Lorimar Vineyards and Winery

My favorite so far of all the Temecula wineries. Ambience is fantastic and wines are great! Great, central location too. Looking forward to going back for the live music.

Sadly I want to give more starts to this place but I can’t the reds are not very good here. Service both times when I was here was poor, is overcrowded with buses of people that do not have wine experience.
Good thing we didn’t pay for wine tasting since we were part of the 2016 Barrel Tasting Event.

Very friendly staff. We went there when it was raining but it was still great. Our wine guy, Thomas, was helpful in steering all 4 of us to the right wine for our palate. Had a good time and will defiantly recommend and will come back with friends.

Good wine but not enough seating. We stayed till closing and tried to buy a few bottles but the employees were so focused on getting off they didn’t even help us at the counter for 10 mins… 10 employees hustling to leave ignored us… So we left without buying any… Too bad cuz wine was good…

Dinner Time: I joined my friends for an evening of food, drinks and entertainment. We arrived and the setting is beau colic. Low light, warm heaters to take the chill out of the air. Then the music came on. Did I say music??? the volume was sooo loud my ears are still ringing the next morning. I had to scream to be heard across a 3 foot table.
Salvation — The menu was great and we all settled on meals. We walked up to the register to place our order and they were out of the shrimp I ordered (7:00PM /​Friday Night) so I opted for the greasy spring rolls. 5 minutes later the wait staff was kneeling at our table explaining over the LOUD music we are out of Salomon, would you like something else shining a flashlight on the menu? «Not I will give you a moment /​give me an alternative now». My wife ordered the flatbread that was undercooked bread and ended up half eaten.
To make it up they brought us a piece of cheese cake for the table with 2 spoons for 4 people.
Teachable Moment
We dropped $ 125 on a meal (not to mention wine) we did want and music that was in such contrast to the beautiful setting, I am hard pressed to believe the owners were onsite.

Lovely outside area– with a fireplace right amongst the vines. Inside area with comfy leather couches for lounging. Loved Matt– very informative and humorous!

After this review, you might be inclined to think I’m just another one of those uneducated fools who complains about service everywhere he goes. But consider my other reviews, and the fact that I tend to be incredibly patient and lenient with service, having paid my way through college in the service industry myself.
With that said, onward…
We came in on a mellow-​ish afternoon (about a dozen or so parties doing tastings), and were quite confused by the attitude from the staff. They gave us looks of contempt and refused to even acknowledge us. We weren’t rude, we didn’t demand service, we didn’t interfere with other visitors’ tasting experiences, nothing. We simply approached the bar where there was a little room and patiently waited. Both attendants made eye contact with me at some point, looked down and saw my empty hands patiently placed on the counter, said nothing, and proceeded to help other visitors instead. After waiting for a good five minutes or so, the lady was fed up and we left.
Of the dozen or so Temecula Valley wineries we visited, Lorimar was the only one that had my brain screaming, «UGH. PRETENTIOUS!» before walking out. So yeah: no.

There’s a reason they’re one of the biggest and oldest vineyards. They’re definitely doing something right. So right, in fact, that I loved every single wine I tried, bought several, and joined their wine club! Our pourer was very friendly, and was clearly familiar with the wines despite having just started working. A beautiful building on the outside and truly exceptional wines within.

I have worked many venues in Temecula Wine Country. This place was as good as it gets!
1. The VIEW during the ceremony was incredible! I don’t think any other location has this nice of a view. The guests were STUNNED.
2. The staff was very professional and NICE! All they wanted to do was help. A situation came up where the guests had to be moved inside due to the HEAT, and the staff handled this last minute request amazingly.
3. The food. Outstanding. Guests were asking me if they could go up for seconds! This is rare for a buffet.
4. And of course the wine. They served an incredible rose for the toasts and the guests loved it.
Can’t wait to work here again!!!

Had an excellent Saturday afternoon. It was relaxing and beautiful scenery. Plenty of space to spread out. The food from the food truck was great. The wines were excellent.
The Vineyard Blend was delicious. The wine menu was hilarious!
I wish that the staff was a little more personable about the wines though. They were quick to pour, but didn’t have much to say after that to make it more of a tasting experience. It was more akin to getting a drink at the bar. Overall though, I will be back.

This was our first stop of the day and sadly we regret it. It was really close to the Airbnb we were staying in so we thought why not. I had never been and this was my boyfriend’s first wine tasting experience.
First off, the customer service is horrible. The staff doesn’t even give an ounce of effort into making sure you have a good experience. They almost make you feel like you are inconveniencing them by asking for a refill. Second, the wine is not the best I’ve ever tried, and definitely not worth the price, $ 36 for two tastings and doesn’t even include the glass. My boyfriend and I tried a large majority of the wines between the two of us, and we didn’t enjoy any of them. We actually left before we finished all of our tastings because we felt like we were wasting our time.
The only reason I gave this winery 2 stars is because we love how they support the local artists and musicians. But, from the reviews below it looks as if the concert experience won’t be any better than our wine tasting experience. I would recommend skipping over this one and spend your time enjoying a winery with better atmosphere and wine! Trust me you won’t be missing much.

This winery was great! The entire staff was helpful and toured my group around with no hesitation. The guy pouring us wine (looks like Adam Levine-can’t miss him) was knowledgeable and helpful to us «indecisive» ones. Beautiful scenery/​place!

What a beautiful venue! I attended my first UYE with my husband as my guest and we both had a wonderful time. Everyone was friendly and the wine tastings and bites were delicious.
Out of all of the featured wine, my favorite was the 2014 Muscat Canelli.
Lorimar also provided their own mobile kitchen, serving up these tasty bites:
–Turkey Panini w/​onion Marmalade
–Cheese, fruit and meat board
–Chicken bacon Pesto flat bread
–Goat & Fig flat bread
–Caesar Salad w/​grana, bacon and chicken
–Pear & Gorgonzola Salad
–Truffle Fries
–Bacon Parm fries
The icing on the cake was the surprise Kobe burgers that the Chef whipped for us at the last minute. It was juicy and grilled to perfection! We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect first UYE!

One of three winery stops on Labor Day with friends; I enjoyed visiting this winery. They had a really nice outdoor patio set up and it wasn’t very busy the day we came (plus it was hot outside) so we had the patio to ourselves. The wines I tasted were okay, I didn’t buy a bottle of anything — I would go again though, the staff were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly.

The Fusion packs a punch! Have JJ pour your tasting. He gets a five star. He knows his stuff, he’s fun as hell, he’s fair, super good customer service skills and he’s a… D I M E!
Skip the wares in the shop. You can find a diamond encrusted picture frame at Home Goods. Friday night live music caters to a slower more mature crowd.
Passed on the music.
Grounds are breath taking.

Update:
I have been back to Lorimar several times since my first visit, and have had nothing but excellent experiences. The key, as with all wineries in Temecula, is to go during off hours to avoid the busloads of people that show up on Saturday afternoons. The other key is to take advantage of their beautiful outdoor area. The crowds tend to stay inside, throw back their tastings, and move on to the next winery on their list. The outdoor areas are much more relaxed, and are filled with wine club members who appreciate the wine being produced by Lorimar.
Lorimar is one of the top wineries in the area in terms of both quality of wine, and aesthetics. I have brought many an out-​of-​town guest here to enjoy a picnic on their patio, and all of them have fallen in love with the space. I highly recommend that you visit!

I found a 2 for 1 groupon special and decided this is what I’d do for this year’s birthday. Lorimar was the first stop to a day of wine touring and tasting. Since my friend and I had never been to a winery and aren’t savvy drinkers of wine, we scheduled a weekday visit in hopes of not being overwhelmed. Perfect idea!
The grounds aren’t very large and most vines were bare in February. There is a serene water fountain atop the steps and front entry that draws you in. The building is rustic, built of large rocks on the outside and full of artwork from local artists on the inside. A back patio area and stage is available for local music performances and simply for people to relax at their leisure. There is a gorgeous vine-​covered trellis and grass area for any bride and groom-​to-​be.
I cannot recall the young lady’s name who gave us the tour (oops) and tastings, but she was friendly and helpful. She explained the menu of select red and white wines as we decided which six we wanted to taste. My pallet is heavy for sweets and reds so that is what I stuck with. I came home with a bottle of one of my favorites and love how this winery supports local artists by adding their artwork to the labels of many bottles.

(Tasted 06÷13÷15 SA @ 3:00pm): Although a Groupon offer lured our group here, the savings were marred by lightweight wines!
Thanks to fellow Unilocal Elite, Cheryl W., who coordinated a wonderful getaway to the gorgeous Temecula Valley for some wine tasting and picniking, our second winery stop for the day was at Lorimar Vineyards and Winery. One of her friends purchased Groupon offers ($ 15.00 tastings for $ 10.00 ea.), so it was on like Donkey Kong! Discounts on any kind of alcohol was always a plus in my book! Did we get our money’s worth?:
6 Tastings ($ 10.00) — You chose from a mostly limited selection of whites and reds. And unlike most tastings I’ve partaken in, theirs was less conducive for note-​taking (i.e. no available pens/​pencils and limited space for writing on the taster card). Honestly, wineries do consumers a huge disservice when this easy amenity wasn’t provided. Having said that, here was my cloudy recollection of my tastings. Again, by no means am I an oenophile — just a simple lush who enjoyed wine:
From the chardonnay, moscato, pinot grigio, rose
, and a couple reds, the one word that popped into my mind each time was «LIGHTWEIGHT». What I meant by this was a lack of body and generally anything distinctive other than the color and nose. My sweetteeth were really disappointed in the moscato as it fell flat on that key palate-​tasting attribute. But sadly, I wanted to only sip, swish and spit all the others, too… and I hated to waste any alcohol (no worries, all were begrudgingly knocked back and went down the hatch!).
Service — The staff was generally helpfully and pleasant. Unfortunately, I received no extra tastings beyond the purchased six, the glass wasn’t included (it somehow appeared in my pocket after I left the premises), and noticed no crackers to cleanse the palate. Otherwise, we gave the Groupons to the cashier, received a stamp card, and then chose from a couple tasting bars and pourers. You were given basic information about each wine from the staff. A nice touch was their own food truck if you had the munchies. All was good but not great.
Parking (Free) — They had their own medium-​to-​large private lot and a long pathway to the barrel room where this day’s tasting took place both with ample spots — ’nuff said.
Atmosphere, décor, ambience — Based soley on the barrel room and not the main facilities since there appeared to be a wedding in progress, this high roof barn-​like shack was flooded with two bachelorette parties and a host of other revelers. Space was tight which added to the already searing temperatures. There were large barn doors at each end that allowed for a nice breeze from time-​to-​time, but the sheer body heat from everyone added unpleasant mugginess. Stacked barrels were nicely displayed in one large corner of the room
, one wall was covered with romantic battery-​operated tea lights, a souvenir table greeted you as you entered, only a handful of tall tables to gather around (there were several uncovered picnic tables and chairs outside
), and a cool usage of used bottles as a hanging light display
. Plenty of natural lighting came through the doors while some electric lighting was sparringly used. There were no TVs but music played in the background.
Attire — Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-​shirt, boardshorts, and flip-​flops.
Overall, my afternoon at Lorimar Vineyards and Winery was a disappointment. I was happy to try a winery I’d never been to, but I wasn’t impressed by their wines at all. The only memorable thing was that they were unmemorable. Please take my criticism with a grain of salt since wine tasting was completely subjective from one person’s palate to the next. I’d like to visit the main facility the next time I was in the area, and maybe I’d give them another tasting shot. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE include your wine glasses with each tasting — member or not; it just made for good inexpensive marketing exposure (from a marketer with over 20-​years experience). It’s not like they were Reidel glases! The Temecula Valley was certainly a force to be reckoned with in the wine industry and a nice alternative to the equally nearby Ventura/​Santa Barbara region. I found decent value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (total paid experience was around $ 10.00 AFTER discount; no tip required). And, they accepted my credit card of choice… AMEX! 2.5 STARS

Lorimar winery has some great wine, but one of the great features of Lorimar winery is their wine club. As a wine club member, you get 3 bottles of wine every quarter. As a member, you also get a free tasting each time you visit their location in downtown Temecula, or the actual winery itself. I was fortunate enough to be one of the first members and now have my name engraved on a brick at the winery.
I’ve had many good bottles of wine here, some are really smooth, others not so much for my taste. Being a red wine kind of guy, I also really like their white wine selection; they have great refreshing white wines, perfect for hot days.
Lorimar winery has great entertainment on their patio, with good snacks and pizza on certain days, especially weekends. The property is dog friendly.

After having come from a quiet and peaceful winery, receiving personalized service, Lorimar was quite the other extreme. We were required to pay for our tasting ($ 18 for six 1-​oz. tastes) prior to even entering the building. Once inside, it was packed, many with tour groups (identified by the numbered stickers on their shirts and some who’d had too much already, not being able to identify what they liked, as they couldn’t even remember what they’d had!). Fortunately, there were gift-​y items in which I could browse, to entertain myself before having to brave my way to a space at the tasting counter.
The nice staff made us feel welcome, and at ease — somewhat forgetting that the tasting room was full of people. Kevin made our tasting experience especially pleasurable; his knowledge, enthusiasm, and friendliness made us fans of Lorimar — we’ll be back! Pretty grounds.