When we think of
California wineries we probably automatically think of the Northern California
areas of the Napa Valley, Sonoma area. There is however, an up and coming
region that is attempting to carve out a nitch for Southern California wine.
The Southern California city of Temecula it appears, is attempting to become
the next Napa Valley. Temecula is a middle to upper middle class city located
in Southern California. The average income is $70,493 and the temperatures range
from the mid-70s to the mid-90s. Today’s temperature (June 6, 2013) is actually
75 degrees. The average rainfall is 19 inches a year. According to the city of Temecula’s
website http://www.cityoftemecula.org/Temecula/Businesses/demographics/ the
population is listed at 103,092. Temecula is approximately 60 minutes away from
San Diego, approximately 90 minutes away from Los Angeles and around 5 hours
away from Las Vegas (my home) and is located on Highway 15 at the Rancho
California Rd exit. Make a left (coming from Las Vegas) and follow the signs.
According to the Temecula Visitors site
(http://www.temeculacvb.com/visitors/wine-country/) there are 31 wineries
located in the city of Temecula.
In 1820, the first
vineyard was established in a mission from Spain to use for sacramental wines.
In the 1960s, the first wineries were created. Temecula grows a variety of wines
such as; Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet
Franc, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Syrah, Grenache, Sangiovese and
Tempranillo. All this is possible because the soil is comprised of coarse sand
and decomposed granite. It contains little organic material and drains very well
(sounds like Las Vegas). Most of the vineyards are planted at elevations
between 1,400 and 1,600 feet above sea level. Temecula wine country is growing
as shown by the fact that when the county prepared its 2003-2004 plan there
were 27 wineries and as of December 2012 there were an additional 15 new
wineries with a plan to expand to 105 wineries. I can tell you from a personal
observation that the city of Temecula is very beautiful and the wineries are a
delight to visit although they do seem to be a little more stuck up, so to speak
than Napa wineries. My experiences are that the wineries in Temecula seem less
people oriented then the wineries in Napa, possibly because they have had less
time to learn customer service, they also seem less willing to deal with
customers who are not yet educated on wine. This MUST change and soon if
Temecula wants to compete with Napa on a grand scale. These potential customers
can either be turned away from the experience of wine or be welcomed into the
experience of wine. It is up to Temecula just how serious the region will be
taken in the wine world.
Since I have just
started this blog I have not documented any specific wineries with the
"attitude" issues but I will start from now on doing write ups
whenever I visit the area and I will of course pass this information on to you.
I refer you to my article where I review the South Coast Winery where I had an excellent
experience and as i've said in the article, actually joined their wine club. Okay
folks, that is my little article on Temecula California. If you have any
questions please e-mail me and I will try to help you. If anyone has
suggestions on an article also please let me know.
The Desert Wine Guy
