fizzy and tastes like grape juice

happy 29

I was that girl who, instead of having a birthday, somehow turned it into a birthweekend.  I know, it's kind of obnoxious.

Friday was a night of dinner, dancing, and drinks in Downtown LA.  Late brunch at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena was a great lazy Sunday.  (Be sure to order the red velvet waffles--  it's like cake for breakfast!).

But Saturday was extra special; my friends and I spent the day in the beautiful sleepy town of Temecula for an all-day, private wine tour.


Thinking we should start the day with an alcohol-absorbing breakfast, JK, L, and I stopped at a local diner called Simply Sharon's.  My two eggs over medium, buttery flaky biscuit, and perfectly crisp hash browns came to a total of 5.25$.  That doesn't even get you a large orange juice in LA; this was already starting out to be a fantastic morning.


We met our driver near Old Town Temecula and mapped out a tentative itinerary for the day.  Out first stop was Hart Winery, which was very tiny and unpretentious.  Though I hate reds, the point of my 30 by 30 is to explore beyond my boundaries.  I bravely tried their Merlot, Syrah, some red blend called "Tres Hermanos", and a rosé.   

I swear, I really did give it a chance.

Rocking my bday cork necklace

I thought the rosé was especially sick and ended up pouring most of these tastes into the communal dump bowl.  I decided pretty early on that this was not going to be a life-changing experience, and I should stick with what I like.

Wilson Creek Winery was our second stop and this was a happy magical place for me.  They specialize in sparkling whites (win!); all five of my tastings were from this section of the wine list.  Wilson Creek is known for their award-winning Almond Champagne, to which I'm sure true wine snobs connoisseurs would quickly turn up their nose (I loved it, obvi).  However, my personal favorite was the Peach Bellini Champagne, a glass of sparkling, fruit-flavoured alcohol.

Tequila Shots!  Port Shots! Sipping Port

We finished off the champagne tastings with a "decadancia port", which was a sickeningly sweet port, topped off with almond champagne, served in a chocolate shot glass.  Being the classy gals we are (and perhaps feeling the five tastings we had just finished), we took these down rather quickly; the photos make it look like we were throwing back tequila.

 Yay! L & JK

Leonessa Cellars  (beautiful views) and Danza Del Sol (extensive whites list) rounded out the latter half of the day.  More tastings, more oyster crackers, more discoveries that dry reds just aren't for me.  I also learned I don't like all whites, only the ones with a ridiculously high sugar content around 11%.

Since the bread and cheese we had been snacking on all day wasn't quite enough on the meal-front, we ended the evening at Public House.  I adore any restaurant that has outdoor seating and heat lamps.  The girls kindly treated me to dinner followed by fig bread pudding for dessert that tasted just like Christmas (nope, somehow, I wasn't sweet-ed out by that point).


All in all, a pretty fantastic day spent in Temecula-- great drinks and even better company.

Though I didn't try as many reds as I probably should have, I did at least make an attempt.  And was not won over.  So, I think I'll just continue to be unsophisticated into my 30s and stick with my Moscatos and Rieslings.