WINE!

Sunday the second, May 7

As Bryan would write this entry: wine, wine, wine, wine, puke, pass out.

My version:
Waking to an alarm for the first time in 10 days, we got ready for our Temecula wine-tasting tour, making sure to grab a quick breakfast so as not to get hammered after the first tasting. The van was due at 9:15 AM and were there to meet it. We did learn as we got out on the street that many of the downtown roads were closed due to a road race and we were starting to wonder if the van would ever show. Just as I was about to call, an elderly black gentleman stuck his head out of a large, white van window and said, "Don't look so worried, Jill." This was Ray, our driver and host for the day. We also picked up 5 other people at the Old Town tram station; they were our age and looked pretty tired. After introducing ourselves (us: Bryan & Jill, them: Stacey, Loren, Caroline, Jorge & Kim), we all fell into a stupor for the hour drive. As we approached Temecula, Ray said, "welcome to wine country," and he had to say that because all that we could see was urban sprawl and chain-infested strip malls.

We arrived at our first stop, Callaway Winery, where we got a short tour of the wine-making process before heading to the bar for our first "tasting." We got a souvenir class and 4 tastes. I had 2 whites and 2 reds; Bryan had 3 reds and a dessert wine. We weren't blown away by anything. When we were finished, we met Ray outside and learned that lunch wasn't until 3 PM (it was noon). Luckily, Bryan had snagged an extra muffin at breakfast so we shared that. I'd guess that it helped to absorb .09 litres of wine.

Feeling a little buzzed and a whole lot chattier, we made our way to the next winery, Wilson Creek, home of the famous (at least to people in Southern Cal.) almond champagne. We had a lot of time at this winery and no tour, so we bellied up to the bar, this time for 5 tastes in our new souvenir glass, with our other tour participants and commenced tasting. We were impressed by the Syrah and Zin, mildly impressed by the almond champagne and I was quite blown away by the chocolate Zinfande port. We decided to send some wine to Bryan's parents, to buy a bottle of Zin for my cousin, and to drink a bottle ourselves, outside in the gazebo with our new friends. We had a grand time trading stories and glasses of wine until Mr. Grape (Ray) came to collect us for our next stop.

Still too early for lunch, we detoured to an outdoor spot on a hill overlooking most of the valley where Ray pulled out a bottle of Kendall Jackson chardonnay and poured a round. Because what we needed now was more wine.

We went to the last winery, Ponte Family Estate Winery, for our final tasting and lunch. Ponte Winery allowed 6 tastings plus the glass, of which I managed to get in 3 before being seated for lunch - Bryan got in 4. Ray assured us that we could get the rest after lunch, which pacified our raging wine lust. However, we ordered 3 bottles with lunch, all of which were pretty tasty from what I remember. After lunch, Bryan actually went for his 5th taste, a port that partially ended up dribbling down the front of his shirt whether from an unsteady drinking hand or the jostling of another drinker, we'll never know. I skipped additional wine to save room for the essential amount of blood needed in my veins to run the major organs, and we all piled into the van for the return trip. This ride involved a lot of laughing, yelling and some email trading.

We weren't sorry to see our new buds go (they were flying back to Virginia on the red eye and had to work the next day), but we were really glad that they had turned out to be so fun. Ray dropped us off at our door and we unsteadily made our way to our room. There was initial dozing, followed by a good suggestion to have food delivered to our room, the eating of a slice of pizza each, some puking (I'll never tell which of us couldn't hold his wine), watching of Sunday night tv and finally blissful sleep of the deeply hung over.

Having been to Napa and now Temecula, the two don't really compare in grandiosity or breadth, Napa easily winning those claims, but Temecula was much more affordable and the wine was certainly tasty enough for those of us from the Carlo Rossi set.

See Bryan for our Monday, May 8th adventures at the zoo.