Temecula Highlights: Callaway Vineyards

Temecula surprised me this weekend!  I worked in this little bedroom town for two years and never experienced anything beyond the psuedo Orange County strip mall developments. The Temecula I found this weekend, after a 7 year hiatus, was filled with little nooks and crannies of culinary treasure.

Here is the first highlight of my trip!

Callaway Vineyards and Winery

32720 Rancho California Rd.
Temecula, CA 92589  
(951) 676-4001

Callaway is a local favorite because of its Meritage Restaurant, discounted tasting room and free winery tour.  It's a smaller more business oriented property than some of the other resort-like estates making it perfect for a quick stop rather than a long leisurely afternoon.

Beware of those party limos filled with inebriated youngsters!  Since it's a convenient and popular stop there's a large amount of unsavory traffic that takes away from the wine country ambiance.

The Tasting Room:

It's crowded with very few tables so you might have to wait for a spot at the tasting bar and then suffer through some elbowing while standing back to back with fellow tasters.


Of the 10 wines we tasted, the 2008 Reserve Calliope Red and 2010 Reserve Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon were our favorites.

The Calliope Red was very complex in aroma and taste.  A mix of 45% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 4% Cinsault resulted in a berry chocolate nose and a spicy flavor with notes of coffee and smokey leather.

The Late Harvest Cabernet was very fruit forward with cherry, strawberry, currant and licorice notes. I don't usually like sweet wine but it was well balanced and pleasantly surprising for a late harvest.

The Meritage Restaurant:

When we arrived at about 2pm the wait for a table was 45 minutes.  We ducked into the Tasting Room during the wait and when we came back the crowd had dissipated and we were rewarded with a well positioned table facing the sprawling hills of grape vines. Score!

Originally, the plan was to have a few tapas since we had dinner plans at the hotel but menu was so interesting that we ended up ordering three items!

Red Wine & Mascarpone Risotto Fritters with Crab & Anchovy Marinara:

An unusual choice of red wine in a risotto instead of white resulted in a burgundy ball of ricey complexity!  The sauce alone was too pungent but the fritters paired perfectly with the seafood based marinara. Truly inspired.



 

Potato and Spanish Chorizo Croquettes with Gorgonzola Sauce:

Light and fluffy, the potatoes were ethereal in a way that traditional croquettes are too heavy to achieve. The chorizo came in Spanish ham like chunks instead of the expected ground meat adding solid texture to the ball. The gorgonzola sauce was so mild and melty, at first we couldn't tell it was gorgonzola at all!

Crispy Steak Fries with Parmesan, Parsley & Peppercorn Aioli:

What was supposed to be a small plate of fries ended up being the equivalent of a bag of potatoes!  They were crispy on the outside and lava hot and starchy on the inside.  I don't want to know how long they were sitting in oil to get to this potatoed perfection but it was worth it.

It's no wonder The Meritage was listed as one of the Inland Empire's best restaurants.  Not only was the food delicious, the portions were so filling that we spoiled our dinner. 

Callaway was the perfect first stop on a weekend long trip through Temecula.  Stay tuned for more on our travels.