didn't find it in the darkness.  But just a little ways further we saw this concert happening at the Monte De Oro Winery with a full stage, lights etc.  It turned out that the band "Steel Magnolia" was playing.  We parked, walked in and enjoyed the remainder of the concert, about an hour more.

Steel Magnolia On Stage at Monte De Oro Winery

The band was great, we both enjoyed their mix of Country Rock music.  We left for home after the band finished.  After we got home we discovered that this was part of the Monte De Oro's summer concert series and tickets were $45 each.  Another freebie! We plan to do more winery hopping in the near future as it was cheap and we had a blast!

One thing we noticed tonight was the prevalence of outdoor dining areas in Southern California.  It seems that every restaurant and bar has an outdoor seating area.  Most of the winery seating is on verandas or on patios.  To cool it down, they all use a misting system which spays a fine mist of cool water into the air.  You don't get wet because it seems to mostly evaporate before reaching you, but it does cool down the air especially when it over 100 degrees.  Keep remembering that its a dry heat!  We are not used to outdoor dining because this could never happen in New England!

 First, the New England weather is so unstable that it would not be feasible to have an permanent outdoor dining area, especially during the winter and raining days.  It only rained a few times since May out here so the outdoor seating at the bistros and the outdoor veranda at the wineries work well.

Secondly, can you imagine watching a concert on an outdoor veranda or stage with the lights.  Think of all the moths that would be swarming around all the lights.  Not to mention the mosquitoes that would be carrying you away unless you had "bug zappers" keeping time with the music. Look at the pictures above.  There are NO bugs here.   It is really a different climate out here.  We are really starting to enjoy the differences that Southern California has with the New England climate.  But it is hot!