Grapes have been grown in the Temecula Valley since the mission days in the 1830s, but the development of the region as a renowned wine-producing area occurred centuries later. Temecula Valley received formal recognition as an American Viticultural Area in 1984. Viticulture refers to the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. Temecula Valley has over forty licensed wineries, producing over 500,000 cases annually. The name Temecula comes from the Luiseño Indian word Temecunga--temet meaning "sun" and "-ngna" which means "place of." The Spanish settlers who came into the region translated the word to mean, "where the sun breaks through the mist." The city of Temecula is in the extreme southwestern section of Riverside County and is 58 miles north of San Diego, and 86 miles from Los Angeles. Visitors can enjoy award-winning wines in a friendly, welcoming atmosphere set in the beauty of the verdant Temecula Valley. In 2019, a popular magazine for wine connoisseurs named Temecula as one of the ten best wine vacation destinations in the world.

The beginning of history for California wine starts with 17th-century , but the industry and commercial powerhouse that commands 60 percent of the United States market was birthed 200 years later, the product of a Hungarian aristocrat, European grapes, and the Sonoma Valley. In this groundbreaking book by historian and bestselling author Charles L. Sullivan, the untold history of Sonoma wine serves as backdrop to the turbulent story of California s first commercial winery, Buena Vista, from its founding by brilliant but quixotic Agoston Haraszthy, through phyloxera plague and the dry years of prohibition to its present-day market prominence. Sonoma Wine and the Story of Buena Vista is a scholarly study of two centuries of California wine history, told in a riveting narrative that will engage and delight.

This book features recipes with accompanying color photos from 22 Temecula Valley wineries. Join co-authors Tom Plant and Linda Kissam as they introduce you to the delicious world of the Temecula Valley, Southern California Wine Country.

Never mind the Real Housewives of Orange County—Marla Jo Fisher is the woman everyone can relate to, complete with bad parenting, rotten dogs, ill health, and fashion faux pas. For nearly two decades, in the Orange County Register and many syndicated papers, readers have delighted in Marla Jo’s subversive humor, cranky intellect, and huge heart on her journey through broke, single, after-40 motherhood, when she adopted Cheetah Boy and Curly Girl, to her oddball adventures around the globe, to the sublime ridiculousness of life next door. Even while facing a devastating diagnosis, Fisher teaches us that humor is the balm that eases and the very thing that binds us together.

Vineyards flourish in Temecula because of the ideal climate. The name Temecula is taken from Luiseno words that mean "where the sun and earth were created." At an altitude of 1,500 feet, the filtered sunlight and an ocean breeze that drifts through a gap in the mountains coax the decomposed granite soil of Temecula Valley to produce high-quality grapes for premium wines today just as they did over a century ago. From the time the Spanish padres entered the valley and made sacramental wines and French and Italian immigrants brought vines from the Old World, its grape harvests were unknown to the rest of the world. In 1967, Vincenzo and Audrey Cilurzo came from Hollywood to plant the first commercial vineyard, followed by Ely Callaway, who built the first commercial winery in 1974, and soon the Temecula Wine Country was home to 14 wineries. The annual Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, started in 1983, draws as many as 50,000 attendees.