The Region

Located in the mid­dle of a tri­an­gle formed by Los Ange­les, San Diego and Palm Springs, California’s Temec­ula Val­ley offers a unique micro­cli­mate for grape farm­ing activ­i­ties. Sev­eral fac­tors make it an ideal locale for grow­ing high qual­ity grapes.

Temec­ula is located 500 miles south of San Fran­cisco, a posi­tion which cre­ates a slightly higher angle to the sun and great solar inten­sity. A look at native chap­ar­ral illus­trates that Temec­ula is a low rain­fall region. This envi­ron­ment results in an early grow­ing sea­son gen­er­ally run­ning from March through Sep­tem­ber, and a har­vest sea­son that is rarely inter­rupted by rains – a very impor­tant fac­tor in wine quality.

Sig­nif­i­cant cool­ing fac­tors affect the fla­vor devel­op­ment of Temec­ula grapes. As the sun warms the inland val­leys east of Temec­ula, the air rises, form­ing a low-pressure area. Colder, much heav­ier air from the Pacific Ocean (22 miles from Temec­ula) is then drawn inland. The Coastal Moun­tain Range allows the colder air to pass inland only through a few gaps and low spots; cool air flow­ing inland mod­er­ates the day­time tem­per­a­tures and helps cre­ate a pat­tern of warm, sunny days and cool nights – ideal con­di­tions for the best wine grapes. In addi­tion, night­time lows in and around Temec­ula are very cool, a crit­i­cal facet in devel­op­ing high qual­ity grapes that affects the wine’s fla­vor, color and aroma. Temec­ula Val­ley soils are another sig­nif­i­cant influ­ence on wine qual­ity. Grapevines require well-drained soils, and Temecula’s earth, cre­ated from decom­pos­ing granitic mate­ri­als, per­mits water to drain through quite eas­ily. Finally, the Temec­ula wine region is rel­a­tively free of vine­yard pests, often at the root of vine­yard problems.

All of these fac­tors cre­ate a unique com­bi­na­tion that can include morn­ing mists, intense mid­day sun, cool­ing ocean breezes and cold nights. This gives Temec­ula a very favor­able cli­mate that is unique in the world of viticulture.

Source: Temec­ula Val­ley Wine­grow­ers Association