A Family-Friendly Quick Trip to Temecula Valley

Outdoor Activities and Culinary Indulgences Make This SoCal Spot a Good Pick for the Whole Family — Pups Included

JURASSIC RUSTIC: Metal sculptures at Ricardo Breceda’s outdoor gallery. | Photo: K. Hamm

A couple of klicks east of Interstate 15 between inland Los Angeles and San Diego, the busy traffic and modern strip malls fall away to rolling vineyards and orchards and long views to the surrounding mountains. This is Temecula Valley, roughly 30 square miles of the southernmost edge of the Inland Empire and Southern California’s preeminent wine country.

While the region gets plenty of play for its whites and reds, my family and I skipped the tasting rooms and winery tours in favor of a recent getaway full of outdoor activities and a few culinary indulgences — all of it with our two dogs in tow.

STAY

Arriving through the wind and scattered showers of an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon, we unpacked at Carter Estate Winery and Resort (carterestatewinery.com), which features a gated cul-de-sac of bungalows and suites, about half of which are sunset-facing from private patios. Other highlights include the saltwater pool, hot tub, and poolside cabana café and grill featuring a house michelada and an assortment of sangrias, plus a fitness center, spa, tasting room, and a pet-friendly policy and miles of dog-walkable acreage among the surrounding vineyards.

DINE

The resort offers shuttle service to its nearby sister property, South Coast Winery Resort & Spa (southcoastwinery.com), where we slid into a corner booth at the Vineyard Rose. The dining space resembled a refined, outsize timber lodge with privacy between tables and a waitstaff that circulated attentively but without hovering.

The braised lamb shank nearly melted off the bone above a thick smear of creamy polenta, while the pork chop became the table favorite with its tender bite and peppery crunch. Kids will dig the margherita pizza, perhaps topped with added prosciutto. And of course, for the grownups, there’s plenty of wine from near and far.

When we returned to the Vineyard Rose for breakfast, the coffee tasted perfectly brewed, and I savored several top-offs with my focaccia Cali Benedict, so named for its avocado hollandaise. But the best bet, I’d wager, is their chilaquiles, which achieved gourmet elevation with its authenticity intact.

POOLSIDE: Carter Estate Winery and Resort offers a saltwater pool with a cabana cafe. | Photo: K. Hamm

Another memorable meal can be had at The Goat & Vine stone-hearth kitchen (thegoatandvine.com), located on the southern side of Old Town Temecula, where the I-15 passes through the city proper. Our Caesar starter was fairly standard fare, soon eclipsed by the fennel-sausage and Kobe meatballs topped with house marinara, three cheeses, and served with homemade crusted garlic sourdough. If pretzel rolls with honey mustard and a beer-cheese dipping sauce sounds unavoidable, you’re right. And to top it off, we heeded the constant advice we’d received from everybody who’d been there before: “Get the pizza.”

The Goats Garden pizza — roasted crimini mushrooms, goat cheese, marinated artichoke hearts, spinach, white ricotta cream sauce, chiffonade basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and lemon zest — lived up to the kitchen’s exalted reputation. We heard the sandwiches are exceptional, as well.

DO

With that small storm having blown through the evening prior, our first morning was calm and clear blue to all horizons — perfect conditions for a Grape Escape Hot Air Balloon Adventure (hotairtours.com/grape-escape). Aloft on invisible breezes, we soared to an altitude of 2,500 feet to take in the surrounding mountains, from the coastal range above Camp Pendleton to the massive and snow-capped San Gorgonio and towering San Jacinto peaks. As we swooped low just above an orange grove, our pilot recommended spring flights timed with the popping blossoms that fill the skies with citrus scents.

HOT HEIGHTS: Weather permitting, hot air balloon rides run daily in Temecula Valley. | Photo: Courtesy

Later that morning, we made the 20-minute drive eastward to Temecula Olive Oil Company’s Olive View Ranch (temeculaoliveoil.com), located in Aguanga, where owner Thom Curry and crew grow and mill upward of 12,000 gallons annually. If you’ve never tasted really good extra-virgin olive oil with a pro, give it a go. With Curry’s guidance, we sampled a range of scents and flavors, from the herbal grassy notes preferred for dressings and baguette dipping to the late-harvest blood-orange blend you’d drizzle on a salmon filet with a few cranks of cracked pepper. Curry also works with local growers to ferment grapes into a variety of small-batch balsamic vinegars, also available for tasting, both at the ranch and the company storefront in Old Town.

After a quick tour of metal sculptor Ricardo Breceda’s outdoor gallery (ricardoabreceda.com), we headed to California Ranch Company (californiaranchcompany.com) for our last outing of the trip, an afternoon horseback ride. With docent-level insight from our guide, Chloe Bell, we passed a small herd of Texas longhorn and the breeding pens and pastures of Thoroughbred mares in foal before skirting rows of grapevines toward an easy hill climb.

Company owner Bob Brown was along for the ride as well, riding Guinness, a big American Quarter Horse. We reached a flat summit to take in one of those long and often wistful views common to any worthy outdoor getaway.

Brown relaxed in the saddle and said quietly to no one in particular, “Sometimes you just have to get out of town and get on the back of a horse.”