Temecula: Wine Tasting Tour with Cave Lunch & Limo Bus

4.71

(360 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

First thing I noticed was the way the morning light hit the vines outside South Coast Winery — kind of gold and sleepy, like everyone was just waking up. Our driver (I think his name was Mark?) waved us onto this shiny limo bus that smelled faintly of leather and last night’s laughter. It felt like a grown-up field trip, honestly. Everyone seemed a little shy at first, but by the time we’d clinked our first glass of Temecula cabernet, people were already swapping stories about their favorite wines or how they’d ended up here. I didn’t expect to like Maurice Carrie’s sparkling as much as I did — it tasted almost buttery, if that makes sense.

The cave lunch at Oak Mountain was something else. It’s cool and quiet down there — you can hear your own fork against the plate. Our guide, Li, told us about how Somerset Winery uses these massive terra-cotta pots from Persia for fermenting their wine. Eight thousand years old, that method! I tried to pronounce “qvevri” and Li laughed when I butchered it (it’s harder than it looks). There’s something earthy in those wines — not heavy like oak-aged stuff. We got to walk through part of the production area too; it smells like yeast and wet stone and maybe a hint of plum skins? Hard to describe but I still think about it.

I liked that nobody rushed us — even when we lingered too long outside Callaway taking photos of the hills. The sun started warming up by then and you could hear bees somewhere near the lavender bushes. Someone on our tour bought a bottle for her anniversary; another guy just wanted to know if he could get more bread with lunch (he could). The whole day felt sort of loose around the edges — not staged or stiff. By the end, everyone was swapping numbers or tips for which Temecula wine tasting tour to try next time. Funny how quickly strangers turn into friends over three glasses of wine.