Tasting Local Flavors - Mount Palomar Winery: Temecula Wine Country

I'm no wine expert but I do enjoy my wines every so often. I've always heard that Temecula had great wineries but never had a chance to find out, till now.

Annie and I headed out to Temecula wine country the other day. We chose to taste at Mount Palomar because we researched Temecula wineries on Yelp and saw that it was most highly regarded with a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. Located among rolling hills and mesa lands at 1400 feet elevation, Mount Palomar is a working wine estate with 40 acres of producing vineyards overlooked by the Palomar Mountain range. John H. Poole started Mount Palomar's vineyards in 1969, pioneering the new wine region and growing the finest grapes possible.

The tasting costs $10 per person and you get to taste six different wines of your choice. Check out the full list here. As for the white wines, we liked the Mount Palomar Castelletto Cortese 2007. The fruity aroma and clean taste sold us, and we bought a bottle. As for the reds, we liked the Mount Palomar Merlot 2005 which wasn't too sharp but was nicely full-bodied.

Overall, there were a few really tasty wines and it was fun getting buzzed. It was a great for us wine novices to satiate our palates, learn more about wine, and try out local flavors. I was impressed with the beauty of Temecula's vineyards and next time will probably check out more of the many surrounding wineries. We give Mount Palomar 4 out of 5 stars.

Tips:
-You can purchase Mount Palomar wines off their website.
-Join them for their second anniversary celebration on September 14, 2008
10am-7pm
Cost: Free

Who Should Go?
-Wine affectionados

Mount Palomar Winery website
Mount Palomar Winery on Yelp
33820 Rancho California Rd
Temecula, CA 92591
909.676.5047