Now that the State of California has loosened up a little bit and the restaurants and wineries have opened up some, it’s time to support our local businesses the best we can. For me, that means drinking more wine. Here in Temecula, we have over 50 wineries. My girlfriend Nancy said she was ready to enjoy life again, so we went to a wine dinner at one of our favorite wineries Lorenzi Estate Vineyards in Temecula Wine Country. Yes, I may have visited some of our other great local wineries in the writing of this blog! Easter is coming soon. You should think about visiting some of our local wineries if you have some time off with nothing to do!
LORENZI ESTATE VINEYARDS WINE DINNER
First Course
Tonight’s Chef was Chef Henry from Spaggi’s in Upland. The dinner he presented was pretty fabulous. He started off with what he called a wedge salad. To me, it was more of a chopped salad. The dish had all the ingredients of a wedge salad and with a Maytag blue cheese and bacon, you couldn’t go wrong. The salad was a great start to our meal.
Second and Third Course
From there we went to an Eggplant Tower and a Rigatoni Carbonara. Both those dishes were full of flavor. Traditional carbonara from my understanding does not have peas and cream, but the dish had a nice salty and cheesy taste. The eggplant was grilled and together with the tomato basil sauce made such a great bite. If there was a problem tonight, I would say it was the weather. Some of the food had cooled off a bit by the time it got to us.
Rigatoni Carbonara and Eggplant Tower
Throughout the dinner, we were drinking a different wine varietal with each course. I think my favorites for the night were the Pinot Noir and their wine called the Reckoning. The Reckoning was a full-flavored blend with Cab, Syrah, and Cab Franc. It went perfectly with our short rib main course. Lorenzi wines are definitely one of our favorites in the Valley.
Fourth and Final Course
Chef Henry finished off the meal with a Chilean Sea Bass and a Bourbon Braised Short Rib. The Chilean Sea Bass could have been cooked a little more. It wasn’t as flaky as I would have liked. However, the red wine balsamic reduction sauce underneath the fish was delicious. The sauce had some sun-dried tomato, porcini mushrooms, and caramelized onion. So good! Our last course of Braised Short Rib was tender and savory in a tasty bourbon sauce.
Chilean Sea Bass and Bourbon Braised Short Rib
We also had the pleasure of listening to some wonderful Spanish guitar music played by David Maldonado out of San Diego. Don’t hesitate to go to any of his performances if you are a fan of the Spanish Guitar and you happen to be in the neighborhood where he is playing.
LEONESS CELLARS
Another one of the wineries we visited this last couple of weeks was Leoness Cellars. We always enjoy visiting their facilities. Their wine is great and their patios are the perfect spot to enjoy life!
Leoness is also known as a winery to go to for good food. While enjoying time on their Terrace, I had duck confit tacos and fries cooked in duck fat off of their Terrace menu. That’s not bad…right? I try to stay away from carbs and fried food, but for the blog, I will do what I have to do! They do have all sorts of great veggie alternatives such as a beautiful cheese plate, burrata, or a side dish of Brussels sprouts which are amazing! And this is just their Terrace Menu. You really need to visit the Restaurant on the premises if you are looking for somewhere to treat that perfect someone to a special dinner.
Leoness duck confit tacos and their fries cooked in duck fat
I encourage all of you to get back on the trail and view some of the great wineries we have in Temecula. They are trying their best on social distancing and the utilization of masks. Easter is coming up. Not a bad time to get out and live life!
As always, thanks for Spending Time In My Kitchen!
