Jul 28, 2010 - Sep 07, 2010
Southern California Wine Country; June 22, 2010 - Officially launched with the recent Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival, SummerFest 2010 and all the uniquely fun and memorable events and activities the season provides has begun in Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country. Each SummerFest day brings new possibility and each visit promises a rich, new experience.
“During all times of the year, Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country welcomes visitors with a genuine, relaxed and casual, inviting nature to celebrate the richness of this picturesque valley,” shares Kimberly Adams, Temecula Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau president and CEO. “Summer with its wonderfully long days, and SummerFest with its diversity of ’something great always happening’ and ’something fun always to be enjoyed’ offers an abundance of the most popular events and activities that people want to experience and simply do not want to miss. The variety of things to do exceeds the limits of a day trip or even a long weekend. Temecula Valley is the ideal Southern California location to retreat, relax, connect with friends, connect with family, far from the everyday, and ‘live a little’ under wide-open skies for as long as you can be away.”
Throughout SummerFest, additional ongoing events and activities invite visitors to Old Town Temecula. Theatrical performances at the contemporary, state-of-the-art, 361-seat, Old Town Temecula Community Theater are captivating, as is the live jazz, country, and popular music at the intimate, 48-seat performance space next door known as The MERC. Children of all ages will be amazed and delighted with the fun sessions offered daily at Pennypickles Workshop - Temecula Children’s Museum. Old Town Temecula’s reverence and appreciation for the past can be experienced with the exhibits at the Temecula Valley History Museum. Saturday mornings’ certified Farmers Markets offer fresh, locally grown, summer fruits and vegetables, handcrafted items, specialty foods, and opportunities to converse directly with local growers and purveyors.
Each day of SummerFest is a day to admire Old Town Temecula’s casual, eclectic mix of historic architecture and explore Old Town Front Street and Main Street as well as Old Town’s alleyways. The entrepreneurial spirit thrives here and more than 60 specialty stores provide unique shopping: art, antiques, contemporary boutiques, specialty gifts, specialty foods, wine shops, and tasting rooms. Old Town’s 19 fine restaurants, outdoor bistros, and cafes are all independently owned for one-of-a-kind dining experiences: from upscale, white tablecloth showcasing fresh, local cuisine and Temecula Valley wines, to some of Southern California’s tastiest burgers and barbecue.
Wine Country Events & Activities? With colorful hot air balloons soaring over the vineyards, award-winning Temecula Valley premium wines and the music of the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival the first weekend in June inaugurated the official start of SummerFest. Appropriately, the SummerFest season extends through the first week in September and into California Wine Month.
SummerFest is an ideal time to venture into Temecula Valley Wine Country’s more than 35,000 acres of hills and vineyards, to be awed by the incredibly expansive views, and refreshed by afternoon ocean breezes. It is a primary growing season in the vineyards, as grapes continue to develop and mature. Winemaking families and winemakers carefully monitor fruit quality and grape chemistry, watching for the coveted natural balance of sugar content and acid levels. Come mid- to late August, grapes for Temecula Valley’s sparkling wines will be the first harvested.
The SummerFest season provides opportunities daily to tour cool winery cellars, and fermentation and tank rooms, enjoy the charm of Temecula Valley’s more than 30 wine-tasting rooms, and savor hundreds of award-winning wines. Throughout Wine Country, unique dining venues are many. Six wineries feature excellent restaurants welcoming visitors to experience amazing cuisine and the pleasures of food and wine affinity. Many wineries offer fare that is more casual - inspiration to dine outdoors at winery picnic areas. Temecula Valley wineries also offer additional events during SummerFest: from cooking classes to concerts, special events and dinners, and a variety of afternoon and evening live music and entertainment.
