We walked out to the Solera area, perhaps the only one of its kind in California. Wine ages in barrels kissed by the sun, becoming sweet and silky smooth over a period of many years.
While the Mickey Arnett Duo provided the musical backdrop, Chef Marty and his able team began wowing the guests with his garlic pineapple ginger glazed tropical shrimp skewers paired with the 2012 Vienza Pinot Grigio from Europa Village.
There are also lots of bunnies and lizards at Oak Mountain. It’s a dog’s paradise. I must say their lizards are too fast for me and their bunnies disappear as soon as I approach. (It must be those darn jingling bells around my neck that warn them.) But I will not give up.
The emphasis here is on slowing the pace of life, winding back the clock to an earlier time. When you approach the tasting room, you get the feeling you could be in Europe. A bright red exterior with striped awnings and the words Rhône, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Dijon, Marseilles and others beckon you to enter.
Diego made many people happy retrieving his marinated tennis balls for them. Young, old, softball pitchers, not-so-talented-ball throwers, he wasn't picky and he played with them all.
I think Europa Village is going to be a wonderful addition to the Temecula wine landscape and I look forward to their opening. Plans now are to open a Prelude Tasting Room in the early part of 2011 at Europa Village and will then offer a glimpse of what is yet to come.
