Home, Home On The Range

Ol' Gray

I don't recall what time we arrived home last night, all I remember doing is falling onto my bed, passing out and then, waking up at around 7:30 AM to make coffee. After eating a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats and washing it down with some ordinary coffee, boy do I miss that Best Western's Vanilla Latte extra strong, I decided that today's mission is clean up Little Red (Mini Cooper) and make her look shiny and new again. Little Red (Mini Cooper) was a Road Warrior this past weekend. I had her going non-stop with the drive since Saturday without any major issues. Well, it felt like it was non-stop driving, especially on the way home Monday night. About good 8 hours or so of drive time.. After scrubbing the outside and inside of Little Red (Mini Cooper), I walked into the house to take a quick shower and the Queen (Wife) asked if I wanted to take a drive to the wineries. Of course I do! It is a perfect day for the wineries. I have the day off from work and what better way to use my day off?

Wilson Creek Lounge

Today and for the rest of the week, I decided to give Little Red (Mini Cooper) a rest. She going to stay in the stable (garage) for the rest of the week. Today we drove Ol' Gray (2011 Nissan Versa) out to Wilson Creek's winery in Temecula. I LOVE this winery. It is huge and on weekends it is crazy busy but, I love the layout of the place and the wine is delicious. My favorite is the Almond Champagne, especially with a good cigar. I believe Wilson Creek is my personal favorite because, it was the very first winery the Queen (Wife) and I tried after we first moved out to the Temecula area. I remember the Server  who  introduced us to the Almond Champagne served in a  chocolate shot glass during our first visit. They still serve it today and if you haven't tried one, you must stop whatever it is you are doing and head on over to Wilson's Creek to order one. Now they call it Almond Sparkling Wine, I am pretty sure it is the same stuff but, I could be wrong.  Also, on our very first visit to Wilson's many, many years ago they had a Pinot Noir titled "PeeNoMore" (I don't recall how they used to spell it, close enough). A clever play on words. I don't think they produce it any longer but, it was very good. Wilson Creek has really expanded their winery, it used to be just a single, one story building. Now, it is this awesome, massive complex. They just opened up an upstairs lounge for Members Only, so being a hot day, the Queen and I decided to take advantage of the lounge's AC. I had a glass of their Riesling, the type of wine I like to enjoy on a hot summer day. Anyway, the lounge is gorgeous. As we are sitting in the nice lounge chairs I am looking over the wine list and noticed one particular wine by the name of The Spaniard. Sounds delicious and I ordered a tasting. Pretty good, The Spaniard. Oh, by the by... Wilson's also sells cigars and yes, you are allowed to smoke on the premises. In some restricted areas but, you are able to enjoy an actual cigar with a glass of wine, just like it should be able to do. I recommend their Decadencia Cigars. Pricey but, they are good.

Fazeli's Winery

After our drinks at Wilson's, we headed over to another one of our favorite wineries, Fazeli's. I am trying to remember, was it two or three years ago we discovered Fazeli's? It was in November, the Queen (Wife) and I went out to do some wine tasting celebrating our Wedding Anniversary a year or two back. As we drove along we spotted a huge sign that simply stated, "WINE, BEER AND FOOD! TURN HERE!" We just had to stop and check it out. As soon as we pulled up into Fazeli's parking lot we fell in love with the place. The building is amazing, with two stair cases on each side of the front of the building and on the ground floor are huge doors. It looks like a castle. We walked up into the room where the wine tasting is located and right away we were greeted by the friendliest staff. I highly recommend their wine, my personal favorite is their Phel Phel, which isn't currently available today. Very sad. I think I love the Phel Phel so much because of its description, "Red cherry fruit with subtle hints black pepper, cigar and spice. Medium bodied with soft but ample tannins." That's right... The word cigar had me hooked. I also love their Riesling. Naturally, being a hot day that is what I ordered. For lunch we had the Artisan Plate. The Artisan Plate comes with different cheeses and meats but, what I like about is the tomato jam, it is so sweetly delicious and I can't get enough of the Persian pickles. I had their Cheeseburger Sliders before, just not today and I do recommend them as well. I haven't tried the other foods listed on their menu yet. I will one day though. After draining our glasses and picking clean the plate of food, we headed home. Spent the rest of the day cleaning the clothes we used during our Mini Adventure the past few days. Unfortunately, I have to go to work on Wednesday but, the good news is, I only work 3 days this week and it will be the weekend again and a busy weekend it will be. Chores need to be done during the day on Saturday and then, Saturday Evening we are planning on attending a Baby Shower for my friend at work and I am looking forward to the Sunday BBQ with Family at Mile Square Park. Until next time, Smoke'em if you got'em.