After two relatively chill days, Hannah and I were back to a busy schedule for my last full day in the Golden State. We scheduled the same wine tour that we went on during my last visit to California, Temecula Trolley Tasting Tour. This is a five-hour long tour that takes you to three wineries and cost us $150 per person. We toured Maurice Car’rie Winery, Somerset Vineyards, and Mt. Palomar. The wineries were all beautiful, had a rich history, and produced good vibes.
Maurice Car’rie Winery produces wines almost exclusively from its 75-Acre estate vineyard from fruit with extraordinary intensity, weight, and voluptuousness. Here we were served a welcome drink of Cuvee (a sparkling wine that retails for $24.00 a bottle) which in my opinion was good but nothing special. I tasted the following wines; 2022 The Tango (a white wine that retails for $31.00 a bottle) which was okay and crisp, 2021 Gewurztraminer (a white wine that retails for $30.00 a bottle) which was better than the last and sweeter, 2019 Rose of Grenache (retails for $29.00 a bottle) which was not great, and 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Block 26 (a red wine that retails for $50.00 a bottle) which was pretty good. In between the numerous photoshoots we had at this winery, Hannah and I ate lunch. I ordered the Chicken Pesto Panini (grilled chicken breast, pesto, arugula, and mozzarella) for $17.00, and it was so so good! While the wine here was not my favorite, I would still be open to giving this winery another try with some more of their red wine selections and their delicious food.
Somerset Vineyard and Winery delivers hand-crafted wines from its 14-acre vineyard in Temecula Valley. They produce sustainably farmed varietals from Southern France as well as select regions in Spain. On the first tour Hannah and I took a few years ago, we also stopped at this winery and enjoyed it as there was an educational presentation about their production included. We were given the same educational presentation again and it was a nice refresher. The wines I tasted were 2021 Malbec (a red wine with notes of raspberries, blackberries, and cinnamon that retails for $48.00 a bottle), 2022 Roussanne (a white wine with notes of green apple, honey, and lemon zest that retails for $33.00 a bottle), and 2022 Viognier (a white wine with notes of mandarin, honeysuckle, and mango that retails for $34.00 a bottle).
Mount Palomar Winery began making their own wines in 1975 and were the second winery in the region. They currently have 54 acres of estate vineyards and 17 different wine grape varieties. I tasted the following wines; 2022 Sauvignon Blanc (a white wine with notes of lemongrass, white peppercorn, and Valencia orange that retails for $32.00 a bottle), NV Duet (a white wine with notes of citrus, grapefruit, and melon that retails for $28.00 a bottle), 2017 Sangiovese (a red wine with notes of marmalade, plum, and vanilla that retails for $44.00 a bottle), 2016 Cloudburst (a red wine with notes of dark fruit, hints of cocoa powder, and anise that retails for $65.00 a bottle), and Romantica Sparkling (a sweet wine with notes of candied mango and peach gummy rings that retails for $34.00 a bottle). I enjoyed all of the wines that I tasted at Mt. Palomar!
I think that this tour speaks for itself as I have gone on it twice now and enjoyed both of my unique experiences. We were provided with complimentary snacks and water on the trolley and after our tour was finished, we were offered complimentary pizza at our drop off location, Black Market Brewing Company. After we ate, Hannah’s then boyfriend and now fiancé drove us to downtown Temecula so we could explore and shop. We went into several of the stores and shopped around and ended it all off by going to a speakeasy. If you are ever in the area, keep an eye out for this western themed speakeasy. This was a fun filled last day soaking in some of my favorite things about California - sun, wine, and good company.
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