My cousin found a Groupon deal for a 2.5hours tour and wine tasting at Cougar Winery in Temecula for only $29. It’s really close to Los Angeles and is perfect for girl bonding, a date or just taking out family or friends who have done all the touristy stuff LA has to offer. Us? We just needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and do some girl bonding.
We left early from Orange County to hit our 10 AM tour. Few hours of driving later, we’ve arrived in Temecula. Once you’re in Temecula, it’s one vineyard after the other on De Portola Rd. You won’t miss Cougar Winery. Except when you get in, we had to pause for a bit because we weren’t sure where to park. Not realizing the warehouse in front of us is where the meeting place is.
We went inside the warehouse and the lady host gave us a glass of white wine and proceeded to the picnic area where the tour guide has already started his stories of the vineyards. We were late, we pass the exit to Temecula not ‘coz it’s hard to find, we just chit-chatted to much and missed the exit. He then asked us to follow him down the vineyards.
You can see the vineyards in rows of different shades of green for the different grapes that they have. We were educated on how the watering system of the vines work and all and got to taste different grapes cut fresh from the vines. They were really good. And even got a chance to see a bunch of grapes freshly pick, go through a machine that separates the stems so all you have left are just the grapes.
After the tour, we proceeded to the warehouse and learned more about fermentation, shown the bottling equipment, corking machine. Then sat in a long table with lots of barrels of wine around us with the other 15+ people taking the tour that morning. Salami, cheese, and bread were provided while we tasted one wine after the other, both red and white. About 12 or more. Honestly, I lost count after the 3rd one.
The tour guide knows his stuff, was friendly and we had a good time. We headed out and went for sushi while another group goes in for their noon tour. Oh, we got to take home our wine glass too.
Cougar Winery 39870 De Portola Road Temecula, CA 92592