Although I live in the Temecula Valley, I was still excited to see it as a visitor. The group of writers from IFWTWA came from across the country to take in many of the magnificent opportunities afforded by this magnificent area. Monday morning I woke up at the Temecula Creek Inn, got out of bed and looked out the window to the golf course. The rooms at TCI are spacious and comfortable and renovations have already begun to provide a more rustic look and feel as well as Read more »

We headed home from a visit to the Sierra Foothills with one stop remaining. Paso Robles. My wife Laura and I made our first stop in Paso in the Spring of 2008. I’ve lost count, but I believe we have been back ten or eleven times since then. We pulled into town on the afternoon of May 5th and checked into our motel. I paid a quick visit to Windward Vineyard, chatted with owner/winemaker Marc Goldberg and did a bit of tasting.

Windward only offers one varietal: Pinot Noir. Different vintages from Read more »

I’ve lived in the Temecula Valley for nearly eight years now. I wasn’t aware of how much I hadn’t seen until last week’s visit by a group of writers from the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association. I was introduced to this outstanding organization at a luncheon at Thornton Winery last year. I joined shortly after the luncheon and took my first trip with them this past January, a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. When I heard they were planning Read more »

In the just over a year we’ve been publishing WINEormous, we’ve visited the Temecula Valley and Paso Robles extensively and have toured the Santa Ynez and Napa Valleys as well as the states of Washington, Texas, Idaho, Maryland, Virginia and Texas. We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface. Recently we visited Calaveras and Amador Counties on our way from Lodi back to Paso Robles. I’m already itching to go back.

Heading out of Lodi our first stop was at Twisted Oak Winery in Vallecito. Chris Johnston, owner/winemaker at Middle Ridge Winery said this was a stop we needed to make and Read more »

Charlie Curry isn’t a big believer in small talk. He chooses his words carefully. His passion shines through clearly, however. He loves making wine. His journey began in the Bay Area, when he took an apprenticeship out of high school and became a chef at the Winery Restaurants in Foster City and Palo Alto. In the ’70s bulk wine from Napa was so cheap they served it free with your meal. You could choose Cabernet, Chardonnay or Rosé. Charlie went on to sell meat and seafood from the Napa Valley to the Peninsula for the next 15 years. During that time, he became more and more interested in winemaking. He and his wife and family began visiting friends in Temecula in the early 90s and Charlie saw the potential for not only making good wine there, but also saw it as an ideal place to live. In 2000 he purchased Read more »

My wife Laura and I love to travel and one of our favorite things to do is to discover new places. We recently took a whirlwind tour, driving from San Francisco to Lodi on a Monday morning, then off to Calaveras and Amador Counties on Tuesday and Paso Robles on Wednesday. This wasn’t my first visit to Lodi, but it was my first time wine tasting there. A few months ago I drank and thoroughly enjoyed a bottle of Moss Roxx Ancient Vines Zinfandel. We began our day at Oak Ridge Winery where Moss Roxx is produced. DeAnna Morrison of Wine Country Outings introduced us to Chris Ashby who Read more »

“Two episodes of The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill and American Dad.” Chris Johnston uses animated TV shows to measure how long it takes him to do his wine panels. He’s called the “Mad Scientist” for a good reason. He loves chemistry. He’s passionate about making wine and the proof is in the bottles from Middle Ridge Winery. You could ask him about the stains on the walls and ceilings of Read more »