Ride in Style with Aall In Limo’s Mercedes Benz to Temecula Wineries in California
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler (unless otherwise noted)
You know what’s more awesome than wine tasting in Temecula Valley? Having a driver from Aall In Limo pick you up in a Mercedes Benz party limo at your San Diego, California location and then delivering you to each winery in style – and your driver opening winery doors for you so you look like rock stars! In a tandem trip to sunny SD, MoVernie.com and I teamed up to be power plus ones and make this an epic dual press trip plus a little vacation exploration when we had time.
Just don’t make the rookie mistake we made and believe the hype of the late closing weekday wineries. This is an urban legend that needs to be squashed like a bug immediately! The only time any Temecula Wineries are open later are on weekends – Friday and Saturday specifically. We were under the impression that a couple closed at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and planned our schedule to match. We would soon learn that during any week day, they all close at 5 p.m.
Our adventure began at 3 p.m. on a Thursday, giving us plenty of time – or so we thought. Our driver, Joe, was even early and text us that he was outside at any time. At promptly 3 p.m., he called to lure us outside and introduced himself with a hearty handshake. In total California style, he was suited up in a black and white suit and tie but with a pair of Chuck Taylor’s in black and white to keep his feet casual and comfy. About 60 miles north of San Diego, it is the perfect day trip of indulging in exquisite wines and food.
So we thought we were being smart by getting this Temecula Valley Winegrowers promotional deal – $45 for a standard wine tasting flight out of the 24 participating wineries. It turns out the website information must be old as some wineries listed were not part of the deal steal. If you do purchase it, make sure it is a week day only and call first to find out if they are participating and what time the winery closes. Aall In Limo & Party Bus also offers their own BOGO discounts for certain wineries which may make for less ambitious tasting but at a more relaxed pace. But we bought the Temecula passports and rolled in at the winery where you had to pick it up right before 5 p.m. and so began our speed tastings at Doffo Winery.
And boom, just like that we were off to our next stop which out of our bunk list Joe recommended next, Danza del Sol Winery.
We made a quick and pointless stop at Lorimar Vineyards who did accept the passport but they were having a party in an hour and would not give us a tasting as they were “closed” so we left disgruntled that this whole time crunch was killing our wine tasting buzz. Off to another one on our list which ended up being our final one, Thronton Winery. Thanks goodness they do tastings after hours in their restaurant and accepted our passport, only to tell us later when we went back for round two as no one else was open, that they actually don’t accept it and showed us a (smaller) list of participating wineries and they were not on it. So we bought a bottle, sat outside for a couple minutes and just enjoyed the scenery.
Would we do it again? In a heartbeat! But maybe next time leave way earlier, order the classic stretch limo in black, buy some champagne along the way and enjoy lingering at each space. Speed tasting is not my bag anymore but apparently if you’re going to party, Temecula Valley is the place to go!
Aall In Limo & Party Bus are licensed chauffeurs in California with clean driving records and background checks. They are a San Diego family owned business and are proud to give back and help others fulfill their dreams. They donate limo services for hospitals, high schools, companies promoting local tourism, or for other institutions, which are offering various services in San Diego area and help to sustain the community. And if you can request a driver, ask for Joe – he is California cool all the way!
