Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

I wish I could take credit for that clever title, but it’s something Audrey and I read today at the winery.  So cute!

I was so happy that we were going to be able to make our trip to the winery after all.  Eric got up at 8:00am and washed the car, because you know the car has to be sparkling clean if anyone is going to see it!  I got up at 9:00am, had a NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal for breakfast, showered and got dressed.  I stopped at STARBUCKS, because I really felt like I needed it and then I programmed Betty and got on the road to San Marcos, where Audrey’s friend, Bonnie, lives.

The ride was about a half hour and it was a little over 30 miles.  There was no traffic, so I just flew.  Bonnie lives in a beautiful neighborhood in a great Spanish-style house.  I only came into the front door, but I could see her living room, dining room and the patio beyond with a built-in pool.  It looked beautiful!

We got on the road and Audrey was the navigator (holding Betty) while I drove.  We had another 30 miles to go, and were in Temecula very quickly.  We enjoyed the ride and had a chance to catch up a little.

It took us a few trips up and down the road to find the winery we were going to, but we finally made it to MAURICE CARRIE WINERY, nestled amidst the rolling hills of beautiful Temecula Valley.  The winery was founded in 1986 and designed after a Victorian-style farmhouse.  It was right up my alley!  The 46 acres of vineyards were the first vineyards established in the region in 1968.

For $12 we got to taste five wines at Maurice Carrie and then another 5 at their sister winery up the road – La Cereza.  We also got to keep the tasting glass at each winery!

We looked around at all the giftware for sale, including beautiful glasses, stoppers, ceramics and any contraption you can think of related to keeping wine or drinking wine!  I really enjoyed the colorful displays.

After looking around, we went to the tasting bar with our “Wine Tasting Passport” and began our five tastes.  I started with a Pineapple Champagne, but Audrey didn’t want to try that, because she said she’s not big on Champagne, which I actually much prefer over wine.  It was delicious – fruity and sweet!

Next, I tried the 2007 White Zinfandel, which Audrey had tried first.  It was great!  They give you about 3-4 sips, but neither of us had a lot in our stomachs and we knew we had 5 tastings to go here, so I was taking it slow.  I gave Audrey a few of my glasses to finish off, but they also had a ceramic urn on the counter that you could pour your wine into, if you didn’t like it.  They also had a bottle of water that you could rinse your glass with, but Audrey and I didn’t really bother, since we’re not real wine tasting purists!

My third taste was a 2007 Sara Bella, which was also quite good.  Fourth was called Cody’s Crush, which was a red wine.  We didn’t like it that much and commented that we both like white or pink wines better than red.

Our last choice was a 2005 Sangiovese, which we both hated.  Too bad.  Audrey ended up trying the Pineapple Champagne, after taking a sip of mine, and that was both of our favorites!  She went and bought a tiny bottle of the Pineapple Champagne that would probably be a full glass for one or a half-glass for two.  I bought her a cute spoon rest that she said would go perfectly in her kitchen, since she has a Tuscan theme with bottles, grapes and other wine-related décor.

We were both feeling the wine – me, because I don’t drink very often at all and Audrey, because she had a LOT of wine!  She knew she wasn’t driving, so she wasn’t worried about getting a little tipsy.

Outside the first winery there were a few booths with people selling jewelry, purses, hand-knit sweaters, and glazed nuts.  Of course I bought three kinds of nuts for Eric!  He loves nuts.  I got him a sweet and spicy almond, a sweet cashew and a sweet pecan.  They were really yummy and the woman was so sweet.  She gave me samples of each, so I could see which I thought he’d like best.

We got back in the car with the two glasses we had used for tasting, the nuts, the spoon rest and Audrey’s little bottle of Champagne, and went off to the second winery, which was just about 100 yards away.

It was really hot out today – 90 degrees – but the minute you stepped into the wineries it was cool and dark and beautiful!  LA CEREZA was the second stop.  The outside of the brick building was decorated with many beautiful sun faces, which I loved.  I photographed a bunch of them while Audrey went to the ladies’ room.

We walked around again, admiring all the displays.  They had big paintings, which were so beautiful, and as we got closer we saw that they were the paintings used as the labels on the bottles!  They were all so colorful, some serious and dramatic, others whimsical – all delightful. 

La Cereza, the sister winery, is decorated as if you’ve stepped into exotic Southern Spain.  We were in their main wine tasting area, but they also have a cigar and wine bar – Hemingways!  Thank Goodness I didn’t smell any cigars today, because that would have driven me right out of the place!

Audrey and I sidled up to the tasting bar and began our second tasting.  Since Audrey had enjoyed the Pineapple Champagne so much, and Champagne is my favorite, we started with their Raspberry Champagne, which was absolutely delicious!  I love anything with Raspberries and this was no different.

Next we tried something called Peach Girls Champagne, which was even better.  Audrey was so surprised that she liked the Champagnes so much, but I explained to her that a lot of Champagnes are usually dry, which she said is why she doesn’t like it, but these are real sweet and fruity.  I love Champagne, but these were – by far – the best I had ever tasted!

Our third taste was called MIRACLES HAPPEN and was a blush wine.  Some of the proceeds from the sale of this wine go to fight breast cancer, hence the name.  Next we tried another blush, which was nice, too.

By this time, I was REALLY feeling the wine and was wondering how I was going to drive to the restaurant.  Fortunately, it was just down the block, so I figured I’d make it.  I let Audrey have my last tasting (I don’t even remember what it was).  We didn’t have any red wines at this tasting, since neither of us liked the reds at the Maurice Carrie.

I might have been feeling it, but Audrey was drunk!  She was so cute – she got the giggles and she was really enjoying herself.  I enjoyed watching her!  I guess I was drunker than I thought, because the whole time we were there I thought the second winery was LA CEZERA and I just realized – looking at the brochure – that it’s LA CEREZA.  Is not being able to read a symptom of drunkenness?

We both managed to walk to the car without falling down (whoo hoo!) and I drove very carefully to another winery – BAILY’S – that had a restaurant – CAROL’S.  They had an outdoor seating area that overlooked the vineyards, but it was just too hot.  Instead we ate inside, where we could see the vineyards through the window, but got to eat in a cool, beautiful room decorated with medieval suits of armor, faux leopard skins, and family crests.

We ordered bread, because they don’t put it on the table and we both felt we needed something to absorb all the wine!  They brought us four small crusty fresh-baked rolls – they were SO delicious!  We ordered an appetizer to share of Mushroom Drops -- Crimini mushrooms stuffed with basil and sundried tomato cream cheese, wrapped in a won ton, deep fried and served with a roasted red pepper aioli.  It was SO different and really delicious.

We decided to share the Cashew Crusted Salmon salad – Fresh Atlantic salmon crusted with cashew, oven roasted and served on mesclun with dried cranberries, almonds, feta cheese tossed with citrus rosé vinaigrette.  It’s a good thing we shared, because it was a HUGE serving.  We enjoyed every bite and had no room for dessert.  I guess the wine WAS dessert!

We got back in the car and had a nice drive back to Bonnie’s.  I dropped Audrey off a little before 4:00pm and was home before 4:30pm.  I was exhausted and really wanted a nap.  It felt like it was 100 degrees in the apartment.  Eric was watching TV in the bedroom and I took a nap while he watched basketball.

When I woke up I downloaded all the pictures.  They came out great and I really enjoyed our day out.  It was something new for me, since I had never been to a winery before, and I really recommend it as a fun way to spend an afternoon.  If you like wine – so much the better, but you don’t need to be a real connoisseur to enjoy yourself.

At 8:00pm I made us a dinner of fresh scallops and asparagus.  I cooked the asparagus first in a sauce I made of SMART BALANCE LIGHT faux butter, light mayo and wasabi mayo, which I melted together and poured over the asparagus.  After the asparagus was cooked I just added the scallops to the pan and spooned the sauce over them.  It came out great!

I spent the next few hours resizing all the photos, and blogging.  I wanted to be sure I described everything and captured the day in photos.  Today was a really fun day, which I REALLY needed.  I was glad I got to see my cousin Audrey again (third time in seven months!) and we got to go on a fun adventure in Temecula!