Wine tasting, Temecula CA

Briar Rose Winery, Temecula CA

Mister and I had a rare opportunity to spend our Saturday afternoon without the kids so he suggested we go wine tasting in Temecula. An afternoon of drinking good wine and eating gourmet cheese- yes please. Without giving it much thought we spontaneously headed to Temecula where we yelped a few different wineries with decent ratings.  

These days I find myself yearning for smaller, intimate experience with less crowd and my goal was to find a hidden gem in Temecula- the one less traveled but with more personality & flavor.  

We arrived at Briar Rose (I was sold on the name) and upon coming across its fairytale like cottage, I knew I had come to the right place. This is a boutique winery- small, private with personal service and great wine selection. I tried their premium wine list and their Estate cabernet was my absolute favorite. 

This was my favorite winery out of the three we tried for its intimate, private experience with good personalized service. Briar Rose is better for couples than larger crowds. 

Doffo Winery, Temecula CA

For our second stop we chose Doffo, another boutique winery located in a historic landmark schoolhouse. It was larger than Briar Rose hence more people and less personalized service. The sommelier simply filled our glasses and walked off to the next person with minimal explanation. The facility is clean, cozy & historic but I wasn't too impressed with their wine tasting selection. Nothing here really wow'd me like the ones at Briar Rose and I didn't like how the flavors were mixed from light, full-bodied back to lighter intensity.

Our third stop was Miramonte, a much larger winery with spacious patio and amazing view. This would be a perfect winery for wedding reception and private parties. After two rounds of wine tasting I couldn't do another so I opted for a sangria instead.

By 5:30 I was done with wine and ready to see the kiddos again. Marriage with two school aged children can get hectic and mundane for the parents- one works hard, the other takes care of the home. As always it's nice to get away with my husband and spend some time to wind down, catch up on stories and recommit ourselves to another crazy week ahead.

On Sunday we were invited to a BBQ at a neighbor's house which consisted another full day of eating ribs and drinking wine. I thought hangovers would be over once I stopped partying but nope...hangovers simply take a different form in your 30's. ;)

Time for detox. I think I'll finally put my vitamix to use.