My group is doing a wine tour in february but I am intersted in visiting a few vinyards on my own as well. I am really interested in sparkling wines. Can anyone suggest wineries to visit that boast nice sparkling wines. I'm so excited to exlore this region. Thank you.
Hi and welcome back - Thorton is very well received for their sparkling wines and Wilson Creek has an Almond version that is very popular with a lot of people. I'm going to Doffo later this week - I hear that they have some good wines - I'll check out their sparkling version and report back to you.
Both Wilson Creek and Thorton are located along Rancho California Road. Thorton is one of the first wineries you will encounter as you enter wine country. It's on the right hand side.
Wilson Creek is at the very far end of the Rancho California Trail - about 4ish miles down the road. Its before Doffo, but one of the last wineries you'll see as you finish the Rancho California Trail.
Both Wilson Creek and Thorton have excellent faciltiies - and they both have restaurants. I prefer Wilson Creek's restaurant though as it is less costly and stuffy. Thorton has a high opinion of its restaurant and food in my opinion.
Others should be along and share some of their experiences soon.
Great wineries to visit for sparkling wines are South Coast Winery- Spumante Diamante won Silver at 2012 Long Beach Gran Cru and a unanimous golf at Riverside International, Pinot Grigio won Gold at 2012 Pacific Rim International; Wilson Creek – Cuvee Rouge won Gold at the 2012 Los Angeles International; Maurice Carrie Winery – Pomegranate California won Silver at 2012 Cal State Fair.
If you need additional help you can contact the Temecula Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and talk to someone about your trip - 1-888-363-2852.
Hello,
I would second the above recommendation, by far the best sparkling wines in Temecula are those made by Jon McPherson and Javier Flores at South Coast Winery, they have won numerous awards for their sparkling wines. Be careful at some of the other wineries, many offer sparkling wines but few are actually made in the valley. Have a great trip!
Thank you all. I have read lot about Thornton (good and bad) but now i'm really excited for South Coast Winery. I think I have to check out Thornton just to see what all the talk is about!!! Can't wait.
A bit of additional info: Thornton has an excellent behind-the-scenes tour that includes a look at how they make their champagne. Many wineries have excellent winery tours, but among the Temecula wineries, only at Thornton do you get a look at the "methode champegnoise.'
Their Public Winery Tours are on the Weekends - Saturday tours are every hour on the hour 11:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. Sunday tours are 11:00a.m., 12:30p.m., 2:00p.m. and 4:00p.m. Private tours are also available at other times by arrangement.
Thank you for this info it sure helped me. My favorite Sparkling was the Maurice Carrie Pinnapple, the Pomegranite was nice but quite sweet. Loved this winery!
