On my previous trip to Temecula, I fell in love with Lorimar Winery. Not only are the grounds gorgeous, but the people are also my favorite. So when the marketing department said I should bring a group of bloggers to visit, I was SUPER excited. They also invited us to stay in a rental home behind the property for the night. We worked with VisitTemeculaValley.com to put together a really fun wine tasting adventure. The visit was a blast! Read on to find out why I've fallen in love with the Temecula Valley!
Our day began early one Friday as all the bloggers descended on Temecula. We met up at the Coach House and got to know each other over a glass of bubbly and passed out some gift bags. You can see all the fun items that were in the bags here. The Coach House was amazing! It sleeps 8 more than comfortably (but up to 10 with pull outs!) and has plenty of space to hang out and get comfortable. It has been totally updated and everything is designed really well. There is a great little patio out front that looks out over the vineyards. A deck off one of the master bedrooms that overlooks the lake and a fantastic kitchen for entertaining your guests. Instantly I started thinking about trips I could take here with my friends and family! See more details on the VRBO listing.
Once everyone arrived, we headed over to Lorimar Winery. That red building in the background is the Coach House. The grounds surrounding it are just beautiful. The staff picked us up at the end of the driveway and drove us through the vineyards to the tasting room.
Patrick, the general manager, toasted us with more sparkling wine (note, it might be my favorite bubbly, ever.) Patrick is my favorite. He's full of knowledge but SO MUCH fun! I learned so much from him although I never felt like I was. He kept it light, funny and totally down to earth. We were super lucky to have him lead our tasting that day.
We headed in to the vineyards to learn and taste more. But of course I had to stop and get a shot of all the great booties in the crowd.
I know there are still a bunch more wineries in the Temecula Valley for me to try. But I've been to 5 so far and Lorimar is my favorite (and that has nothing to do with them having us for free. I'd never do you like that.) Not only do I prefer the atmosphere (classic rock coming out over the speakers) but the wines are my favorite! We tasted a bunch and talked a lot and we were all a bit disappointed when it was time to move on to our next winery.
Our transportation for the day was provided by Limelite Limo and it was super fun! The lights changed colors and the atmosphere was total party. The limo included a sound system that you controlled including videos you could play on screens throughout the limo! #baller. Our driver, Brendan, was the best and he was prompt, friendly and wonderful.
The limo dropped us at Leoness Cellars for lunch. We did a small wine tasting right at the table and I was able to try a dry viognier against a sweet one. I loved finding out that they make a dry viognier.
It was hard to decide what to order off the menu since it all sounded amazing. One thing we could all agree on was that we needed to try several varieties of their fries. They have 8 options to choose from. I remember that because we joked that we should each order a version and try them all. We tried several flavors and they were all amazing! The entree items were delicious and their presentation was really cool. We didn't have time to do a full tasting here as we had a time schedule to stick to but we were able to walk out through the vines.
One thing is for sure, I will never tire of being out in the vines.
I really wished we had more time to hang out out here.
Brendan was leading us out through the vineyard to the limo and probably never expected just how long that would take with all the photo stops. This is the great group of gals that came along! From left to right: Lauren, Nicole, Sara, Wendy, Heather, me, Bri and Natalie.
I would love to explore Leoness a little further when I have more time. Have you been?
We popped back in the limo to move on to our last tasting of the day. I highly recommend hiring a limo to take you around. No one should have to worry about their sobriety when wine tasting, you should let someone else worry about it for you. The wineries are all pretty close together so it never takes long to get from place to place. The limo ride is a nice little break in between wineries.
Wiens Cellars was our last stop.
This was more of a traditional wine tasting experience in the tasting room. We studied our options and started ordering.
It was so much fun to taste and then discuss our likes with the each other.
We headed back to the Coach House to relax and get ready for the catered dinner that Lorimar was preparing for us. Of course we had to have snacks (and water). I had been to a Tillamook event a few days before so I brought it along to share with the girls. And just before dinner, we headed back over to the winery.
Lorimar worked with Vineyard Gourmet Catering to put together a catered dinner for us in the tasting room. Lorimar doesn't usually have food on site, although I believe they sometimes bring in food trucks, so this was extra special.
Lorimar has several wedding ceremony and reception areas on site. We were super lucky to have the event coordinator put together this gorgeous table for us. How stunning are those flowers?!
Dinner was the perfect time to chit chat and get to know each other better.
I was so happy that my pal Tori, of Thoughtfully Simple, could come by and meet us for dinner since she couldn't make it to the tastings during the day. She's one of my faves.
And the food!!! The food was amazing! We had several courses, all paired with wines that the lovely Penny, of Lorimar Winery, taught us about. If you plan on going to Lorimar to check it out, make sure Penny is there! She's the best! This dinner was such a treat and I'm so grateful for Lorimar and Vineyard Gourmet Catering for putting it together for us.
The weather was a bit chilly that night so we didn't get to sit outside and enjoy the live music that they have on the weekends but I will certainly be back to check it out! The patio is so pretty and the band was awesome! We headed back to the Coach House for the night and got right in to our pajamas. There is nothing like hanging out with friends to restore the soul. And even though these girls were mostly new friends, it was a blast just the same. I heart you girls!
This was the view out my bedroom window the next morning. We didn't get to take too much time hanging out in the morning as we still had more adventures awaiting.
Super big thank you to Lorimar Winery for inviting us to stay at the Coach House and get such an amazing look at your winery! Your staff is so kind and funny and we had the BEST time! And a huge thank you to Limelite Limo for showing us around town! I can't wait to share the most amazing breakfast and walking tour of Old Town Temecula with you!
Check out the hashtag #LorimarSleepover on instagram to see all the fun photos from the day!
You can see more of my wine tasting adventures and my tour of Lorimar here.
Gorgeous pictures of such a fun day! Thanks for hosting Sharon….wish we were back there!