Good Morning Gentle Readers,
Back before the demise of TWC's Annual Fourth of July Bash we had a bit of a tradition for the day after. Stragglers and assorted hangers-on as well as friends who had come from other states would make an afternoon of wine tasting in Temecula Wine Country.
Temecula wine country today is home to considerably more wineries than existed fifteen years ago. Some are quite upscale, offering gourmet meals, jazz concerts, and some astonishingly good wines. The critics and snobs who disagree are either biased or they haven't bothered to come taste.
That said, back in the day it was more difficult to get a decent glass of wine. Some of the wines were nigh on undrinkable, but good wine could still be found. One consistently good winery was Hart and it became our semi-official Libertarian Club* winery, which is how I found myself and my little son, among friends, sipping wine under the sycamore trees at Hart Winery on July 5, 1997.
The Boy Starts High School in a Couple of Months.
He Still Enjoys an Afternoon at Temcula Valley's Family Friendly Wineries.
Hart Winery was established forty years ago and as Temecula Valley has evolved, the winery has maintained its low key, personal approach to wine making and tasting. One can still relax at the picnic tables and enjoy a glass under the sycamore trees.
TWC has one remaining bottle of antique Hart Cabernet Sauvignon stashed away from the old days. I want to say 1987, but I am too lazy to go look. Hart stopped making cabs for a while. I was never certain if this resulted from the plague of bugs that decimated some of the valley vineyards or if it was an intentional move to slightly more exotic vines.
As Ever,
TWC
* so named because many of my crazed libertarian friends sort of hung around online at the old Prodigy network bulletin board in a forum called The Libertarian Club. The Kosmik Kid, an old hippie programmer, had a hand in making Prodigy run. These same folks, were among many who made the journey to the Annual Fourth of July Bash from various corners of the known universe. And, of course, for some inexplicable reason, shared a common love of the grape.