I just returned from a wine tasting/buying tour in Temecula, Calif. I bought about 3.5 mixed cases. What surprised me most was the dessert wines. I've always dismissed these, but I found some real winners. Beautiful stuff.
Highlights:
Van Roekel's Gewurztramminer, which won the gold at the Calif State Fair apparently. Beautiful, soft and fruity. No acidic bite at all. Worth every penny.
Maurice Carrie's Summers End dessert wine. Steep, but it has great depth. Raunchy nose turned my wife off.
Mount Palomar's Riesling. It was from our first stop - I forget how it tasted, but I know it was good.
Hart's Silverstone Merlot (Silverlake?). So much wood in the nose I'm afraid it may be unbalanced, but I really liked it. $32 a bottle was a little steep, so I got only one. Their $32 Cab Franc was also very, very excellent - I can't remember if I got one of those or not (last stop ).
All the wineries seemed to have excellent Sangiovese and Fume Blanc/Sauvignon Blancs. Brought back a lot of both.
Great fun, good wines, friendly folks, and the classy Pechanga Indian hotel/casino is just 5 miles away. Two thumbs up.