These vines have seen some things. Despite the drizzle, which soon turns into full on rain, I am walking the grounds of Maurice Car’rie Vineyard with certified sommelier (WSET 3) Miguel Llamas. Just off Rancho California Road – the main drag that winds through Temecula’s wine region – sits this majestic chenin blanc vineyard. Being winter, there aren’t any green stalks yet, but that only accentuates the thickness of the trunks of the vines. They stand in sharp contrast to those around, growing other varietals in Maurice Car’rie’s impressive list, which currently stands at over twenty.

In 1968, the first vineyards were planted here in Temecula by the Callaway family. While the Callaway winery would move down the street, some of these original vineyards are still in existence, divided among a couple of newer wineries. This chenin blanc vineyard is one of those. And while Temecula’s history goes back to well before its emergence as a California wine region – let alone the elevation of the local wines to status equal to that of any other region in the state – it is apropos that I am here, given my intention to spend the weekend diving into that history.

The town of Temecula was established in 1859 as a stop along the route of the famous Butterfield Stage, which connected St. Louis and San Francisco on an overland mail route. (Temecula actually had the second post office in California after San Francisco.) Before that, Rancho Temecula was one of the large Mexican land grants, hence the name.

While Butterfield Stage would end during the Civil War, the wider use of railroads in the western United States would keep Temecula a hub, as the Southern California Railroad (part of the Santa Fe), would connect National City (near San Diego) with San Bernardino. Temecula was an easy stop along that route. The modern city would grow up along the tracks, a series of buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s now known as Old Town Temecula.

Old Town Temecula gives families an option of something to do here with children who obviously can’t go wine tasting, the principal reason most come to visit the city. And even for people who do like wine, a visit to Old Town is still a pleasant way to spend a few hours between winery visits, or just to get a break. Parking is free – always a huge plus in my book – and my time spent walking the shops and restaurants along Front Street was incredibly satisfying.

The buildings themselves look like something out of a western film, which makes sense given that so many of them are (refurbished) originals, while many of the remainder are done in a similar style. Antique shops and art galleries are plentiful, as are candy stores, though I always wonder how multiple can remain in business on the same block. But if you want the candy bar of your youthful memories or a chocolate apple, you’re in the right place.

I stop into a couple of antique shops, peruse some old books and records, and swing into the Temecula Lavender Company for some gifts. Then, feeling hungry and not in the mood for pure sugar, I discover EAT Marketplace and their selection of gluten free pastries. A few of them – sadly not enough – join a chai with their homemade coconut milk to ward off the rainy morning.

If you want to learn more of the history of Temecula, a visit to the free Temecula Valley Museum is in order. It is small, one main room and a couple of side exhibits, but a cool way to experience some of the early days of the ranch and city.

Back in the vineyard at Maurice Car’rie, I am reminded how quickly a city can reinvent itself. The days of Temecula being a rail hub are long over, yet the city is so far from the ghost town that so many similar places end up becoming. Thanks to the hard work of the families that would tend vineyards here starting with the Callaways in 1968, Temecula’s heyday is now. Former cattle ranches on these hills are now rolling vineyards, with some truly stunning estates. I’ve been lucky enough to visit several, and this is easily one of my favorites. (I don’t say that lightly. While I’ve been blessed to taste good wines at a number of wineries in the region and the state, I found three here that I intend to have on hand as regularly as I can get them. More on those in a moment.)

While my walk through the original vineyard will go down as a highlight, Miguel also takes me back to see the operations here. Maurice Car’rie is now part of Ultimate Vineyards, and wine is sold under both names, depending on what it is. (Specifically, their champagne – and yes they are allowed to use that name still, being grandfathered in – is bottled as Maurice Car’rie, and I am given a glass of the cuvée for the tour, which is wonderful.) Miguel shows me the barreling process, as well as their steel tanks, some of which are used by other smaller wineries that don’t have as large of a setup. And this winery is even reasonably small by many standards, containing only 55 planted acres out of 76 total on the property.

I try a couple of wines directly from the tank. One, a pinot rose, is clearly not ready, but a new skinny zinfandel will probably have been bottled by the time you read this. And it is good.

Then it is time for my actual tasting. Miguel sits me down on a plush sofa in a room reserved for members (although the actual public tasting room is also nice, as is the “barn” across the driveway that is used for events and larger groups, like the three bachelorette parties I see) and guides me through a lovely journey into only a few of the estate’s wines.

First up, fittingly, is a 2020 chenin blanc from those very vines I saw earlier. I remark that it reminds me of a French cheese, in that the nose (the smell of the wine) has a little bit of funk but the taste is remarkably mild. If you don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself. But I can tell you here that I came home with some, and it wasn’t enough.

We taste the Godfather, a red blend, next, and then move on to my favorite wine of the day, the 2018 tempranillo. If you like reds, but don’t love heavy tannins, this is a wine for you. If a red wine can be buttery, this one is, so much so that I actually paired a bottle of it – successfully, I might add – with cheese enchiladas. It is light and dreamy, and as with the chenin blanc, I didn’t get enough to bring home.

A couple more reds follow, a petit sirah and a full syrah (and I question why they are spelled differently). Both are good, though a bit heavier on the tannins than the tempranillo. And then Miguel breaks out the Groovy Ruby, a blend of sweet moscat and ruby red. If you like sweet dessert wines, this is something special, and a couple bottles of it are added to my order, though I haven’t found the right occasion to open one just yet.

In all, it was a lovely tasting, and finding three wines to bring home is a lot for a single winery, at least for me.

Temecula is a perfect getaway for me. Just a couple hours from Los Angeles, it is a chance to breathe, to clear my head, to slow down, to taste some wine, and in the case of this trip, to learn something about the history of the region in the process. As I am with each trip out, I find myself grateful that such a wonderful place is so near to me.

Note: thank you so much to Maurice Car’rie and Ultimate Vineyards for hosting me, and to Miguel for such an incredible experience in wine and in the history of the estate.

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