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By Miriam Raftery
Photos by Mark and Miriam Raftery
August 6, 2022 (Temecula) – If you’re looking for a relaxing weekend getaway in Southern California, enjoy an idyllic stay at Europa Village Winery Resort in Temecula. Nestled among rolling foothills and vineyards in Temecula’s wine country, Europa Village evokes the ambience of Old World Europe with elements of Spain, France, and coming soon, Italy.
Village Europa was named best winery of the year in the 2021-22 Temecula Valley Xenia Awards. You can taste a satisfying array of wines from three different wineries featuring European-style vintages (Bolero, Vienza, and Prelude/C’est la Vie) all without leaving the site, so you can stay a night—or more--and imbibe as much as you wish without having to bring a designated driver.
Of course, Europa Village can also serve as your home base to explore the Temecula Valley’s many other wineries and attractions such as Temecula’s Old Town.
If you visit Europa Village, be sure to savor a taste of Spain complete with marvelous paella, Spanish tapas, delightful breakfasts and more at the Bolero restaurant (photos top left), which has both indoor and outdoor seating.
You can also linger over a glass of French wine at a cheery red-painted bistro overlooking a garden courtyard. It even has misters to keep you comfortable even on a warm, sunny day.
Other options at Europa Village are olive-oil tasting, gift shop shopping, and dancing the night away on special occasions such as Latin Nights.
Overnight accommodations include either cozy, newly built casitas or a lofty room at ta renovated hilltop inn with vineyard views. Europa Village is also a popular destination for weddings, with several fairy-tale like backdrops to choose from
We stayed a night each in the casita and the inn. Our casita had a four-poster bed, clawfoot bathtub, and enclosed courtyard plus shared firepit nearby.
The comfortably appointed room in the inn had beautiful views of foothills, vineyards, and an outdoor spa, with twinkling lights at twilight for an idyllic evening spot to relax and watch the sunset.
We also watched hot air balloons wafting above the vineyards. Temecula is famed for its Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival held each June. If you want to go, plan ahead as the event and lodging tend to book up far in advance.
We stopped off at Wilson Creek Winery, which is actually famed for its sparkling wines (California’s version of champagnes) in flavors such as almond, orange mimosa and limoncello. All were divine; we took home a bottle of the fan-favorite almond sparkling wine. Wilson Creek also has red and white wines, as well as dessert vintages. There’s a restaurant as well as an outdoor dining area.
Our good friends are members of the Leoness Cellars Winery, so we met up with them for a casual dinner at Leoness our second night in Temecula It has a lovely, shaded outdoor dining patio with a rock-lined creek and waterfall. We enjoyed flat-bread pizzas and tastes of several wines; a rich Zinfandel was my favorite. Leoness also has a formal indoor restaurant, but it was closed during our visit. I hope to go back and try it , as the menu looked tempting.
We spent a fun afternoon in Old Temecula, which has expanded considerably since my last trip a few years ago.
You can still stroll through gift and clothing shops in rustic wooden buildings evoca
tive of California in the 1880s, browse through antique stores, enjoy cheese/charcuterie and wine tasting at the Temecula Cheese Company’s shop, or dine at a variety of restaurants.
Plus, you can enjoy some new additions, such as Simon’s Dole Pineapple Whip and Yogurt with your choice of toppings. (If this sounds familiar, you may have enjoyed this tasty treat at Disneyland.) Old Town also has breweries and entertainment ranging from western-themed to hot rod shows at various times of the year.
Temecula is only about an hour north of downtown San Diego in south Riverside County.
We visited in March, when the weather was already getting warm. Though there are activities year-round, I recommend visiting in the early months of the year, year, for the mildest climate since summer temperatures can reach triple digits. If you want to tour the wineries during harvest season, however, then plan a fall trip.
For more information on attractions and activities in Temecula Valley, visit https://www.visittemeculavalley.com/.
Miriam Raftery is an award-winning
photojournalist who has won more than 400 major journalism awards. In addition to serving as Editor of www.EastCountyMagazine.org, she enjoys weekend getaways, wine tasting and travel adventures with her husband, photographer Mark Raftery.
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